I know you guys are probably working on your cars too, but I need some help on a timeline. I'm replacing my steering gear, and I have the car on jack staqnds & torn apart behind a local restarant that isn't open on Sundays (I live in apartments...they don't approve of my jack stands). Okay...bad idea, but I've never run into anything that this board & I couldn't handle.

I have everything down to this--how do I seperate the steering gear from the rag joint? I found a 1/2" bolt that holds together what looks like a coupler. I took the bolt all the way out, and pryed on it a little...no go. I tried removing the sway bar & letting the steering gear's weight do the work pulling it out. No go.

Can someone please tell me how to get the steering gear out after it is disconnected from the centerlink, and unbolted from the frame? I really don't want to have to tow it to a shop. That would suck.

Thanks!!!

 

After that 1 bolt comes out of the rag joint you should be able to pull the box out, assuming the box isn't bolted in. I know I can't pull out the intermediate shaft if both my steering box and column are still in, but since your box is out it should be free to go. I'm thinking you have some rust to deal with... good luck.

 

Remove the 15mm bolt farther up the column, where it's 'squared'; this will let the lower part of the column slide up for clearance to remove the steering box.

Edit: It might be 13mm...

 

I took a crow bar, and knocked it back (slowly but surely) after reading that it was supposed to telescope. That sucker was on there good! I didn't see any rust...it just fits tight. I put it back on the same way I got it off.

I can't get the nut that couples the rag joint to the steering gear shaft to torque to spec, though (50 ft lbs). It runs out of thread (it isn't threaded all the way). I guess I'll try another bolt after Frances passes us by. Any bright ideas? That's a little scary.

I will say this; the Quick Ratio steering gear is hands down the BEST mod that I have made. It handles like a completely different car. Much tighter...it just 'feels' better all the way around. If you haven't made the swap, you are missing out. The difference is night & day.

 

Try putting that bolt in from the other side; there are threads on only one side of the connector from the rag joint. It should go through the open end, past the splines on the input shaft, then into the threads.

 

After the parts guy gave me the wrong one the other day and me installing it, eek I dunno how people can drive without the quicker box. It felt like I was in a truck having to spin the steering wheel forever to get around a corner. Got the correct one in the next day and all was good again