Tie rod ends and steering rack bushings

16 Aug 2017

When I first got the car, the wheel would have a different neutral position if I was going forwards and backwards. Upon closer inspection, the tie rod ends on both sides had busted rubber boots. The inner tie rods didn’t have any appreciable play, so I decided to just replace the tie rod ends along with the steering rack bushings since I was “down there.”

Tie rod ends are a cinch to install, but replacing the steering rack bushings was a pretty awful job. Like, “technically” you can replace them without taking the steering rack out, but there really isn’t much space around the rack and the 28 year old bushing on the driver’s side did not come out easily. The problem is that the job looks conceptually simple - remove 4 big and easy-to-reach bolts, take out old bushings, put in new ones, pat yourself on the back…

Once you start removing the bushings, you soon realize that everything you need to reach requires you to position yourself such that your face is directly underneath your working area so that you can then snake your hands through some tight and grimey spaces. You won’t be able to get any leverage, dirt and oil will fall all over your face and in your mouth, and it’ll take way longer than you think.

It took me about 2h over 2 days (I mostly work on the car during my lunch breaks) to replace the bushings. Much of that time was spent getting the old bushing off. Mine was stuck to the rack. I ended up having to lube up a thin piece of plastic that I could force inbetween the bushing and the rack to separate it from the rack, so that I could then pull it out. And by pull it out I mean ripping small chunks of the bushing out, 1 piece at a time with my pliers until it was all gone.

I saw someone suggest separating the steering rack from the steering knuckle, which apparently lets you shift the entire rack over a couple inches, so the bushings are more accessible. This sounds like a great idea and if I had to do it again, I’d probably do this first.