Removing steering rack

[Mattglas]

I'm having some difficulty removing my steering rack. The lower universal joint is rusted to both the pinion shaft and the intermediate shaft seen here:
4327743276
Is there anything that can be done to remove the shafts besides soaking them in penetrating oil?

[David T]

ift.

[David T]

I'm having some difficulty removing my steering rack. The lower universal joint is rusted to both the pinion shaft and the intermediate shaft seen here:
4327743276
Is there anything that can be done to remove the shafts besides soaking them in penetrating oil?

Plenty of penetrating oil. You can "persuade" things apart with a hammer and a brass drift. You can also wire brush the splines so things can slip a little easier.

[content22207_2]

Since it's an OEM steering column take the bolt all the way out (I see you've done that) and spread the U Joint slightly with a pry bar or big screwdriver. Bolt will pinch it tightly back together after reassembly.

Needless to say use anti-seize during reassembly. I have stainless steel U joints in my column and still used anti-seize.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Rich_NYS]

I cleaned the splines as much as possible and let penetrating fluid soak a few days. I used a heat gun, and gently drove a large flat-blade screwdriver into the slit.

I used the same procedure on two different cars with good results.

[smcguiga]

I just replaced mine and had to use a screwdriver in the small gap where the rack goes into the the U joint and with the brackets loose from the rack I was able to move it slightly towards the front of the car and then was able to get the U joint off of the steering column. In NO way was I able to push the U joint UP the steering column as suggested. Once the steering column was out of the way I could pull the U joint off of the rack, then turn the rack and had to remove the two bolts holding the small plate on before it would slide out of the car. If you are going to install a new rack from DMC, there are a few tips that I discovered when getting the new one back in that weren't exactly how they mentioned to do it on the enclosed document.

--Steven

[Mattglas]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm going to soak it in penetrating oil for a bit and try these tips.