Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Technical => Suspension/Steering => Topic started by: Clayton on July 10, 2007, 12:37:27 AM

Title: steering nightmare.
Post by: Clayton on July 10, 2007, 12:37:27 AM
Well, its one of those times where you hit somthing you felt would be inevitible... My pressure hose on the bird has leaked for eons.. and I replaced it. 2 months later its leaking again, so I poke my head under there to check it out and its lose as hell.. SOOO I undo the pressure hose only to find that I am stronger than I thought.... and i pulled the threads out of the rack :hick:  SOOOOO Im gonna be ordering a new rack probably tomorow, with all new goodies on it as tierod ends and all that fancy schmancy stuff. New struts and endlinks all that jazz.


Tell meh, on a scale of 1 to 10... how hard is it to swap a steering rack for a suspention dummy? I can do it... I just wanna know how hard it is...


-Clayton
Title: steering nightmare.
Post by: vinnietbird on July 10, 2007, 12:47:42 AM
Scale of 1 to 10.....I'd say a 3 or 4.Not really hard.Make sure you get a good alignment afterwards.I'd rather change it than a heater core,or oilpan gasket on a 5.0 Bird.
Title: steering nightmare.
Post by: Thunder Chicken on July 10, 2007, 09:34:19 AM
Fox rack swap = easy. It's right there and easy to get at.
Title: steering nightmare.
Post by: Clayton on July 10, 2007, 09:38:39 AM
sounds like a deal to me.

I ordered the new rack, tie rod ends, pressure side hose, swaybar endlinks, and shocks on all 4 corners.
Title: steering nightmare.
Post by: thunderjet302 on July 10, 2007, 06:51:17 PM
If you're messing with the steering you might as well check the ball joints. Perfect time to replace 'em if they're bad:D
Title: steering nightmare.
Post by: CougarSE on July 10, 2007, 07:02:07 PM
Yeah a steering rack on a Fox is pretty easy.  Now the rack on the Cavalier I changed.. GAWD...  Had to drop the engine cradle.
Title: steering nightmare.
Post by: Ether947 on July 10, 2007, 11:15:37 PM
Get some Poly or Solid Bushings too if you can spring for them. I'd go with the solids and increase that Ackerman stuff. :D
Title: steering nightmare.
Post by: thundr306 on July 11, 2007, 05:00:08 PM
Quick tip to save you some time: Hook up the hoses to the rack before putting the rack in place. You also might want to take some measurements off the old rack/tie rods to make it easier to drive to the alignment shop.
Jim
Title: steering nightmare.
Post by: JeremyB on July 11, 2007, 05:38:26 PM
Quote from: thundr306;160204
Quick tip to save you some time: Hook up the hoses to the rack before putting the rack in place. You also might want to take some measurements off the old rack/tie rods to make it easier to drive to the alignment shop.
Jim

Good advice. Tightening lines with an installed rack is a pain in the rear.