Steering Rack Replacement - New or Junkyard

[stocker]

Hi,

I have a clunk in my steering and I think I've narrowed it down to play in the steering rack. I'm wondering if people think I should try a junkyard replacement or just buy a new one on rockauto. Assuming I'm replacing the problematic part, the price isn't a huge concern and I definitely prefer to do the repair only 1 time. The new part is significantly more expensive than the JY though.

Thanks for input.

[FordMan77]

Personally, I'd get a new Delco rack and bushings and call it a day. That's the kind of job I only want to do once. If you're sure it's the rack that is. Also, depending on the model you may have Magnasteer. Look down near where the boot is on the rack and see if you have a blue electrical connector plugged into something. If so then you have Magnasteer and will need that style rack.

[stocker]

Personally, I'd get a new Delco rack and bushings and call it a day. That's the kind of job I only want to do once. If you're sure it's the rack that is. Also, depending on the model you may have Magnasteer. Look down near where the boot is on the rack and see if you have a blue electrical connector plugged into something. If so then you have Magnasteer and will need that style rack.

Any idea why the ACDelco "professional" is $200 less than the ACDelco Original Equipment? Quality I'm sure...

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...440276&jsn=283

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...440276&jsn=285

Thanks for the feedback

[WarStryker13]

OE is what originally came on the car, "professional" is Delco's aftermarket product line.

[brettstoner]

I am running a reman rack from Detroit Axle off Ebay. Price was right and I have not had any problems. Drop the rear of the front subframe and pull it out there. I couldn't get it out without dropping it down.

[stocker]

So I replaced the rack and during the process quite a bit of fluid drained out of the lines. When I started up the car the power steering pump was making some noise so I shut it off for a bit. I tried to read about how to get the air out of the system.

I probably did it wrong but with the car on jack stands and off I turned the wheels lock to lock a few times. Then I started the car and turned lock to lock but it was making a noise and the movement got kind of bumpy and I shut it off. I checked the level and it was a bit low and had some froth.

How should I proceed? I want to make sure the new rack is bled and there is no air in the power steering system. Should I follow the fluid flush procedure how-to on here?

[Scottydoggs]

top off the pump and turn it lock to lock 15 times engine off. wheels off the ground. then check the level and add if needed. should be good to go.

after that you can go lock to lock a few times running to make sure its bled of air fully too.

[stocker]

My understanding was air would bleed itself out. Why did it get so frothy?

Once it gets frothy I'm guessing it is hard to get the air out of the system?

I'll give it a shot scotty, thanks a bunch!

[Scottydoggs]

only the pump self bleeds, new rack has dry lines. inside the pump is a wheel that churns the fluid if its not moving due to a air lock, so it could have put some bubbles in it.

if the car has power steering in park at idle on the ground its all set. if the pump is whining, thats what they do. if its a loud whine like its louder with rpm's id think the pump is bad as well as the rack. mine both took a dump about the same time.

[stocker]

I followed the procedure but it is still buzzing/noisy. Power steering works even on the ground. I literally just replaced the rack and the pump was fine before that.

I feel like it is the air in the system making the noise. I mean once all those tiny bubbles are in the system how would they get out? Could I damage the pump by driving with it making this racket?

What else could be wrong?

[Scottydoggs]

as long as its steering drive it, a lot of pumps have a small whine to them. its a hydraulic pump after all.

[stocker]

It sorted itself. I started the car for a few seconds and then turned it off for a few minutes to let the bubbles rise up in the reservoir. I did this process a few times and it stopped making noise. Also, I started leaving the reservoir uncapped because there was pressure or vacuum being created as the system was bleeding.

Thanks a lot for your help. New rack feels nice and solved the clunk!

[stocker]

This post is more for my personal documentation than for others but maybe someone can pull something valuable from my experience. I basically followed this for my 2008: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-KGGUArmZg&t=1506s

With the following additions/changes:

- I could not get to the rack mounting bolts with the sway bar in place. The end links were rusted solid so I removed the sway bar bushings on the subframe which allowed access to the rack mounting bolts. I did not remove end links (initially) as shown in the video.
- I could not get a standard 18mm wrench on the rack pressure line nuts because there wasn't enough room. I remembered someone mentioned they removed their downpipe for more room - I just undid the two studs at the top and set the downpipe as far down and to the right as possible. This allowed me to get my wrench on the lines - I worked by laying on top of the engine for some of the line loosening.
- I lubed the rack mounting areas with brake grease as they weren't sliding in well.
- The sway bar bushings were trashed in the removal and the sway bar was rusting on one end. I ended up cutting off the end links and installing a new sway bar, bushings and end links. Luckily I had purchased this and had it on hand and I'm fortunate to have a sawzall
- I forgot to transfer the plastic line tender to the new rack so I did that after the fact which was a pain.
- Getting the intermediate steering shaft back on is a f*cking pain in the a**. I'd recommend a large pry bar to push down on the hoop of the shaft, a long screwdiver to help guide things and a partner to shimmy the wheel when you get everything nicely lined up. Oh and don't forget your patience.
- I didn't know the bleeding procedure before starting the project which caused me a little grief. The correct procedure from Scotty is with the front tires off the ground and car off turn the wheel lock to lock about 15 times. Then lower the car and check the fluid level. I had more trouble as the p/s pump was making a lot of noise and I had air/froth in the system. To resolve this I used a series of 3 second starts followed by a few minutes of the car off. I was hoping this would purge the froth/air into the reservoir and turn the car off before pulling that contaminated fluid back into the system. A few minutes between allowed most of the bubbles to ride to the top. Also leave the cap off as pressure seemed to be building with the cap on.

Unfortunately this took me about 9 hours since I had to learn a lot along the way and adjust my plan along the way a few different times for unexpected items(downpipe, sway bar). I'm sure it would take about half as long the second go around. I'm glad I was able to complete the job successfully but it was a lot lengthier than expected.

[Scottydoggs]

my first rack took me 4 hrs. hardest part back then was getting the shaft back on the rack, but i figured out a fool proof way to get that pos on with ease. last time out it took maybe an hour or so. ive changed it a few times now if you have not caught on to that yet lol

sway bar unbolted and pushed back out the way does help.