Also, when they are installed correctly there is NO increase in NVH. If you have creaky steering with the stock rubber bushings, you will actually see LESS noise with the alumnium. Aside from the $40, there is no down side to this mod.
Center Drilled Aluminum Rack Bushing
- Thread starter KaNolton
- Start date
op:Had to check to see if this thread was in smackdown.
I am actually a little disappointed to see this kind of stuff in the OT section. We might not always agree, but usually keep it pretty cordial.
I have to say that if anyone thinks this is a difficult mod, then you must not have been doing it right. I had never messed with the k-member or steering system on my Mustang ever, untill I did this. I did the MM aluminum rack bushing with the car on a jack and me lying on the ground. It was a 40 minute job. No problem doing it now in 25 minutes while drinking a beer.
Not Steering Rack Bushings outright, but good enough.
3.8 Mustang Message Board - View Single Post - IF your steering creak/squeak is not balljoint related, here is the fix..
3.8 Mustang Message Board - View Single Post - IF your steering creak/squeak is not balljoint related, here is the fix..
Had to check to see if this thread was in smackdown.
I am actually a little disappointed to see this kind of stuff in the OT section. We might not always agree, but usually keep it pretty cordial.
I have to say that if anyone thinks this is a difficult mod, then you must not have been doing it right. I had never messed with the k-member or steering system on my Mustang ever, untill I did this. I did the MM aluminum rack bushing with the car on a jack and me lying on the ground. It was a 40 minute job. No problem doing it now in 25 minutes while drinking a beer.
Golf clap for both of you :golfclap: Sometimes they don't want to come out without a fight. Now, in 25 years of swinging my own wrenches from on my back in -30 windchill to heated garages, I've rebuilt my own transmissions, installed my own suspensions and brakes, pulled, rebuilt and reinstalled my own engines and so on, not to mention the work I' ve done on other people's cars. If you think I might have been doing rack bushings wrong the times they've given me trouble, then come on over and give me a tutorial on how to make weather-worn rubber and corroded steel release themselves from corroded aluminum, painlessly, every time, using whatever magic it is you and Taz have at your disposal. The rest of us work in real-world conditions that aren't always so friendly and nobody needs some clown telling him to put down the wrenches because he didn't have it as lucky as some dudette from Arizona did on his virgin foray into the project. :bash:
.
.
Last edited:
Do what I said, soak the area with PB blaster or other penetrating oil in the days before you attempt to do the work.
...
Last edited:
Why can't we all just get along?
;-)
I've changed out t-5's in just over an hour one weekend, and taken over 5 another.
Some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you.
;-)
I've changed out t-5's in just over an hour one weekend, and taken over 5 another.
Some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you.
Last edited:
:dancenana:
Here's the easiest way I've discovered for removing stubborn rack bushings:
1. Make sure the steering wheel is locked. Then after you've got the car in the air, remove the lower pinch bolt from the intermediate shaft, and pull the shaft away from the stub on the rack.
(Just loosening the bolt won't get it done. The bolt must be completely removed to free the shaft.)
2. Remove the two bolts securing the rack to the K-member. This will free up the rack, so you can move it around a little.
3. Pull/pry the rack forward, away from the K-member and place some 2x4 spacers between the rack and the K.
4. Remove the bushing sleeves. If they come away from the K with the rack, knock them out of the bushings with an appropriate size socket or drift and a rubber mallet and remove them.
5. As we know, the OEM bushings are 2-piece parts, and there is a small gap between the front and back halves inside the rack eyes. While supporting the back of the rack, knock the back half of each bushing out with a chisel or flat-blade screwdriver and rubber mallet.
6. Now, move around to the back side and knock the front half of the bushing out with a drift and rubber mallet.
That has worked well for me, and makes the bushing removal a quick procedure. Hope the info helps.
1. Make sure the steering wheel is locked. Then after you've got the car in the air, remove the lower pinch bolt from the intermediate shaft, and pull the shaft away from the stub on the rack.
(Just loosening the bolt won't get it done. The bolt must be completely removed to free the shaft.)
2. Remove the two bolts securing the rack to the K-member. This will free up the rack, so you can move it around a little.
3. Pull/pry the rack forward, away from the K-member and place some 2x4 spacers between the rack and the K.
4. Remove the bushing sleeves. If they come away from the K with the rack, knock them out of the bushings with an appropriate size socket or drift and a rubber mallet and remove them.
5. As we know, the OEM bushings are 2-piece parts, and there is a small gap between the front and back halves inside the rack eyes. While supporting the back of the rack, knock the back half of each bushing out with a chisel or flat-blade screwdriver and rubber mallet.
6. Now, move around to the back side and knock the front half of the bushing out with a drift and rubber mallet.
That has worked well for me, and makes the bushing removal a quick procedure. Hope the info helps.
Last edited:
Be glad to help anyone that needs a hand. If you're states away, simply take care of my travel arrangements and lodging and I'll do what I can for anyone.
Wish I had a nice cushy place to work. I do my work in an unheated garage. Temps here are topping out at 30 degrees today. Currently I am in the process of swapping out the fuel cell from my Cobra R. Maybe one day I'll get my heated garage and lift.
Wish I had a nice cushy place to work. I do my work in an unheated garage. Temps here are topping out at 30 degrees today. Currently I am in the process of swapping out the fuel cell from my Cobra R. Maybe one day I'll get my heated garage and lift.
Wow, this thread got a little more attention that I normally see in the OT section haha.
Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm gonna just got ahead and order it. It's only $40. I'm young and I would like to think I am pretty patient (although I know I'm not) Haha but I'll just get it and set it on the shelf and next time I'm fiddling down there I'll throw er' in, theoretically of course. :beer:
Again thanks everyone!
Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm gonna just got ahead and order it. It's only $40. I'm young and I would like to think I am pretty patient (although I know I'm not) Haha but I'll just get it and set it on the shelf and next time I'm fiddling down there I'll throw er' in, theoretically of course. :beer:
Again thanks everyone!
Its not a difficult job. On occasions, the rubber and steel parts can be a bit of a pain.
The bottom line is that the job got done, whether it took 20 minutes or 4 hours.
The bottom line is that the job got done, whether it took 20 minutes or 4 hours.
LOL at the lower control arms, those were a BITCH!
Users who are viewing this thread
