People:

I'm taking out the steering rack to either replace or just clean up myself. How do you get the lower joint off of the pinion? I have removed the bolt completely from the lower joint and the it has been disconnected from the steering coupler. I've tried to pull it out, kinda hard to get leverage on it from under the car, but I can't separate them. Any thoughts???

78 280Z

Heading should be "Removing lower joint from pinion"

I think when I did mine I used a pickle fork and pried with it. Soak it good with PB Blaster overnight and try then. It's a tight fit to begin with and add time and moisture and it becomes a rust weld. You must remove the bolt to get it off so you are headed in the right direction, now it's just a matter of muscle over matter. A propane torch heating things up can help break the rust weld.

Okaaaay so there are no threads on that part of the pinion that is going into the joint that the bolt 'was' holding tight???

Proceeding to spray with penetrating fluid...I'm on my second can with the car!! I'm sure I'll buy another 12oz'er soon.

No, no threads but there is a groove there that the bolt slides through. So that when it is installed and tightened it both clamps the parts together and is a rod in a slot preventing them from pulling apart.

Thanks Lance. It's 'soaking' right now so I'll get to it this weekend.

Chris

www.project280z.com

if you've got the coupler disconnected and the thin steel steering shaft separated from by the firewall, just pull the whole rack out. it will be a lot easier to work with it out of the car than trying to play with it mounted.

with it properly braced you should be able to use a large chisel as a wedge to force (gently! tap, tap, tap) the clamping ends apart.

CAUTION!!!! There is a plastic pinion shaft seal/cap that will melt if you apply heat there with a torch. Not a good idea. I suggest either using a pickle fork or a large pry bar to seperate the two as suggested. Also, you might try giving the back side of the clamp a few whacks with a small/light hammer to break the hold the rust has on the two parts. As someone else suggested, it may be easier to remove if you drop the R/P first and then work it free. That's what I did.

I've got the steering rod disconnected from the coupler, the fsm said to loosen the bolts but it eventually came out (who knows where the steering wheel will line up, didn't think about that ahead of time, I'll have to eyeball everything before it's all tightened). The engine hasn't been removed yet so I've got to take the lower joint out of the pinion. I just wanted to make sure I could put some kind of force on the pinion to get it free from the joint. I'll stay away from the torch...Happy Easter everyone...

I know this is an older thread... but will the rack come out of the car with the engine still in place? or does the engine need to be raised to give the required clearance?

i was under the car this weekend for some other issues and happened to look at the rack and wondered out loud if I would manage to get it out with the engine still in place...

thanks,

-e

The rack will come out without moving the engine.

The FSM states that the engine must be lifted slightly to extract the steering rack; Haynes does not. I am thinking that the FSM states this due to the original plastic grease reservoir which was on the rack, if you try and remove the rack with this in place it would be my guess that it would snap off.

Joseph