So my steering rack bushings are shot. In my attempt to replace the old bushings, I'm stuck trying to remove the metal sleeves (got the inner rubber bushing out). I have tried cold chisel and air chisel together with PB blaster and even put a small hole in the old sleeve (see picture). The sleeve looks very beat up yet would not budge one bit. Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong? I'm still on the bottom passenger side sleeve and have been at it for much of last night and this morning.
Steering rack bushing replacement
- Thread starter flipckyLC
- Start date
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What's always worked for me is using a sawzall to cut out two slits in the outer sleeve (carefully), then remove that small rectangle you just made using chisel. Now the outer sleeve has a big gap to collapse into/get smaller in diameter when you chisel it, comes right out everytime.
Cut a single slit in the sleeve and then grab the edge near the cut and twist inward while pulling the sleeve out. It will come right out.
- Thread starter
- #4
Thanks, I managed to get the bottom passenger sleeve out. For the top sleeve, I'm trying to work it out from underneath inside the bushing bracket. I'm noticing that the sleeve crumples in the area of impact when I use the air chisel rather than pushing the entire sleeve upward (see pic). There's not enough space for me to try to lift the outer edges of the sleeve and push it out from the outside. Any tips there?
I just did this last week on an '04. 3 of them came out pretty easy but the top drivers side was a real PIA. I did it with a few different cold chisels. I started with a sharp flat tip chisel and worked up to a thicker one. Longer chisels are a plus here too. It won't hurt to spray some wd-40 or your preferred lubricant to hopefully find its way in.
The best tip I can think to offer up is that you try to get the sleeve to come out evenly. The sides and the front are easy enough to get at. The trickier part is getting around to the back side of the sleeve as much as you can, particularly so when you get a stubborn one.
It took me quite a few hours but patience and persistence are key. Take a break if you need to
I can assure you you'll be glad when you get it done! I was getting a bit of torque steer that seems to be pretty much gone now and the steering is 100% better.
An air chisel will certainly help but I didn't have one. Just chiming in so you know that it is definitely possible without one...
Cheers!
The best tip I can think to offer up is that you try to get the sleeve to come out evenly. The sides and the front are easy enough to get at. The trickier part is getting around to the back side of the sleeve as much as you can, particularly so when you get a stubborn one.
It took me quite a few hours but patience and persistence are key. Take a break if you need to
I can assure you you'll be glad when you get it done! I was getting a bit of torque steer that seems to be pretty much gone now and the steering is 100% better.An air chisel will certainly help but I didn't have one. Just chiming in so you know that it is definitely possible without one...
Cheers!
