Steering Rack Replacement -oh boy

[r2m]

Well I'm already kind of stuck. Diff drain plug won't budge. I've hit it with breaker bar, impact, penetrating oil, heat (lots) and even. a chisel around the outside. All the chisel is doing is taking shavings off. I'm going to let penetrating oil soak for another hour or two, but what do you guys think I should do if I can't drain it? Pull the CV's and drop it out heavier and messy? Then I could take it somewhere to get a nut welded on.

Okay, this may sound very, very stupid, and this is absolutely no reflection upon you Jake, but are you sure your going "lefty Lucy"? I have more than once been in an awkward position trying to unscrew or screw something and wound up doing it backwards, only because my body/hand orientation was reversed.
Just a thought.

 

[r2m]

I ran into the same issue on my buddy's Tundra when we baselined it. I had him buy a 10 mm Allen socket and I welded it into the diff plug with the HF welder I had at that time. It came right out as the heat from welding is very effective at loosening things. I then installed the IS250 plug back into the diff for him.

You could drop the diff and take it somewhere to have a sacrificial 10 mm Allen socket welded into it. It's just 30 seconds of welding or so. Or, use this as an excuse to get at cheap welder . The HF Titanium Flux 125 I used to have is only $150 right now at HF (with gloves and a helmet you'd be out a bit over $200). Mine only lasted a couple of years but I got my money out of it though being able to tackle small welding jobs like that.

One final option would be attempting to heat the plug with a propane or MAP torch, but I'd suggest that after you have the diff out and it's on the bench. Otherwise, it's awful easy to catch pieces of the rig on fire. Much more so than the welder which has targeted/short duration heat.

If you get a welder, three things to consider:

1. Be sure you have access to 220 VAC in your garage, because most all welders (yes, even the cheapies) are usually 220 VAC.
2. Or... Be sure you get a 110 VAC welder.
3. And thirdly, be sure you have at the minimum circuit breaker in your home needed or you'll be tripping it all the time. Ask me how I know.

 

[WTITW]

One final option would be attempting to heat the plug with a propane or MAP torch, but I'd suggest that after you have the diff out and it's on the bench. Otherwise, it's awful easy to catch pieces of the rig on fire. Much more so than the welder which has targeted/short duration heat.

Oh, I went nuclear wiht the torch right away. I left it on there a good 4-5m on the last try. Guess I'll keep moving and just make a mess when I drop it.

 

[Rednexus]

If you get a welder, three things to consider:

1. Be sure you have access to 220 VAC in your garage, because most all welders (yes, even the cheapies) are usually 220 VAC.
2. Or... Be sure you get a 110 VAC welder.
3. And thirdly, be sure you have at the minimum circuit breaker in your home needed or you'll be tripping it all the time. Ask me how I know.

I ran the one I mentioned (Titanium 125) off 120V 20A circuits without any problems. It's a tiny welder, about the size of a 12 pack of beer, but it's perfect for homeowner/small job use. I now have a 210 amp Hobart MIG with dual 120V/220V input, and it's ran off a dedicated 220V circuit in my shop.

 

[Rednexus]

Oh, I went nuclear wit the torch right away. I left it on there a good 4-5m on the last try. Guess I'll keep moving and just make a mess I guess when I drop it.

I've had limited luck with a torch. Welder will get it much hotter and will target the heat on the plug instead of slowly heating the whole diff. But, you might be able to get it out on the bench better access on it.

 

[WTITW]

I got everything else pulled with the diff ready to come out in the morning. I’ll give it another try on the bench tomorrow.

Worst case I put it back together, top off and take it to a shop to get the plug changed after the PS swap. I probably won’t mess with it so it doesn’t slow down this job then deal with it later.

Thx for all the help.

 

[rav8]

I got everything else pulled with the diff ready to come out in the morning. I’ll give it another try on the bench tomorrow.

Worst case I put it back together, top off and take it to a shop to get the plug changed after the PS swap. I probably won’t mess with it so it doesn’t slow down this job then deal with it later.

Thx for all the help.

I almost hate to ask but was the diff drain plug this stubborn last time the fluid was changed? Concur with @Rednexus on the welder method. Best of luck.

 

[Rednexus]

I almost hate to ask but was the diff drain plug this stubborn last time the fluid was changed? Concur with @Rednexus on the welder method. Best of luck.

Can't speak for WTITW but I change my front diff fluid yearly and the drain plug is stubborn every time. Even with slathering the plug in anti-seize. I usually have to take it out with my M18 impact. Every other drain plug in the rig comes right out by hand.

 

[WTITW]

was the diff drain plug this stubborn last time the fluid was changed?

Ive never done it. Had a shop do it the last two times. Last time was about 40k miles ago.

 

[WTITW]

Got the diff out. That was fun by myself. Will definitely need help maneuvering it back in.

Struggled for about 90 minutes. The trick was removing the mounting bracket and axle on the drivers side to give me enough room to push the pumpkin over to the drivers side a bit more.

LOTS more room to maneuver now that she's rear wheel drive. High pressure hose looks fairly easy to get to now.

 

[WTITW]

@Rednexus Did you have to do anything on the inside to get the intermediate steering shaft disconnected? Manual calls for disconnecting pretty much everything. Trying to get away with just disconnecting unions at the rack and the intermediate, but not sure how much play I'll have and don't want to bend anything. Did you disconnect the steering shaft after loosening the rack to give yourself some play?

Nvmind. Got it with a long prybar and deadblow.

 

[WTITW]

Can confirm. Steering rack removal without complete engine removal

Had to jack it up about 4 1/2 inches though. I was hoping I’d get away without having to unbolt the fan shroud, but I did. I unbolted the transmission lines from underneath the radiator, a couple cooling line brackets in the engine bay. I had already taken my air box and MAF out.

Passenger side bolt came out easy. Driver side bolt required a somersault towards the rear of the truck to dislodge the bolt first. Then just like the guide says shove the rack through the air arms on the passenger side as far as you can, push the tire rod on the driver side through the air arm to frame mount to free it, sneak the rack out. Drink beer.

 

[Rednexus]

Great job! For getting my diff back in, I awkwardly put it on my floor jack and laid underneath the rig with it. I had my wife operate the floor jack from in front of the rig while I guided the diff to where it needed to be. It was a royal PITA but we did get it hoisted into position. And I about dropped it off the floor jack too. Two-person job for sure.

 

[r2m]

To offer some moral support,...

 

[WTITW]

Managed to get her all put back together. Here is my contraption that allowed me to get the diff installed without help. Its actually leaned the wrong way. The connection to the propeller shaft had to be up to get over the middle cross member.

I did it by tipping the rear bolt upwards and hooking that into the hole on the cross member. Then I jacked it up a bit more and got the passenger side bracket on. Then finally, I bolted the drivers bracket to the frame, and then the pumpkin.

I got everything done except the engine mounts and fixing the drain plug. Engine mounts were seized so leaving that for another day. I’m going to find a shop that will weld a nut on the diff for me. Hoses turned out to be easier than I thought and was able to replace all.

What do you guys run for ps fluid? I used valvoline max life atf dex vi. Felt weird putting tranny fluid in my brand new rack.

 

[Rednexus]

Congrats! I'm currently running MaxLife ATF as PS and it's a bit noisy in cold weather. Before that I've used normal Valvoline Dex IV without issues, including in very cold temps. Not sure if the noise is due to the MaxLife of my pump getting worn out.

 

[r2m]

Managed to get her all put back together. Here is my contraption that allowed me to get the diff installed without help. Its actually leaned the wrong way. The connection to the propeller shaft had to be up to get over the middle cross member.

I did it by tipping the rear bolt upwards and hooking that into the hole on the cross member. Then I jacked it up a bit more and got the passenger side bracket on. Then finally, I bolted the drivers bracket to the frame, and then the pumpkin.

I got everything done except the engine mounts and fixing the drain plug. Engine mounts were seized so leaving that for another day. I’m going to find a shop that will weld a nut on the diff for me. Hoses turned out to be easier than I thought and was able to replace all.

What do you guys run for ps fluid? I used valvoline max life atf dex vi. Felt weird putting tranny fluid in my brand new rack.

View attachment 4057206

I'm telling ya Jake, you missed your calling as an R&D engineer!

 

[Acrad]

How many hours do you think you had into project and would a lift have reduced time a great magnitude?

Did you have to center the new rack to match the old one? Is that easy to tell between the old and new rack? I’ve seen in some other forums that if something is off it can be corrected with alignment but if off it can put more stress on the clock spring if addressed in that manner.

 

[HVLA]

Very impressed. I bet it feels good to have managed that all on your own.

 

[WTITW]

How many hours do you think you had into project and would a lift have reduced time a great magnitude?

Did you have to center the new rack to match the old one? Is that easy to tell between the old and new rack?

Probably 20hrs but a lot of that was messing with the stuck diff drain plug I never got lose and replacing all the hoses carefully, struggling to break loose the motor mounts, etc.

Could probably do it 6-7hrs next time. Im not sure a lift would have helped much on its own but a lift plus a transmission jack would have for sure. The diff does not like staying put on a floor jack.

I laid the racks next to each other to ensure centering. The input shaft gear has a set screw so I used that but they were pretty dead on already. Same number of threads showing on the inner tie rods as the old rack. Lining up the set screw clocking and aligning the racks looked like good enough.

My wheel went back together about 1/8 of a turn off the match marks once centered and steering straight. I could have move the intermediate shaft that much. Not sure.

I had pulled to clock spring but I think it would need like a full turn off to break it in the 460 so note sure that was necessary. My airbag light is on now but Im thinking I need to zero point calibrate and check connections before I worry about that being related. I’ll report back once I ZPC.

Just got it aligned this morning. Still deciding if I should mess with the drain before I put the skids back on.

I bet it feels good to have managed that all on your own.

Yep. Was a four beer Sunday