Energy Suspension Polyurethane P/S Rack Bushing Install
Freshly shipped bushings:
The project:
After removing the front wheel I found that it makes life much easier to remove the brake calipers (two 11/16” bolts ea. caliper) and rotors, then proceed to loosen the disc brake shield (four 1/2” bolts) and rotate so that notch is facing the rear of the truck and tie rod end links are exposed. Next you will want to remove the cotter pin and (one nut ea. Side 3/4”) crown nut off the tie rod end. Lastly disconnect the steering shaft from the rack pump (one 12mm bolt). You may have to pry the clamp apart a little bit.
Separating the tie rod ends I found using a pickle fork and a big hammer is the easiest way to separate it from the spindle. However if you are not replacing the end links I would find an alternate way to separate them, so that you don’t destroy the bushings.
After I unhooked all steering link components I proceeded to drain the power steering fluid system. I started by removing p/s reservoir cap. Then I purged the two ports located on rear side of rack (two 9/16” fittings) and then the two ports located on the rear of rack pump housing (two 17mm fittings). After draining stops rotate the pump shaft both ways to purge until remains of the fluid are out.
On the passenger side loosen bolt (one 10mm) that fastens the pressure lines to rack.
Now that the system was drained I continued on to unbolting all the structural components. The rack is connected to the frame by (four 3/4” bolts - three horizontal, one vertical). Note: the horizontal bolts are a breeze, but the vertical center bolt will take some thought lol. I ended up using my socket wrench and pipe extension and bolt came out like cake. Also note that the drivers side horizontal bolt should be removed for easy rack removal.
Its time to remove the rack!
Existing bushings… Yuck!
To remove the existing rubber bushings I used a 1/2” deep well socket and large hammer. Center the socket on bushing and commence the pounding lol. BTW pound existing bushing out the front side of rack. After all bushings are removed you will find debris formed to the inner walls from friction. Take a lightweight sand paper and lightly hone down the walls until debris is scuffed off.
Installing Energy Suspension bushings is a breeze. The cylinder shaped bushings are two piece with steel inner sleeve. Simply tap bushings in on both sides, and then tap in the steel inner sleeve.
To reinstall just read back through procedure
This is my power steering rack bushing install DIY. Hope you have enjoyed it, or at least learned something haha.
The p/s rack bellow project will be next. Ran out of time for this weekend (picture at top). Will add the tie rod end removal and bellow replacement project later
__________________
Theres a gator in the bush and hes callin my name.
Last edited by Ironman02 : 09-28-2009 at 12:01 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to Ironman02 For This Useful Post:
So I changed out my steering rack bushing this week (while still on vehicle) and thought Id post my experience. I won’t bother with the obvious (jack up the truck, use blocks) because that has already been covered in other post.
The first mistake I made was the middle bolt (vertical) is removed from the top of the rack and not the bottom. That bottom nut is welded to the frame. Sorta hard to see this with all the dirt. I stripped it trying to remove it. Opps! I think I moved the truck trying to turn it.
After loosening all the bolts I cut the old rubber bushing end off the drivers side bushing (horizontal) (bushing side facing the rear of truck) and stuck a small screw driver (small ice pick would work good too) between the bushing and housing and wd40 it up really good. I then grabbed the washer that is attached to this bushing metal insert with a pair of channel locks and wiggled it out inch by inch ( this washer is facing the front of the truck between the rack and the truck frame).
I then cut the top of the middle (vertical) rubber bushing off at the top and ran a small screw driver between the housing and bushing and sprayed with wd40. I then put a vise grip on the metal insert and wiggled it out. Clean up was easy with brake cleaner. The passenger end bushing is a breeze to remove and reinstall just be sure to clean rack up before reinstalling.
After cleaning the rack up I installed (grease these new bushings up good so you don’t have any squeaks) the drivers side bushing first by hand then with a glue clamp. I then installed (pressed) the metal bushing into the poly with the glue clamp. I repeated this process for the middle one also. Everything went together pretty easy from here on out. I loosely bolted the drivers side first then the passenger side. I lined the middle up and tightened the drivers bolt which lined the middle bolt up perfect. Tightened everything down then tested it out.
The passenger rack still moves a little but nothing like before. The drivers side is rock solid. I had the truck aligned a week ago (before the install) and only had 1,000 miles on the alignment. I took it back to the shop after my install and was told the right front wheel was out 30 degrees and the left 10 degrees. I’m not sure why this was considering I didn’t break the tie rods up. Guess moving the rack around can mess the alignment up. While at the alignment shop there was a 02’ tdr ac with 170,000 miles on it and that trucks rack was rock solid. I talked to the owner and he states he has never had trouble with the rack. His truck clearly was used and abused more than mine so go figure.
The steering is tight now with no slop at all. However the drivers side D bushing does have some movement. This concerns me a bit and I will contact Energy Suspension and ask about this. They have a forum and product support here that seems to be manned.
Sorry no picture I couldnt figure out how to post them.
Glad you got through this project, sounds like you may have taken the hard road though. I could not imagine doing this with the rack on the truck, but god bless you for doing it. When you did this project did you take out the steering column shaft bolt?
To post pictures you need to upload pictures to Photobucket and then extract the IMG code and past it in your post. PM me if you need more help with that.
Great job man, hope to see pics soon!
__________________
Theres a gator in the bush and hes callin my name.
No I didnt touch the steering column bolt The job was actually pretty easy. I know I could do it in half the time now. I'm betting I could do it in 1 an hour now clean up included.
Im going to monkey around with the pictures later today. I may have to take you up on some help. Ill keep you posted.
I sent this to Energy to get their feedback on my passenger side bushing movement. Im waiting for a replay.
Quote:
Unfortunately Im a total newb at creating video . Im sorry to say I used my digital camera to get these images and uploaded them on youtube. My concern is the movement in the passenger side new bushing replacement. I know that the left to right movement can't be much because the drivers side is not moving around much. That leaves the middle bushing and the passenger bushing to move around a bit more than I would like. What do you guys think??
Wow what a difference! My thoughts on the movement you are still having may be from damaged brackets, nuts/ bolts that have backed out a little or a defective bushing.
I'm interested in hearing their reply.
__________________
Theres a gator in the bush and hes callin my name.
Those bolts are all tight. The bracket looked good with no dents or bends. Im thinking the middle and/or the passenger bushing is a tad to small but Ill let Energy check it out from the video. Im hoping they send me a new middle and passenger side bushing but we will see. They are experts on this sort of stuff Im sure they will have a solution. I like that they have a forum to post stuff like this at. Seems like a really good company.
I will keep you posted.
On a side note: Check out my gameroom cash. heehee I dont gamble well.
Last edited by alligatorgar : 10-02-2009 at 09:10 PM.
