ArkBird96

Well, I have been noticing some "slop" in my steering lately, with a bit of clunking going on. I suspect my steering rack is bad . I really don't want to shell out the $$$ for the stealership and/or a shop to replace the rack, so i may do it myself. I have a few questions though.

Is this something I can reasonably expect to do myself?

What tools will I need?

How hard is it?

Is it true you have to jack the engine up and remove the mount bolt? How do I do this?

Is there a step by step guide out there?

ArkBird96

TTT. I am taking it in tomorrow to have a shop that I trust take a look at it and see what's wrong.

BassProCamaro97

iTrader: (10)

I believe that you do have to lift the engine to get bolt out of the rack.

It really is not that involved of a process. Take the tie rods out. Disconnect the steering shaft. Lift the engine. Pull the power steering lines and pull the rack off. Then replace.

I know it shounds easier then it is but thats pretty much the big picture.

Good luck.

~Jim~

ArkBird96

OK. Thanks a lot. if the shop says I need a new rack, than I will probably just change it out myself.

tuffluck

iTrader: (4)

you could try tightening the rack as well, it might just be a loose bolt. the two bolts in the k-member are where you tighten it, and you'd have to put a wrench on top of the bolts to keep them from spinning once you put a ratchet underneath.

what makes you think the rack is shot? there are a whole lot of parts down there that when there is a problem they can show a heck of a lot of the same symptoms. i had a problem where my car started cracking and creaking every time i turned at low speeds and it turned out to be a lose camber bolt. so, it may not be your steering rack. i certainly WOULDN'T replace that until you know for sure.

ArkBird96

It is making noise when turning, like a clunk when turning the wheel slightly left to right quickly from the center position. When I had it jacked up when I was changing the oil, I had someone turn the wheel. I felt that "clunk" coming from inside the rack, near the boots on either side. Make sense?

Also, it feels somewhat loose, but that may be the front tires which are also in need of replacement. I am taking the car in tomorrow to get new front tires, so I am also having them check that out as well. I'll let you all know what they find.

twitchtwice

iTrader: (12)

oddly enough i just started a post with somewhat similar symptoms but i have a good feeling mine is because my balljoints are going out. you may want to make sure thats not the problem before you drop the cash on new steering rack.

ArkBird96

OK. I will check on that as well. I suppose it could also be bad front wheel bearings, but the fact they aren't making the typical bearing noise when rolling and that it is coming from both sides seem to rule that out in my opinion.

jmilz28

iTrader: (13)

It probably IS the rack. It's VERY common on these cars and I had to do this myself.
Tightening the bolts may do it for a clunk only. If you're losing alignment and/or seeing a leak, my money is on a bad rack.
Main thing is to find a dealer or shop you trust. Don't fall into the moronic "stealership" mindset - and it is moronic. They're all shops, some are good, some suck. Dealerships are simply brand specialists that tend to have longer warranties. Since they do fewer brands, they are very likely to have seen a lot more cars and problems like yours/ours. However, if you don't trust them, go elsewhere. No point in losing sleep.
If you trust their work, beat them up on parts price a little bit using gmpartsdirect. I would not use a repop as the GM remans are bad enough, the aftermarkets are worse. If you can't get there, pay them the half hour or hour labor for diag, and take your car elsewhere. As long as the car drives, you're not at their mercy.

ArkBird96

bump for update.

I took it into a shop I trust today to check that out and to put new front tires on. my front tires were pretty much down to slicks . They said that there was nothing wrong that they could see with either the front suspension or the rack. I guess I'll just take their word for it. The new tires have fixed the handling issues I think. Thanks for the help!

tuffluck

iTrader: (4)

yeah it could be the rack if it's on both sides. if it were just one side, well that is exactly where the noise was coming from on my car. btw this is what a loose camber bolt will sound like, but mine was only on the driver's side so that's why i doubt you have the same problem simultaneously on both sides.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...ize-noise.html

i don't think that's a smart idea. if you have a clunking noise there is a problem without a doubt. i tried to convince myself i didn't need to worry about it because the car drove and since the problem wasn't an easy one, i wasn't going to waste my time worrying about it. when i took the car in they said the camber bolt was so loose that a deep pothole or just a few more thousand miles would have jarred it loose, potentially causing disastrous results.

i'd say find a reputable mechanic/suspension person and pay the price they ask to get it looked at. clunks in the suspension are never something to overlook.

are either of your front tires leaning in?

xbcrguy182x

I'd check your tie rods first before swapping out the rack.

redhot lt-1

iTrader: (2)

well mine has 212000 miles on been in 2 wrecks with deer and 2 tie rod ends
and still quite. i do have some play in it but runs streight.

lo_jack

iTrader: (27)

If you end up needing to replace the rack, you can do it on ramps without a lift in 90mins or less. Yes, the rack does get put in first at the factory, but you can get that bolt out. Or, you could hack saw it out, and put a new bolt in upside down with a new nylock nut to prevent the bolt from falling completely out if you were worried about that happening. It could be the bushing on the rack mount is dead and needs to be replaced.

barnat

iTrader: (59)

LOL This is what i was going to say LOL Cut the bolts and install new ones from the bottom with locking nuts