Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting WE NEED: Power Steering Rack How-TO/ I'm startin 1

Following in the footsteps of Ray, this thread will be a "rough draft" of a power steering rack installation how-to thread. From reading every thread with "power steering rack" in it, it appears that several members have installed one in their vehicles. My rack went, and I will be getting a new one (http://steeringrack.com/product_info.php/cPath/1/products_id/3984)

I will be taking pictures as I remove and install.

Here's autozone's how to:
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/d6/6d/0900823d801bd66d.jsp

I have the ford cd's how to as well, cd's are here:
http://www.jonheese.com/fordcds/

If any members have done a ps rack install please post any tips or suggestions you have. After reading both how to's listed above, there has to be some ways of removing and istalling without doing all 80 steps.

I found this thread useful :http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=812179&Forum=trouble&Words=power%20steering%20rack&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=100&Old=allposts&Main=811939&Search=true#Post812179

PLEASE IF YOU INSTALLED A PS RACK, POST HERE WITH TIPS AND TRICKS

Updates will be made as I progress.

Here is the Mitchell removal instructions for a 95/ Contour or Mystique.




REMOVAL:
1.Disconnect negative battery cable. Turn ignition switch to Run position. Remove access panel from below steering column.Rmove 4 screws from steering column boot at dash panel and slide boot up intermediate shaft.

2. Remove intermediate shaft bolt at gear input shaft. Loosen bolt at steering column shaft joint. Using a screwdriver,spread slots enough to loosen intermediate shaftat both ends.Intermediate shaft and gear pinion shaft cannot be seperated at this time.

3.Seperate pressure and return lines at steering gear and drain fluid.Remove pressure switch.Disconnect exhaust secondar tube at check valve.Disconnect exhaust system at intermediate connection.

4.Remove cotter pins and castle nuts at outer tie rod ends.
Using tie rod end remover ( tool-3290-D ), rmove tie rod ends fromsteering knuckles. On manual transmission vehicles, mark and remove left tie rod end to provide tie rod clearance past shift linkage. On automatic transmission vehicles, disconnect speedometer cable and remove speed sensor and shift cable assembly.

5. On all models, turn steering gear to full left stop.Remove gear mounting brackets and insulators. Put a cloth over both apron opening edges to protect boots during gear removal.Seperate gear from intermediate shaft.

6. Rotate gear forward and down to clear pinion shaft through dash panel opening. Ensure pinion shaft is in full left turn position.Move gear through right side apron opening until left tie rod clears left apron opening. Remove gear from vehicle, using care not to tear boots.

So yesterday I took everything apart. Catalytic bolts were gone so had to snap them off, gonna have to get a new Y pipe. Oops. Got two front subframe bolts off with not problem, went to take front off and they feel like they are slipping inside a nut. The passenger side is down more than driver, but both just spin in place and do not budge. Even with pressure down on the washer as I turn they just thread in place.

So I am thinking about cutting them off. I was going to cut the heads off first, lower the subframe and complete the rack switch. Then cut the remaining part thats sticking out but for the bit remaining in there I do know what to do. I can't find the bolts anywhere online so I may have to order them from a ford dealership.

Any recommendations. I haven't removed them yet cause I'm concerned about getting that remaining bit out of there. Thanks for your help.


-dstock

I've been doing some research on LCA's lately and I've come across many posts w/ the spinning bolt issue. If you do a search, you should be able to find the fix. I believe it has something to do with slats in the floor that you can cut and gain access to the nut that the bolt threads into. Hope that helps.