steering rack service: what i need to perform this at home?

ghostdancing

True Classic
it's for a 128 coupe..my mechanic is a lazy guy, it's been a month i asked him to change the steering rack, but he dont want help me on this..he says is to busy working on the new pandas that got broken everydays..

my rack has the left side arm (passenger side) that goes out of it normal travel.. a refurbished rack (giving back my worn part) it's eu 35,00..so want understand what i need to carry out the job at home..it's just matter of unscrew fastners and fit the new part in? can you explain step by step how to carry out the job?

my spares shop says they come in 2 variants: 14 or 12mm diameter (i guess it's the arms diameter..) can you confirm?
 
Inside the car, undo the pinch bolt that secures the steering column to the steering rack input spline (13 mm hex nut & bolt). Then separate the steering column from the rack. You may need to loosen the steering column bracket bolts to let it slide up enough for the splines to disengage.

Loosen the locking nut for the tie rod end (yellow arrow), and then screw the inner tie rod (the part on the rack) out of the outer tie rod. Do this on both sides (driver & passenger). You may have to remove the clamp on the steering rack boot to allow the inner tie rod to rotate easier (the little white part next to the yellow arrow).

128%20SL%20Coupe%20Steering%20Rack%201.jpg


Once that's done, remove the four bolts that clamp the rack mounting bracket to the firewall (yellow arrows) and it should come out. There is usually an aluminum heat shield that covers the rack boot, so that may have to be removed first. And I have seen some cars with the transmission ground strap attached to one of the rack mounting bolts as well.

128%20SL%20Coupe%20Steering%20Rack%202.jpg


Install the new rack in reverse order.
 
thanks a lot Courtney, this is perfect tutorial (same body color of my car too!); so i dont need to get the wheels up off the ground, correct? there is no risk to disturb the camber\caster angle setting as i dont need to remove the arms that are attached to the wheel hub (dont know their name in english..)..correct?
 
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You are correct. It might be easier with the wheels off the ground but not required. Do check the toe setting when done because that can change easily if you do not get the tie-rod adjustment exactly the same as before. You can get it very close by counting turns of the inner tie-rod end when you unscrew them, or measuring/counting threads shown.
 
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