Steering System - Manual: Reassembly
- Lubricate pinion shaft bearing and inside of steering gear housing with grease. Install mounting bracket with insulator until bracket contacts edge of steering gear box. Lubricate rack and push into housing from tube side. Ensure housing bushings are not damaged during rack installation. Align flat side at end of rack with pinion shaft hole to allow pinion shaft installation without engaging teeth of either shaft.
- Insert pinion shaft and bearing assembly. Position pinion shaft to center of rack. Ensure components are properly aligned and install snap ring with beveled edge facing upward. Install snap ring cap. Lubricate NEW oil seal and install into housing using Installer (49-F032-308 ). Install pinion protector into housing installer.
- Install pressure pad, pressure pad plate and spring into housing. Ensure pressure pad properly contacts rack. Apply thread sealant to adjusting cover and install. Tighten adjusting cover to 29-43 ft. lbs. (39-58 N.m). Install adjusting bolt and tighten to 8.7 INCH lbs. (1.0 N.m). Loosen bolt 10-40 degrees. Ensure bolt does not move. Install and tighten lock nut to specification. See TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS table.
- Using pull gauge and Preload Lever (49-0180-510B ), measure pinion shaft starting torque. At center, starting torque should be 32-46 ozs. (907-1304 g). At other positions, starting torque should be less than 56 ozs. (1591 g).
- Install tie rods. Carefully slide boots on tie rods. Using NEW boot bands and boot wires, secure boots. For initial adjustment, install tie rod ends aligning reference marks.