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Rack and pinion replacement questions

suitercrew

suitercrew

New member
Hey guys my rack and pinion is leaking and feels sloppy. Also because of it leaking at one point in time I ran the resevoir dry and now my pump makes a whining noise. So I'm planning on replacing the rack and pump. My dad also recommended I replace the lines just in case there were metal fragments or anything from the pump being ran with no fluid in it. My question is how hard would this job be for a average backyard mechanic with only a Jack and jackstands. I have seen and read the how tos and it seems like an easy job if you have a lift but with only a Jack it seems like quite a b*tch. Also I'm looking at the ac Delco remanufactured parts as the parts I will be using. Does anyone recommend these parts or is there a different brand I should look at buying? Thank you!!

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I went with a Delco rack and stock pump. Been fine for over 150K now.

Pump isn't too hard, you just have to remember to disconnect the rear knock sensor wire harness from the pump or you will rip it out when you remove the pump IIRC. Then just go through the holes in the pulley to get to the bolts for the pump. Think there is 3. Rack can be done easiest by dropping the rear of the subframe. Lines at the rack should be 18MM. It's not easy w/o a lift, but not impossible. If you've never done it then it'll likely kill a weekend. I did the rack in my 00 GT and didn't even bother dropping the subframe. Just make sure you get the correct rack if you have Magnasteer.
 
Finally I'm not the only one that didn't drop the subframe everyone argues it but it's really not necessary lol


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Nice! Seems farely simple then. What is your guys opinion on replacing the lines to? If the pump runs dry could it really get metal shavings in the system?

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Since you don't really get weather and stuff if they aren't rusted I wouldn't bother mine were rusted so I changed them. But they are fairly cheap they only cost like $20 a line at advanced auto parts. I did have a problem with my return line the little cheap clamps leaked around the rubber to hard line so I put some fuel injection clamps on. The pressure line is nice though just had a issue with the return line from advanced auto parts. If your concerned about metal shavings just flush them out.


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Tonkin2000GT said:
Since you don't really get weather and stuff if they aren't rusted I wouldn't bother mine were rusted so I changed them. But they are fairly cheap they only cost like $20 a line at advanced auto parts. I did have a problem with my return line the little cheap clamps leaked around the rubber to hard line so I put some fuel injection clamps on. The pressure line is nice though just had a issue with the return line from advanced auto parts. If your concerned about metal shavings just flush them out.


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Haha ya I don't get weather. Luckily it's also not to hot yet. I'm going to get under the car again on my next day off and re look at things. Its really hard to say if it's the rack leaking or just the lines , and I know my sd headers are less then an inch away from the lines so I always wondered if maybe they were hitting under shifts or hard acceleration. If they were hitting I think it would be very possible a line just came loose, I haven't checked the connections yet.

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Does anyone have a part number for the ps pulley puller? I googled it and looked on Amazon and there's a bunch of them so I'm not sure which one is right.

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I replaced my first rack this winter and I planned for about 4 hours having read various writeups. I'm a probably a bit more hesitant as I proceed but it took about 8-9 hours by the time I wrapped everything up. Part of the extra time was having to unbolt and drop the down pipe for more room to disconnect the line and having to cut the end links off the sway bar due to rust.

If I hadn't run into any problems it may have been closer to 6 hour and if I had to do it again, probably 3-4 hours. I used a NAPA rack because it has a warranty and they are right down the road if it ever starts leaking - that is worth quite a bit to me.

Best of luck!
 
suitercrew said:
Does anyone have a part number for the ps pulley puller? I googled it and looked on Amazon and there's a bunch of them so I'm not sure which one is right.

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it will say GM p/s puller. most parts stores have it for rental or for sale. its pretty cool how it grabs that little nub around the shaft on the pulley.
 


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