This post is more for my personal documentation than for others but maybe someone can pull something valuable from my experience. I basically followed this for my 2008:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-KGGUArmZg&t=1506s
With the following additions/changes:
- I could not get to the rack mounting bolts with the sway bar in place. The end links were rusted solid so I removed the sway bar bushings on the subframe which allowed access to the rack mounting bolts. I did not remove end links (initially) as shown in the video.
- I could not get a standard 18mm wrench on the rack pressure line nuts because there wasn't enough room. I remembered someone mentioned they removed their downpipe for more room - I just undid the two studs at the top and set the downpipe as far down and to the right as possible. This allowed me to get my wrench on the lines - I worked by laying on top of the engine for some of the line loosening.
- I lubed the rack mounting areas with brake grease as they weren't sliding in well.
- The sway bar bushings were trashed in the removal and the sway bar was rusting on one end. I ended up cutting off the end links and installing a new sway bar, bushings and end links. Luckily I had purchased this and had it on hand and I'm fortunate to have a sawzall
- I forgot to transfer the plastic line tender to the new rack so I did that after the fact which was a pain.
- Getting the intermediate steering shaft back on is a f*cking pain in the a**. I'd recommend a large pry bar to push down on the hoop of the shaft, a long screwdiver to help guide things and a partner to shimmy the wheel when you get everything nicely lined up. Oh and don't forget your patience.
- I didn't know the bleeding procedure before starting the project which caused me a little grief. The correct procedure from Scotty is with the front tires off the ground and car off turn the wheel lock to lock about 15 times. Then lower the car and check the fluid level. I had more trouble as the p/s pump was making a lot of noise and I had air/froth in the system. To resolve this I used a series of 3 second starts followed by a few minutes of the car off. I was hoping this would purge the froth/air into the reservoir and turn the car off before pulling that contaminated fluid back into the system. A few minutes between allowed most of the bubbles to ride to the top. Also leave the cap off as pressure seemed to be building with the cap on.
Unfortunately this took me about 9 hours since I had to learn a lot along the way and adjust my plan along the way a few different times for unexpected items(downpipe, sway bar). I'm sure it would take about half as long the second go around. I'm glad I was able to complete the job successfully but it was a lot lengthier than expected.
