All,
Just wanted to add my 2 cents to the service manual just in case you decide to knock it out yourself.
Ride: 95 Camry V6 Auto leaking from the rack boots at 152K. Fluid is clean and near bright red in color. Car is used and history is ???? I am not replacing the pump or lines. In fact I had flushed them days after I got the car. I highly recommend flushing the old system before installing a new rack so keep it free of contamination if the old one had debris or bad fluid in it.
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Here are a couple of things I did different to get the rack out and get it back with out messing around inside the car, screaming profanties or bleeding under the car......
Lowering the back of the engine cradle ~3/4" / 20mm allows easy access to the sway bar bolts. I think it made the job much easier and highly recomend doing this. Below you will also find a quick method to dial in the new rack so the Toe-In is back the way it was (or pretty darn close and your steering wheel is straight) so you don't have to run immediately to the alignment shop.
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1) Before you jack it up, pull the rear O2 sensor, remove the PS hose support at back of intake plenum.
2) Jack it up and support body (not engine cradle), pull wheels off.
3) Position the steering wheel straight and centered. Secure with seat belt.
4) With a 24" extension and a wobble, remove the pinch bolt at the steering column coupler. Turn the wheel to the 11:00 o'clock position if you don't have a wobble.
5) Remove 4 10mm bolts holding the rear fender apron at the bottom (both sides).
6) Pull apron down and Remove the 14mm bolt & 14mm nut connecting the body to the cradle under the apron and
loosen the 19mm bolts holding the cradle. Do this on both sides.
*** NOTE *** Support the cradle in case you run the bolts out of threads and drop the cradle. There is approx 20mm of threads before it departs - BE CAREFUL -
7) Remove the 4 12mm bolts holding the swaybar to the cradle. I also removed the 2 14mm bolts holding the swaybar ends to the lower control arms.
8) Remove the line set and plug the top line with a Golf "T" to keep the mess smaller.
9) Remove the 12mm bolt supporting the lines (right side).
10) With a 19mm wrench, break the tie-rod adjusting nuts loose. Seat them back on the tie-rod end gently.
11) Remove the cotter pin. Loosen the tie-rod end castle nuts (17mm). If you don't have a puller, no worries IF YOU CAN HIT WHERE YOU AIM! With a 16oz hammer take 2-3 good wacks at the
End Of the Steering Arm knuckle where the ball stud pokes through with its nut. I AM NOT SAYING "POUND on the THREADS!"
** Hiting the castings end will momentarily distort the tapered hole and drop the tie-rod end. ** Mine popped easy. 2 swings each -- one to aim, one to smack it. NEVER use a pickle fork unless you want to buy new joints!
12) Remove the 19mm bolts holding the rack in. Yes, the factory tightened them REAL GOOD. Don't slip!
13) Twist pull and slide the leaky old rack out.
14) Center the rack, Turn input shaft all the way one direction. Count back 1.5 turns. This is center, although yours may vary. If uncertain, turn the rack all the way left. Turn it all the way right while carefully counting the turns until it stops. Divide the count by 2. Turn your rack back to the number you just solved. This is center. The rack WILL pump fluid out when turned. Capture it or play in the mess!
15) Align the tie rods so the whole rack assembly is straight to the eye with the ball joints pointing at the ground.
using a CARPENTERS SQUARE and a felt pin align the square to the inside of the Jamb nut and the ground and draw a line on the ground. DO NOT MOVE THE RACK.
With the square, align it to one of the tubes feeding the rack piston. Draw a line on the ground. Go to the other end of the rack and place the square against the jamb nut. Draw a line on the ground. The square helps so you are not guessing about "where the parts are in relation to the ground". A solid cardboard box would work in a pinch.
These three lines now represent your vehicles "TOE-IN" and the basic position of the rack since you centered it and made a reference line to the rack body. I suggest you move the old rack, realign it too the marks and see if all three marks still line up (repeatability test). If so, good job, move on.....
NOTE: If installing new t/r ends and nuts, do some measuring and see if the parts are identical. If they are different it will change your toe-in!
16) Pull the the tie-rod ends and jamb nuts from the old rack.
- Center your new rack (1.5 turns from full lock).
- Install the jamb nuts and tie-rod ends on the new rack.
- Align the rack body to the marks on the floor.
- Adjust the jamb nuts to the lines on the floor, install t/r ends and snug the nuts.
- This should place the toe-in back very close to where it was. It is the total distance between the jamb nuts that determines toe. The posistion of the rack is to help get your steering wheel straight up and down.
- >You should still have the toe and alignment checked at the shop.
Reverse all the them steps and youl'l be back in business. Follow all the flushing and purging instructions to bleed the system.
Hint, WHEN you fire the engine off the resorvoir will be sucked dry instantly! Turn the engine off NOW to prevent pushing air into the system. OR if you have a helper, have them fill the reservoir as the pump sucks it in. Never whip the wheel from side to side. Move it slow until the resorvoir is full and not showing bubbles! Let it sit if you have to and the Air will rise to the top.
Good Luck,
/randy
PS - It took longer to clean up the mess from the torn axel boots and leaky rack than it did to do the work.
MAJOR GRIPE:
WHAT were they thinking when they put the Oil Filter on its side above the mtr mount and exhaust?!
DORKS!
Its time for some of these.....
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(((( EDIT Safety Note: )))))
One thing I should add to the post is to clarify why I tied the steering wheel in place with the seat belt. Some cars can be damaged by removing the rack gear which could allow the steering wheel to spin freely. Now I'm not sure HOW Toyota couples the AIR BAG hot wires through the steering column, but I figure an once of prevention. . . . Please read on for your safety!
If they used slip rings to energize the air bag, no big deal. Spin it. It should be fine. If they used a wound wire, you can damage it. Even turning it one full revolution from center could cause a latent failure.
Not that anyone has a need to do such a thing, but if you do, it could damage or disable the AIRBAG deployment mechanism. I suggest you tie it in place while centered.
** NEVER back off a castle nut to insert the cotter pin. Tighten it to the next notch forward! **
This is the steering, double check your work and tighten everything as tight as it was. You don't want it to come apart later while driving!
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Tags:
1995 Carmy V6 1MZ-FE, Rack and Pinion, short rack, long rack, axle, half shaft, CV joint, power steering, wheel alignment, toe-in, toe in
Rack & pinion and 2 Axels Replaced!
Linear Mode
