I just changed out the rack on my 90 Max. I followed all of the steps in the manual and the advice on this site. It works great but the steering is exactly 180 off. I had the wheels locked perfectly straight, I could be wrong, but my guess is the rack came 180 off and I did not notice it. My question is can I pull the linkage, straighten the steering wheel and put the linkage back on with out taking the rack back off. It was a PITA and I would prefer to fix my problem with a minimal amount of pain if possible. Any advice is appreciated.


Nav

 

Get it as closed to true as possible yourself and get it the alignment shop asap....


wiking has a write up on DIY alignment...http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/18

 

I took the car to firestone after I changed out the rack and they wanted $300 to straigten straighten the steering. Is there a way to straighten my steering 180 degrees without taking my rack all the way back off?

Nav

 

i am assuming that when you say it 180 off that you are referring to the steering wheel. i don't know what firestone was thinking they would have to do. did thay look at the car first or just throw a price at you? if its the second part, go find another shop. The firestone by me plays subtle games. i will get an alignment there if its on sale, but because i don't have bridgestone tires, they always drop my tire pressure down to 20 psi all around.

but go to wikings web site like mygreenmax94 posted and see if the alignment is radically off. its probably a little off, but i'm betting that the steering wheel turned while you had the car apart. pull the rack off the firewall if you have to and re-connect the steering column half a turn.

 

I've never done a rack on a 3rd gen before, but I've done racks and steering boxes on other makes/models. You're correct, the rack was probably not centered when installed. The easiest fix, disconnect the sterring wheel, reposition, re-install. Since you already had an alignment there should be no need to get another one. Even with a steering wheel that's 180* off centered, it is possible to set a toe adjustment to spec. It may take you a couple tries of removing the steering wheel, but I can bet that's exactly what Firestone (or any one else) would have done and still charged you $300.

 

Thanks for the advice! I adjusted the steering wheel, way easier than taking the rack off again. The steering feels great with the new rack & tie rods. Next jobs, repair head unit, replace antenna, and hood struts. I'm getting tired of using a stick to prop the hood up...

 

watch out.. I don't know if your '90 has a clock spring/spiral cable in it, but it's possible to ruin it since the steering jacked up now. you might want to pull the spiral cable out and readjust it, then put the whole thing back together.