Fun with steering gear box replacement
08-10-2009, 07:48 AM
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Fun with steering gear box replacement
Long story short:
Steering gear box started leaking, steering was already a little sloppy. Added the power steering fluid guaranteed to stop leaks (can't remember name right now, and yes I know it's supposed to use ATF, not PS fluid) to get through state inspection. Worked fine, but steering getting worse, even after tightening up backlash adjuster. Bought remanufactured gear box and replaced, along with shot tie rod ends that I found in the process. Had wheels aligned and now I'm smilin
Long story long (with trials, tribulations, and pointers):
I set aside all day saturday for the fun job of replacing the steering gear. Being the clever guy that I am, I sprayed every nut/bolt/etc I could find with PB blaster the night before and went to sleep smiling smugly at my forethought
Got up early Sat morning, fed the dog, made a pot of coffee, double-checked the beer supply, put on grubby clothes and hit the garage. Had tools and parts ready: remanufactured gear box ready to go, new ATF fluid, BIG 1/2" breaker bar, 17mm crows foot, pitman arm puller, big syringe and rubber hose, PB blaster, lots of rags, and big fan to stay "cool" and keep mosquitos off of me. (It's impossible to stay cool this time of the year in Houston).
First few steps went fine: jack up front tires off the ground, place jack stands, cover ground with cardboard (for my comfort and oil spill control), move radiator reservoir out of the way, remove air box and intake tube, and drain PS reservoir with syringe/hose. Feeling good--kill first mug of coffee. I'm sure the smart kids in the crowd have spotted my first(?) mistake...
Time to get dirty: disconnect PS hoses from reservoir and stuff open ends with paper towel to minimize oozing, set up catch pan under steering gear, get on high pressure fitting on gear box with 17mm crow's foot, 10" wobble extension, 10" regular extension, and 3/8" breaker bar. Start cranking and snap, whump, crap! First blood (knuckle). But hey the fitting came loose.
Get on low pressure fitting with same set up. No joy. Fitting starts round off. No problem, I just remove hose clamp and leave fitting stub attached to gear box. Clean up mess from all the fluid that is now covering the gear box and cardboard on the floor. Kill second mug of coffee.
Pointer #1: drain the system just like the FSM says--remove return line from reservoir and empty system into container while running engine. Do this BEFORE removing air box/intake/AFM. Doh!
Time for the grunt work: remove big nut attaching pitman arm to gear box, insert pitman arm puller, and start cranking. Grunt, grunt, snap! Hey that wasn't so bad--aww crap, pitman arm puller broke. Utter few choice words, kill last of coffee, spray more PB blaster on splined shaft, get cleaned up and go eat something, since I'm getting a little jittery by now.
Make run to auto parts store and get warranty replacement on pitman arm puller. No ma'am, I'm not sure what happened, it just broke. Get back home and dig out 5# hammer. Beat on pitman arm. Ahh, that feels good. Insert puller and tension up just to "that point". Apply more 5# hammer. Hmm, still nothing. Get out torch, apply heat until PB blaster is bubbling out of splines on shaft. Apply more hammer, then try cranking on puller. No joy. Apply more PB blaster. Go get beer. Apply more hammer. Still no joy. Lunch time and web surfing for pitman arm fork/wedge. Find out there isn't a wedge/fork large enough in existance (at least on intarweb) to fit around splined shaft.
Go back to garage. puller has been sitting tensioned up for a couple of hours at this point. Go through heat, hammer, PB blaster routine a couple of more times. Still no joy. Get beer. Take hard look at assembly and realize I can remove gear box with pitman arm attached, so pop other end of pitman arm. Realize that my inner tie-rod ends are shot (probably most of the cause of my sloppy steering). Don't want to think too much about just replacing them instead of what I'm in the middle of No problem, go inside and make a couple of phone calls for pitman arm and tie rod ends. Nobody has in stock, but can have in my Monday. Order from rockauto and pay for overnight ship--still come out ahead. Punt for rest of day. More beer.
Decide to finish up the top end work on Sunday morning, then wait for parts. Okay, time to remove gear box: loosen u-joint pinch bolt at gear box, look at other end of steering shaft and realize that if I loosen the pinch bolt on the u-joint up by the firewall there’s enough room to slide the whole shaft up to clear the input shaft on the steering gear (pointer #2) –ahh, those clever Toyota engineers… Proceed to remove 3 bolts clamping steering gear to frame. Remove gear box with no problem. Now, with steering gear box at my feet on the garage floor, remove the low pressure fitting that I couldn't get out before. Install fitting on new gear box and install new gear box with no problem. Took my time to make sure I had the steering gear “centered”, and my steering wheel centered, before I connect the steering shaft. Reconnect fluid lines and torque up. Reinstall air intake/AFM. Fill reservoir and bleed all per FSM (maybe those guys knew what they were talking about).
Now it’s time to wait for parts. Take a few swings at the pitman arm with my 5# hammer while standing on the gear box just to see if it will pop off, now that I can get a clear shot at it. Decide to stop before I do something stupid like break my ankle with the hammer.
Come home Tuesday to find the awaited cardboard box on the front porch. Looking at the label, I realize that they drop shipped from the other side of Houston. Dang! I probably could have just paid for regular shipping and still got it “overnight”. File for future reference. Open up boxes and find that new tie rod ends have zerk fittings (old ones didn’t). Cool. Measure tie rods, install new tie rod ends, and try to match to old lengths. Notice that zerk fittings on tie-rods come EXTREMELY close to hitting frame as wheels swing through side-to-side. Hmmm, hope they clear once everything is installed and torqued… Time to install new pitman arm. Realize that things weren’t balanced very well before (different tie rod lengths, pitman arm and idler arm not pointing straight ahead when wheels did, etc.) Maybe no big deal, but being the anal engineer that I am, decide to loosen tie-rods and do everything “right”. Install everything so that when steering wheel is straight, steering gear is centered, and pitman arm and idler arm are both pointing straight ahead. Torque everything down and start cranking tie-rod adjusters so that wheels are visually straight. Swing front wheels lock-to-lock while watching zerk fittings on back of tie-rod ends. Whew, they clear (barely).
Time to clean up. Jack up runner, remove jack stands, lower runner, throw away nasty cardboard, clean up tools, and have a cold one. All just in time to head out for an Astros game.
Drop the runner off for alignment the next morning and pick up after work. Man, it sure drives nice now!
I’m sure I left out something, but hopefully someone will find this useful, or at least entertaining. Feel free to ask me about any particulars.
So I’ve got an old worn out (but non-leaking) gear box laying in the garage if anyone in the Houston area needs one for a core exchange. I’ll let it go CHEAP (like for a seis of good beer).
Next project: replacing the front driveshafts to fix the split CV joint boots that I noticed (or caused) while I was doing tie-rod ends.
-Joe
Steering gear box started leaking, steering was already a little sloppy. Added the power steering fluid guaranteed to stop leaks (can't remember name right now, and yes I know it's supposed to use ATF, not PS fluid) to get through state inspection. Worked fine, but steering getting worse, even after tightening up backlash adjuster. Bought remanufactured gear box and replaced, along with shot tie rod ends that I found in the process. Had wheels aligned and now I'm smilin
Long story long (with trials, tribulations, and pointers):
I set aside all day saturday for the fun job of replacing the steering gear. Being the clever guy that I am, I sprayed every nut/bolt/etc I could find with PB blaster the night before and went to sleep smiling smugly at my forethought
Got up early Sat morning, fed the dog, made a pot of coffee, double-checked the beer supply, put on grubby clothes and hit the garage. Had tools and parts ready: remanufactured gear box ready to go, new ATF fluid, BIG 1/2" breaker bar, 17mm crows foot, pitman arm puller, big syringe and rubber hose, PB blaster, lots of rags, and big fan to stay "cool" and keep mosquitos off of me. (It's impossible to stay cool this time of the year in Houston).
First few steps went fine: jack up front tires off the ground, place jack stands, cover ground with cardboard (for my comfort and oil spill control), move radiator reservoir out of the way, remove air box and intake tube, and drain PS reservoir with syringe/hose. Feeling good--kill first mug of coffee. I'm sure the smart kids in the crowd have spotted my first(?) mistake...
Time to get dirty: disconnect PS hoses from reservoir and stuff open ends with paper towel to minimize oozing, set up catch pan under steering gear, get on high pressure fitting on gear box with 17mm crow's foot, 10" wobble extension, 10" regular extension, and 3/8" breaker bar. Start cranking and snap, whump, crap! First blood (knuckle). But hey the fitting came loose.
Get on low pressure fitting with same set up. No joy. Fitting starts round off. No problem, I just remove hose clamp and leave fitting stub attached to gear box. Clean up mess from all the fluid that is now covering the gear box and cardboard on the floor. Kill second mug of coffee.
Pointer #1: drain the system just like the FSM says--remove return line from reservoir and empty system into container while running engine. Do this BEFORE removing air box/intake/AFM. Doh!
Time for the grunt work: remove big nut attaching pitman arm to gear box, insert pitman arm puller, and start cranking. Grunt, grunt, snap! Hey that wasn't so bad--aww crap, pitman arm puller broke. Utter few choice words, kill last of coffee, spray more PB blaster on splined shaft, get cleaned up and go eat something, since I'm getting a little jittery by now.
Make run to auto parts store and get warranty replacement on pitman arm puller. No ma'am, I'm not sure what happened, it just broke. Get back home and dig out 5# hammer. Beat on pitman arm. Ahh, that feels good. Insert puller and tension up just to "that point". Apply more 5# hammer. Hmm, still nothing. Get out torch, apply heat until PB blaster is bubbling out of splines on shaft. Apply more hammer, then try cranking on puller. No joy. Apply more PB blaster. Go get beer. Apply more hammer. Still no joy. Lunch time and web surfing for pitman arm fork/wedge. Find out there isn't a wedge/fork large enough in existance (at least on intarweb) to fit around splined shaft.
Go back to garage. puller has been sitting tensioned up for a couple of hours at this point. Go through heat, hammer, PB blaster routine a couple of more times. Still no joy. Get beer. Take hard look at assembly and realize I can remove gear box with pitman arm attached, so pop other end of pitman arm. Realize that my inner tie-rod ends are shot (probably most of the cause of my sloppy steering). Don't want to think too much about just replacing them instead of what I'm in the middle of
No problem, go inside and make a couple of phone calls for pitman arm and tie rod ends. Nobody has in stock, but can have in my Monday. Order from rockauto and pay for overnight ship--still come out ahead. Punt for rest of day. More beer. Decide to finish up the top end work on Sunday morning, then wait for parts. Okay, time to remove gear box: loosen u-joint pinch bolt at gear box, look at other end of steering shaft and realize that if I loosen the pinch bolt on the u-joint up by the firewall there’s enough room to slide the whole shaft up to clear the input shaft on the steering gear (pointer #2) –ahh, those clever Toyota engineers… Proceed to remove 3 bolts clamping steering gear to frame. Remove gear box with no problem. Now, with steering gear box at my feet on the garage floor, remove the low pressure fitting that I couldn't get out before. Install fitting on new gear box and install new gear box with no problem. Took my time to make sure I had the steering gear “centered”, and my steering wheel centered, before I connect the steering shaft. Reconnect fluid lines and torque up. Reinstall air intake/AFM. Fill reservoir and bleed all per FSM (maybe those guys knew what they were talking about).
Now it’s time to wait for parts. Take a few swings at the pitman arm with my 5# hammer while standing on the gear box just to see if it will pop off, now that I can get a clear shot at it. Decide to stop before I do something stupid like break my ankle with the hammer.
Come home Tuesday to find the awaited cardboard box on the front porch. Looking at the label, I realize that they drop shipped from the other side of Houston. Dang! I probably could have just paid for regular shipping and still got it “overnight”. File for future reference. Open up boxes and find that new tie rod ends have zerk fittings (old ones didn’t). Cool. Measure tie rods, install new tie rod ends, and try to match to old lengths. Notice that zerk fittings on tie-rods come EXTREMELY close to hitting frame as wheels swing through side-to-side. Hmmm, hope they clear once everything is installed and torqued… Time to install new pitman arm. Realize that things weren’t balanced very well before (different tie rod lengths, pitman arm and idler arm not pointing straight ahead when wheels did, etc.) Maybe no big deal, but being the anal engineer that I am, decide to loosen tie-rods and do everything “right”. Install everything so that when steering wheel is straight, steering gear is centered, and pitman arm and idler arm are both pointing straight ahead. Torque everything down and start cranking tie-rod adjusters so that wheels are visually straight. Swing front wheels lock-to-lock while watching zerk fittings on back of tie-rod ends. Whew, they clear (barely).
Time to clean up. Jack up runner, remove jack stands, lower runner, throw away nasty cardboard, clean up tools, and have a cold one. All just in time to head out for an Astros game.
Drop the runner off for alignment the next morning and pick up after work. Man, it sure drives nice now!
I’m sure I left out something, but hopefully someone will find this useful, or at least entertaining. Feel free to ask me about any particulars.
So I’ve got an old worn out (but non-leaking) gear box laying in the garage if anyone in the Houston area needs one for a core exchange. I’ll let it go CHEAP (like for a seis of good beer).
Next project: replacing the front driveshafts to fix the split CV joint boots that I noticed (or caused) while I was doing tie-rod ends.
-Joe
08-10-2009, 11:51 AM
#2
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Location: maple ridge, British Columbia, Canada
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Nice job! I have to do this soon, stupid PS fluid!
My tie rods had the zerk fittings on the back, when my idler and pitman got some play in them it let the tre's smack the frame and punch out the zerk fittings... not cool.
Now I have to either drill and tap them for biger zerks or get new TRE's..
My tie rods had the zerk fittings on the back, when my idler and pitman got some play in them it let the tre's smack the frame and punch out the zerk fittings... not cool.
Now I have to either drill and tap them for biger zerks or get new TRE's..
08-10-2009, 11:59 AM
#3
08-10-2009, 12:40 PM
#5
Contributing Member
I have an extra leaky but otherwise good one now, after replacing mine during my engine rebuild 
I even took the time to purdy-up the junk yard gear box that only had about 120k on it
maybe between the two of our bad ones we can make one good one, sell it as reconditioned, and split the profit!
I even took the time to purdy-up the junk yard gear box that only had about 120k on it
maybe between the two of our bad ones we can make one good one, sell it as reconditioned, and split the profit!
Last edited by iamsuperbleeder; 08-10-2009 at 12:42 PM.
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