Bennito

I was going to add this info to the 10 page write-up, but that thread is in limbo right now (in the maintenance / repair archive that I can't post to). That's my excuse for a redundant thread. Here's my report:

After 110k miles, I popped a front anti-sway bar u-strap bolt while doing some easy wheeling. (Yes, with those Wabfab disco's I should have not been so lazy at the trailhead) While the skid was off and the sway bar was out, I decided to replace the steering rack bushings.

Okay, I need to take one more step back. A year ago my ride felt tippy in corners. Especially compared to my buddy's 2002 Taco. Yeah, his ride is newer & I've got a 1" lift. Still, no comparison (his truck felt tight, mine felt sloppy and it made me mad). That has been in my mind ever since. 6 months ago I put on the Wabfab discos and noticed the bushings were trashed. The new end-links helped - but in comparison my truck still felt sloppy.

When I pulled the front anti-sway bar I found the old bushings to be well worn (substantial portions of the u-strap bushings were worn away). The steering rack bushings didn't look as bad - but they certainly had seen better days.

I bought the energy suspension steering rack kit from Wheeler's offroad and the front anti-sway bar bushing kit from Wheeler's offroad. I was a bit concerned about having to ream out the steering rack's center mounting sleeve. The E/S kit came with a separate baggied sleeve. hmm...I secretly hoped this solved the issue. In fact, that new (gray) sleeve was the correct size for the center mounting bracket.

Follow the instructions linked in the 10 page thread. They were good. By far the most difficult task is getting the rack back into place (esp the center mounting point). After much frustration I worked backwards. That is, I used the passenger and driver side mounts to pull the rack into place, then secured the center mount.

One more hint, I used a c-clamp and two disc-style spark plug gap tools for pressing in the new bushings. Finally a good use for those crappy dials.

I finished up the sway bar u-strap bushings and re-secured the end links. Quick work in comparison to the steering rack.

End result - My truck feels much tighter. No, its not quite as tight as new. But its a vast improvement. So much so I'm debating replacing the rear-anti-sway bar bushings next.

overall - for 3 hours of work and 30$ it was a GREAT project. Strangely, I didn't think that while I was re-installing the steering rack.