cr@ves4wheelin

I'm no pro at this so if I did something wrong, please tell me. I also have question to ask after the write-up so hopefully you guys can help me with that.

I ordered my power steering box from WabFab.

First I removed the bolt holding the coolant reservoir. The bolt snapped in two, pretty much a bad omen for what was yet to come.



Took off the air cleaning assembly. I didn't know how to unplug the VAF so I just set the whole thing aside to prevent anything more from breaking.




There it is, even though I mistakenly put power steering fluid in it since high school, it still never let me down. Now it's finally time to let it rest.


So I slid the cover up the steering column


Removed the bolt connecting the universal joint to the worm shaft. At first I thought I was rounding it, put after some persistence I finally was able to loosen it.


Now here's the most stressed out part of this write-up, the power steering lines. My flare wrenches just couldn't do the job and I felt like I was going to round off the edges. So I stopped before I could do any damage.


I needed a better tool, but since I couldn't drive anywhere and my roommate was at school, I just waited. So I went over to the Pitman Arm. Here's my setup to remove it, works everytime.



At this point though, I was stressed out and frustrated having know idea how I was going to get those power steering lines out.


After some time passed my friend got back from school, and drove me to the auto parts store where I found this thing called crows feet flare wrenches. It worked perfectly. It's basically the end of a flare wrench with a square hole for a ratchet.


After having my roommate help me wrestle the old gearbox out and put the new one in, I threaded the fittings back in.



Everything back together and torqued.


I had my friend help me flush out the old power steering fluid. It's all ATF now.

cr@ves4wheelin

Now my problem now is that when I turn all the way to the left and start to turn right, I feel some resistance. It just does it when I start to turn right, but after a short point it will be smooth again. Doesn't happen the opposite way though.

Maybe I didn't bleed it right? Can anyone tell me an easy fix for this or what my problem is?

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Air trapped in the system.

Looks good

:wabbit2:

cr@ves4wheelin

Thank you, I'll see if I can find an easy way to bleed the air out.

Edit: After some reading I guess it is easy, just a long process. I tried turning the wheel lock to lock, not jacked up, and that was only 10 times. I'll jack it up after school, and keep trying.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Great job. That is the easiest way to jack the front end up and get the air out. You will get it. You got the worst part done.

cr@ves4wheelin

Looks like I'm gonna need a bigger jack. The stock jack barely gets both tires off the ground.

Oh and also if you guys were wondering what I did with my coolant reservoir since the bolt broke....

khany2002

Is that the stock air cleaner assembly, or where did you get that from / make it fit??

Cheers, and great swap!

khany2002

cr@ves4wheelin

I'm 100% sure that's the factory Air Cleaner Assembly and thanks.