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1989 Honda Accord Lxi, 4-dr sedan, A20A3 FI engine, 5-speed Manual transmission (MT), 250K miles, Built in Ohio
Wow! I am stuck and stuck in what looks like a big way and I am hoping the kind gents here can once again help me out! As background I watched Eric’s videos (1999 Civic, Pts 1 & 2) on steering rack removal several times. Also have the Service Manual for this car. But I am stuck and unable to pull the old rack out!
Service Manual suggests the following steps:
Disconnect liquid lines
Remove the control unit from the rack
Remove the shift extension from the transmission case (MT)
Disconnect the gear shift rod from the transmission case (MT)
Remove the center beam
Remove the A exhaust pipe
Drop end brackets and the rack just falls out! LOL!After I pulled the two gear box mounts, I studied the situation and it was clear the first thing to do was pull the center beam as that acted like a third mounting bracket. (next to no clearance) So I did that thanks to impact wrench! Stuck my hands up in there and saw that I had nearly an inch between the shift extension, shift rod and A Pipe to play with. So far so good. {see pics}
But once I busted the steering column loose the rack dropped down but is now hung up on some beefy brackets that hold the end of the lower control arms! Even IF I stripped all of the items out of the way that the manual calls for, these two brackets appear to be the crux of the issue – they still hinder removal! In fact, they don’t allow the rack to drop down enough to be able to clear the fire wall!
What to do next? I recognize anything I do to the old rack to remove it, I’ll have to do to the new rack in reverse order. Do I tear the bracket off the left side and get enough drop down to clear the firewall? Or is that a nightmare waiting to happen with the LCA etc.?
SOS! 🙂
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This page goes through the procedure. I found this info part-way through the process:
[i]1. Shift the tie rods so they are simulating a left turn.
2. Remove the gearbox mounting bolts.
3. Slide the gearbox right until the left tie rod clears the bottom of the rear beam. Remove the gearbox.[/i]Hope it helps.
Oops! My bad! Should have included this picture with the prior set!
Here is how the rack sits and why I can’t get it out – it won’t drop down any further due to those darn brackets. I think if this was below he “firewall” then I’d be able to jigger the thing around and get it out.
I dont know if it would help… but if you take out the inner and outer tie rods… you might be able to wigglke it out….you should get a front end alignment anyways
Wow Thanks Evil-i! Really appreciate your fast reply today. That information allowed me to head back out and try again! (taking breaks WAS one of the things Eric suggested in the video!)
I was afraid to turn the rack, as Eric has said always keep the wheels straight. But I figured what the heck, I’ll try it anyway. So stuck the U-joint on and cranked it all of the way left. Guess I didn’t realize how much travel is in the tie rod as that pulled the boot all of the way through that bracket and allowed the unit to drop down. Still had to take the bolts off the shift extension and the gear shift rod as well as drop the A-Pipe, but once all of that was done, yeah, the rack just “fell” right out! Nothing like a major disassemble of the car to get one part out!
So I’ll take a longer break and then get to putting the new rack in place! Hope I can get everything back where it goes. Sad thing is now I have to hunt down new bolts, nuts and seals for the A-Pipe. Wonder if I can find heat treated SS nuts & bolts?
So thank you for the rapid reply and good find!. There is always some special “trick” and I am always pleased that those here know them (or find them) and are so kind as to share them!
I’ll post pics when the job is done! Thanks again!
I’m sure you can find SS fasteners if you do enough hunting. If you live in an area that has marine supply shops, you’ll probably find something you can use there.
While SS isn’t supposed to rust in the right applications, it will still corrode when in contact with plain carbon steel, such as when bolting exhaust components together. It can be a Catch-22 situation, and using ordinary steel fasteners will cost you less.
Whatever you decide to do, a smear of high-temperature anti-seize will allow easier disassembly in the future.
OK! So thanks again to all that helped me on this repair! It is fascinating that dudes I have never met, can “coach” me through repairs using this invention, the Internet!
I finished the repair! Everything seems to be in the right place and it all works! Yippee!
When putting the MT shift linkages back together I cleaned up the plastic & rubber bushings and added a little brake grease (really silicon paste). Using that “trick” of turning the rack to the left was needed to get the rack back in place. Once the wheels were back on, I reset the steering column. But after driving it for a test drive it looks like I am off by 5-degrees! Guess I’ll emulate the video more than I thought?
Went crazy on the A Pipe, all of the original Eastwood “Internal Exhaust Coating” had burned off of the inside & out. So degreased and metal prepped (nitric acid) the pipes, scuffed them up with steel wool and added a new layer of VHT paint. Then I had to “cook” the paint in. So now hopefully this paint lasts? New gaskets all around – finding parts is a multi-store under taking. Everyone has the parts, not all of the parts fit! Doughnut gaskets at AZ, flat gasket at N. Found some self locking class 8.8 bolts at HD, found matching nuts (class 10) at PB and found the 8.8 nuts for the hanger at AZ! Sure wish there was one place that had it all!
Anyway, thanks to all for all of the kind help! I truly could not have done it without all of your kindness. Oh and note I have said thanks “officially” for each post and bumped everyone’s karma too! It is the least I can do to show my appreciation!!
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