Replace steering rack bushes in 1 hour with trick.

[IdahoDoug]

Whether you're putting in BrickWerks stiffer steering bushings from Loogy, or replacing stock ones, I found a trick that lets you do it with the steering box on the van. Thanks to Odin43 for posting that they're not tough to get new stock ones in, which gave impetus to this.

I set out to put new stock bushings in and rotate mine 90 degrees for stiffness.

I sat there studying the rack for a bit after I'd removed all 4 bolts (which is where the 4 flexy bushings are). Experimentally stuck a screwdriver behind one to see if I could move it at all and was surprised I could flex it. No movement though.

In one of those flashes that happens, I vaguely remembered I had a tiny pry bar from taking the trim off the laundry room that was suggested to me to avoid breaking trim (good suggestion, btw). Found it and stuck the short end between the frame and rack and could immediately see it would exert a lot of force, but the rack was loose. So I put the bolt in below it, tried again and on the first push the bushing came halfway out. Quick adjustment and in 30 seconds it was on the garage floor. Took me more time putting a bolt back in than popping the bushing out.

So, here's how YOU should do it. Get the tool (link below). Spray penetrating oil in the tiny gap at each side of the bushing using the little red straw to precisely place it. I used PB Blaster which is my fav. At each end of the rack, remove one bolt so you can pop that bushing out. Back the other bolt off so you have about 1/8" of movement.

Pop out one bushing on each end (obviously the bushing where you've removed the bolts), using the loosened remaining bolt as something to hold the rack so you can pry against it. Move the bolts you left in to the empty holes without bushings - again leaving 1/8 inch slack. The huge washer is large enough it will hold the rack so you can pop the remaining bushings out (the rack will settle downward so the washer is restraining the rack when you pry). Don't lose the tiny wave washers under each bolt.

Mine's a Syncro and nothing was in the way. I did one side with a tie rod on and the other without. Worked fine.

Now to insert the new ones. I cleaned a bit of grunge out of all 4 holes with a paper towel and brake cleaner so they'd be smooth and let the new bushing slip in. Then I used silicone spray on the hole, and the end of the bushing going in. Note that VW installs the bushings with the flats vertical. I rotated mine 90 degrees to make them stiffer for more precise steering. I discussed this in another thread. Anyhow, I was able to push all of them all the way into the rack but the trick was be ready to insert them wet with silicone immediately. I let one dry and it was much more effort so I pulled it out and resprayed. Voila!

Then install the bolt/washer and nut/wave washer and tighten to torque. If you didn't have the bushing in all the way or had difficulty, you can now use the bolt to push them the rest of the way home. Put a screwdriver blade behind the rack so there's a gap that will let the bushing's rubber lip pop out on the back side (lip on each side), then pull the screwdriver out and finish tightening. If the BrickWerks bushings are tighter, using the bolt this way to pull them in should work the same. I got a 3.5" bolt/nut in case insertion was difficult - something I'd have on hand with harder aftermarket bushings just in case. The longer bolt is so you can push an entire bushing in (then remove this special bolt for stock one). My bushings went in all the way with moderate effort and I would rate my hand strength average.

So there you have it. I spent about 1.5 hours doing it but it can easily be done in 1 hour. Most of your time will be spent getting the bolts in and out and laughing about how easy that was.

Here's the link to the little Vaughn Mini Prybar ($5):

http://www.buy.com/prod/vaughan-bushnell-222-5-1-2...92626.html

It's shape was PERFECT for this - that little extra curve does it.

Regards,

DougM
_________________
1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[syncrodoka]

Nice trick.

BTW, people here will be your BFF if you post pictures too.

[IdahoDoug]

Pics. I'll have to get better at that. Thanks! I love workarounds and I just did NOT want to remove the hard hydraulic lines, tie rods, steering wheel joint, and wiggle the rack out of there. I'm replacing my tie rods anyhow.

Hoping to give a little back - Samba's already saved me a bunch of time and money on what will clearly be only my FIRST Vanagon.....

BTW, today was a huge milestone on the Syncro as I have done nothing so far but strip parts off and keep looking for when I can stop. These are the FIRST assembling operations I've done. Got to click the little lever on the ratchet to "tighten"!!!!

DougM
_________________
1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[ranchero]

Once again I find myself giving a hat tip to Doug. Just did this with Loogie's bushings. Took less than an hour coffee to beer. Thanks Doug!
_________________
'90 Westy Syncro EJ25 (money pit #1)
'96 FZJ80 (cheap by comparison^^)
'13 Golf R. Daily driver.

[IdahoDoug]

Very cool. Wow that was a trip down memory lane for me!! Just used that very same little crowbar today to replace brakes for our elderly neighbor.

DougM
_________________
1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[[email protected]]

I'm trying to do this job now with T3s' bushings. I got 3 of the 4 without too much difficulty using your technique, but the top left one is a bear. I can't get it forward to get the bushing loose, I think the steering shaft that runs forward is preventing the rack from moving that way.

I have given up for today, but I'll make a poor-mans-press with a bolt, socket, and washer, and pull the bushing forward and out, and will report back here.
_________________
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[Howesight]

John and Idaho Doug:

I never notice Doug's post on the quick-change approach to steering rack bushing replacement, but I love hearing about useful shortcuts, so thanks to Doug. If you have any pics, Doug or John, I for one would be grateful for your posting them.
_________________
'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[ranchero]

[[email protected]]

I tried turning the wheel, no dice. I also loosened the steering clamp, that didn't work either. I suspect my difficulty was that the van was on ramps, not stands, and the wheels were fighting me. If they were freely hung and could pivot it might have been cake.

Regardless, I took a page out of my late father's playbook. I got a 4" 1/4-20x4" bolt threaded all the way, a quarter sized washer, (3) 1/4-20 nuts, and a 26mm socket (any socket would work if the bushing slides into it).

All I had to do was lever the rack forward enough to get a nut behind the bushing, between the bushing and rack mount. Then I put 2 nuts on the bolt all the way up toward the head, then the washer, then the 26mm socket, and slid the bolt into the bushing and threaded it into the nut wedged in the rear.

I got full thread engagement and then used the 2 nuts spinning on the bolt to tighten against the washer, and continuing it easily pulled the bushing forward and out into my socket on the front. Once I got it into the nut it was very very easy.

_________________
It's just advice, do whatever you want with it!

Please do NOT send me Private Messages through the Samba PM System (I will not see them). Send me an e-mail to john at aircooled dot net

"Like" our Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/vwpartsaircoolednet
and get a 5% off code for use on one order for VW Parts ON OUR PARTS STORE WEBSITE, vwparts.aircooled.net

[IdahoDoug]

Genius. Great call. I too, owe most of what I know about mechanical stuff to my pops. What he did not teach me directly, I learned because he also passed along a sense of mechanical fearlessness that I will try about anything, and decades of doing just that have increase it tenfold.

Cheers!

DougM
_________________
1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[rwixom]

I'm doing a complete front end rebuild on my 90 Vanagon. I'm using all power flex. I saw this trick and definitely wanted to try it since I didn't want to remove the hydraulic lines to the power steering. When I first started trying, I though there was no way.. but after about 10 minutes of messing around, I was able to remove the first bushing. Once I learned a trick, the others came right out. Here are some pics. PLEASE someone share some wisdom with me regarding the questions at the end of my post.

After removing the nut, I used the bolt to pry the busing back and forth a bit. Then I used the pry-bar to give me enough space to stick the nut behind the bushing. Then pushing against the rack, the bushing slid out a bit. I kept wiggling with the bolt and also used a dulled chisel to help pry the bushing out.

On the drivers side, I loosened part of the steering joint to allow me to pry the rack away from the frame a bit more. This was especially useful on instal of the new bushings---since the power flex are in two parts, I could get one half behind the rack.

... and below shows the installed bushing.

The passenger side was a little easier.

Viola! I saved myself the need to remove the rack.

First question: I'm also replacing the tie rod ends and I can't get the buggers loose. The flats on the rod are small to begin with, an snow they are nicely rounded (some of my own doing). is there a better tool for this than an open ended adjustable wrench? Now that one is somewhat rounded should I just order new rods? If so, can I remove the old rods from the rack without removing the rack!? I mean, that is the whole point of this thread, right? Any advice on getting those tie-rod ends off would be greatly appreciated.

Second question: Replacing the nut for the bushing? There was no wavy washer, which I don't remember seeing in the Bentley. But, I saw someone else mention it. The nut looks fine. I don't have a new class 10.9 nut to match. But, I do have new class 8.8 wavy washers and lock nuts on hand. I'm tempted to use these since I doubt the nut is the weak point. But, I'd welcome being talked out of it, if that seems like a serious no no. And in that case, do people reuse these nuts.

Cheers,

Ryan

[Vango Conversions]

You can re-use the nuts. Since they're a lock nut they're supposed to be replaced every time you remove them but that's just because they don't have as much resistance to backing off as they did when new.

They're still plenty strong though, I just use a dab of medium strength loctite and it'll hold just fine. 8.8 seems plenty strong too but I think it's better to re-use the originals with loctite.

[rwixom]

Figured out my tie-rod end removal difficulties... and the problem was me. I was doing it wrong. The PO had painted the the rods and ends and it appeared that the end and nut were one and the same. After looking at pictures of the new ones, I realized that the nut and the end were indeed separate things and not a different type of tie-rod end. I had been foolishly trying to turn the nut against the tie-rod end. Once I came to my senses it took me all of 2 minutes to remove the tie-rod ends from either side of the Van. I really hate to document my own stupidity, but I'm doing it anyhow just in case there are others out there who are also completely unfamiliar with these parts.

[buttonwagon]

Just did this repair. It went very smooth -- thanks for all the tips!

I used some pliers to pull the old bushings out by gripping the metal tube and twisting as I pulled. It went pretty quickly and I didn't have to replace any of the bolts.

I replaced my worn bushings with these:
http://www.t3technique.com/powerflex-bushings/steering-rack-bushing-set.html
Very easy to install once the old ones are out.

The alignment (Meinke) shop was going to charge $160 for labor and parts ($20 per bushing!) to do this repair. Thanks Samba!!
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'Tic-tac' 1965 Bug
incredibleincredible.com

[joetiger]

This is one of those quick and dirty projects that gives instant results.

I had a crappy day in cubicle-land and came home, had dinner, and got this done in a little over an hour. I happened to have one of those mini pry bars in my tool chest so I was ready. I had trouble with one of the bushings but it eventually popped out after I tightened down an opposite side bushing to get some leverage.

After a test drive, I'm really happy with the responsiveness of the steering now. Makes this beer taste extra good.

Thanks!

PS: One of my daughters was bummed that I was "putting those cool purple toys under the Vanagon" instead of letting her play with them.

(That would be a rather expensive toy.)
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[bstein]

Thanks to everyone for the pointers. I forgot about the steering joint and still managed to get 3/4 removed and installed. After heading backninth read this thread I loosened the steering joint and Everything just slipped together.

I then tightened everything up, doing the steering joint last. Next time I'll read the relevant thread immediately before the work and not just sometime the week before.

A quick drive around the block, I was surprised to find the impact of the Powerflex bushings to be greater than I expected. My car has a rebuilt rack and so the bushings weren't ancient. The improvement to steering feel is pretty amazing.

As always, thanks for posting to make this easier.

Tangent -- I discovered the oxs plug while rolling around under the car unplugged. So I decided to fix it and plug it in. It's now fixed again (permanently unplugged) after a little more reading on the samba.

Brian
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1987 Syncro Wolfsburg Weekender | Triple Knob | SAH 1.8T

[levi]

[warmblood58]

Pulled my PS rack bushings today using the mini pry bar - worked great once I got the technique right, i.e, wiggle pry bar in while prying rack off frame and rocking mini pry bar behind bushing to pop it. Passenger side easy, driver side a little more difficult accessing upper mount but I was able to pop it. Powerflex bushings went in easy, you have to play a little with loosening/tightening bolts to provide both clearance at times and leverage at other times. I took a little longer as I like to clean up here and there and as I was using the original hardware I removed the corrosion with a brass wire brush mounted on my bench drill. This was a great tip, thank you so much! My old bushings were toast! I expect a very different feeling when I take it on a test drive.

[bobhill8]

I was able to get this done the other day in a few hours. Another first time accomplishment with all the helpful tips from you all. I removed the originals (I assume) and replaced with the Powerflex. The 2 suggestions that others had made that were important for me were....
1. After zapping the opening with WD40, needle nosed vice grips were the perfect tool for grabbing the inner metal sleeve, twisting and slowly pulling out.
2. When you have all 4 out and are ready to reassemble, think about which feels like is going to be tightest/hardest to get back in. For me, the upper driver's side (1986 2WD) was hardest to get at and tightest against the metal, but I had already started tightening up the other bolts. Should have done that one first. Using a pry bar of some sort to lever the steering rack is essential.

Thanks to all for taking time to post your ideas. My old bushings weren't completely shot, but I can still feel the difference driving now.

[colbysmith28]

how did the steering coupler discs look? mine we cracked all over and had so much slop in them.