Front control arm removal

[delling3]

96 GT Convertible. Trying to remove the front control arms. Removed the steering rack mounting nuts, and loosened the steering shan’t coupling. Can’t get the rack to move forward enough to remove front control arm bolt! What am I doing wrong. HELP!

 

[Silver95bird]

i seem to remember removing the rack bolts completely (they're very very long), and yes the control arm bolts are a pain but they do come out. i seem to remember one barely clears the rack and the other one is a squeeze too.

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[Werecow]

I'm not going anywhere near where we went in the other thread...... Nope, not gnna make....

 

[delling3]

Yeah, decided that the other thread was becoming counterproductive.

 

[Warhorse Racing]

On some cars, you have to remove the steering shaft bolt completely in order to remove the rack from the shaft. But, you can also...

Remove the inner tie rod boots, that can sometimes allow for just enough room to get the bolt out. If the boots have the OEM clamps, you'll need to pry open the tab with a small flathead screwdriver. You can use zip-ties when you put them back on (the OEM clamp is a 1 time use clamp).

Or...

If you use some penetrating oil and a small pry bar, you can remove the steering rack bolt sleeves out through the front of the rack. That will allow you to remove the steering rack bushings (without disconnecting the steering shaft from the rack). With the bushings removed, the rack will move enough to get the bolts out.

These cars do vary from year to year, so those tricks might not work on your car, but that's what worked on my 2000 GT and 2004 V6.

 

[delling3]

Still struggling with this suspension project. First issue was getting the forward control arm bolts out. I started by unbolting the steering rack to slide it forward to gain clearance, but couldn't get it far enough forward with the bushings in place. Since the bushings were a little suspect anyway, decided to take the opportunity to replace those too. Got the front bushings out, but now I am struggling to get the inner "tubes" that the bushings ride on out. I thought that they would slide out without a lot of resistance, but not so much. Any hints on how to extract them? I sprayed down where they go thru the K-member with penetrating fluid and letting it sit at the moment.

 

[Warhorse Racing]

Make sure the sleeves are clean, any grit near the hole can make them harder to get out. The sleeves sit flush against the rear inside edge of the K-member. If you can get a small pry bar between the K-member and the sleeve, you can pry the sleeve forward and out through the front. On some cars, the sleeves are really wedged in. You might have to start with a flathead screwdriver to get a bit of clearance before moving on to a pry bar.

You want to avoid marring the area where the bushings go. So I wouldn't recommend trying to grab, twist and pull on that area with vice-grips. But, I think the sleeve itself has a taper; the area inside the K-member has a smaller diameter than the area where the bushings go. It's probably a good idea to measure both areas to be certain. If the sleeve is tapered, you should be able to grab the INNER AREA with vice-grips and see if you can wiggle the sleeve enough to get a pry bar in place. But, you should only do that if you are certain marring the inner area won't create burrs that make it harder to remove/reinstall the sleeve. And I would grab the sleeve as close to the rear inside edge as possible.

I hope that helps.

 

[delling3]

Thanks for the advice. I am doing this work on jack stands on the garage floor. As of now the car isn’t high enough for me to wedge my ample self in far enough to see the backside of the k member. Wondering if it would be easier at this point to simply remove the rack altogether. I am not sure what is involved with draining/removing/reinstalling the rack. Any thoughts?

 

[DKblue98GT]

You don't need to disconnect the lines from the rack . Just move it forward and tie it to the sway bar. You will have plenty of room to get the control arm bolts out.

 

[delling3]

I’ve already removed the bolts and loosened the steering shaft bolt but there is no way that the rack will slide forward enough to allow the control arm bolts to be removed, or the rack bushings to be replaced without completely disconnecting the steering shaft. How difficult is reconnecting the steering shaft once it is disconnected?

 

[Warhorse Racing]

I just want to clarify that you aren't looking for the "back side" of the K-member. You are looking to get the screwdriver or pry bar BETWEEN the K-member and the rack bolt sleeves. That area should be accessible if the car is up on jack stands. The rack bolt sleeves should be visible in the open area right behind where the A-arm mounts to the K-member.

If you lock the steering wheel and mark the position of the steering shaft to the rack with a paint marker, you'll be able to get it back together in the same place. You don't want to disconnect the lines (and you shouldn't have to), because there are Teflon seals that need to be replaced. A special tool is recommended to properly install those seals in order to prevent leaks (though some people have installed them without the tool). That tool is $100.

Once removed from the steering shaft (the bolt might need to be all the way out), you will be able to get the rack out of the way without disconnecting the lines.

Make sure the battery is disconnected before you start working on the steering shaft.

 

[D3VST8R96GT]

I stuck a breaker between the rack and the k to slide it forward. The sleeves were really dirtyand that kept mine from moving. Steering shaft and tie rods disconnected but left eth lines connected.

 

[Silver95bird]

the bolt needs to be completely removed from the steering sgaft/rack interface because it rides in a groove. it can only be assembled one way, so it's not like the older racks where the shaft has to be clocked. just dont spin the steering wheel and break the clockspring.

I completely removed the pinch bolt and the two rack bolts. one sleeve fell out and the other one froze inside the rack. i pulled the rack and everything that froze forward together as an assembly, and it was barely enough to get the LCA bolts out.

remove the rear LCA bolts first, it buys flexibility to wiggle the LCA and front bolt out, iirc.

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