Replacing the steering rack

[Par911]

I finally got around to replacing the steering rack, here is my progress so far.
First step is to remove the stone guard. Next, remove the cotter pin and this nut from the tie rod end. After it was off, I took a hammer and beat the crap out of the steering arm (green area) to get the tie rod end out.


Here is the old steering rack that will be replaced:

Now I need to figure out how to remove the tierod inboard ends. I am going to try use a pipe wrench like so:

[jazzbass]

You can't get the rack out with the tie rods on? My whole front end was out when I took my steering rack out, so I have no idea.

Be careful beating the crap out of the steering arm. You bend that thing and your alignment is screwed up good.

[ubiquity0]

Just remove the tie rods on the bench when the rack is out.

Do you need to drop the aluminum cross member to remove the rack? I may need to do the same job eventually.

[Evans, Marv]

If I remember correctly, you should count the number of threads each tie rod on each side is screwed into the steering rack & screw the replacements in the same number of threads.

[Par911]

Thanks everyone !
Chris M., I went easy on the steering arms hoping not to mess the alignment up any more than it is . Ubiquity, you will need to remove the crossmember to get room for the rack to slide out. After disconnecting the u-joint from the shaft, it should wiggle free and drop out . Marv, I appreciate the reminder, and I counted the threads for the tie rod ends.
Here is what I got done today:
I unscrewed the two bolts holding the steering rack to the cross member with a 17 MM boxed end.
Next, I went to loosen the U-joint. I would have never guessed on how big of a pain this is to do. First, I removed the nut holding the U-joint onto the shaft, no problem. Then I went to loosen the allen screws holding the clamp onto the shaft. Those suckers were in there so tight that it stripped the allen screw indicated by the red arrow( I even used liquid wrench and they wouldn't budge). So I was able to remove the left screw, and not the right one. At this point out of frustration, I bent the clamp up to allow enough movement where the shaft could wiggle around. Now the shaft should release from the U-joint when prying it open with a screwdriver like so :

I'll post another update tomorrow.

[Par911]

After trying to wiggle the steering rack loose by myself, I realized I was getting nowhere. You need two people to drop the steering rack along with the rest of the front suspension. Charlie came over to lend me a hand, thanks bro. We disconnected the fuel pump from the aluminium cross member. Next we removed the front A-arms, removed the aluminum cross member, and lowered the whole front suspension onto some old tires.

With the suspension lowered, I went underneath the 911 and wiggled the rack while Charlie tapped the shaft loose from the U-joint. This is where another set of hands is really needed. After wiggling the steering rack for about 5 minutes, it finally slid loose and dropped out. We supported the Bilsteins with some string so the brake lines wouldn't stretch.

Here's the rack after it came out. Placing the steering rack in some vice grips, we used a 32 MM bike wrench to remove the tie rods from the rack.

Another way to remove the tie rods is with this fancy tool that my neighbor let me borrow. To use this tool, you need to remove the tie rod ends and put the flashlight looking part through the tie rod until it reaches the tie rod inboard end. Then you use the other end of the tool to grip the inboard end, you connect a ratchet to the end of the tool and turn. Although I didn't use this method, it would probably make replacing the tie rods much easier because you could remove them with the steering rack still in the car.

[Zeke]

Pari, tried to PM you, your box is full and you don't accept emails. Here's my message: Are you transferring the turbo tie rods to another steering rack? Or can I buy them if they are in decent shape? Thanks, --Milt