Last August the power steering rack on the Corvette started to sound…ill. It’s a common failure that’s picked up the name ‘moaning sickness’ (or morning sickness as it can go away when the fluid warms up) at any rate, I didn’t want to risk hurting the car so I parked it til funding permitted. The plan was to buy the rack in December…that slid to January, then February. I finally bought the rack in March and tore into the project proper.
First off, Last on.
Line everything up, in order, so you don't have anything left over when you're done.
I figured I’d replace the rack as a part of a bunch of other projects I’d been meaning to do. I needed to change the valve cover gaskets, the thermostat gasket, some brittle vacuum tubing, fix a transmission leak, Torque Converter lock-up timing…and…and…
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- wheel off, caliper out of the way, knuckle removed.
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- Line everything up, in order, so you don’t have anything left over when you’re done.
Money’s been tight, and the thought process went this way:
- changing the power steering rack will require an alignment
- I really should change out the bushings while I’m at it (I’d already purchased them, they’ve been in a box under the workbench for a couple of years now)
- If I’m going to the trouble, and really want to save money on alignments, I should replace the ball joints and tie-rod ends at the same time.
- I’m out of money and need to wait on continuing the project much further until I get the balljoints and rod ends.
- with all the parts replaced, I’ll only have to align it once. (note: this is a Famous Last Words statement.)
Items to be added to this Article as things develop:
- Tools used
- Parts required and where sourced
- Safety concerns
