Quick bit of advice on replacing track rods please.

[robert_n]

When trying to remove my track rods from the steering rack end i have been struggling to remove the bracket shown in the following pic. (i stole this from another thread, mine is not broken).



The nuts (which on my car were on the top of the rack) came off but the bolts seem to be 'stuck' in.

I just wanted to check i am not missing anything before i start trying to knock them out with a hammer.

Thanks.

[mcandmar]

Bolts screw into the rack, nuts then screw ontop to lock them in place. All you need to do is unscrew them

[robert_n]

Oh, looking at that pic again i just notice my track rods are attached to the other side of the bracket to the one shown there. Which is correct?

[mcandmar]

Two track rods bolts are joined together at the back, you need to remove the bracket from the steering rack to get them out.

There are two versions of the bracket, some have the mount for the steering damper as one piece, later models are two piece as per pic above.

[Flat on my back]

.



As picture but without the break...

[mcandmar]

Sorry your right, that pic is put together all wrong. Hold on and i'll dig out a pic...

[robert_n]

Thanks for the answers!

I have the two piece as shown above but the damper bracket was sitting flat on the track rod bracket and the track rods 'behind' the track rod bracket. Meaning the pivot is effectively in a different place, so surely one is correct one is wrong.

Thanks again.

[mcandmar]

ABY setup with separate bracket for damper...

[robert_n]

ABY setup with separate bracket for damper...

PERFECT thanks.!!!

[Mikes2]

The bolts are supposed to be fitted from below with the nuts on top.

The pictures show the bolts on the top which is incorrect

[speeding-g60]

i think he is talking about the bolts for the tie-rods themselves which point towards the front of the car.

and FWIW, both my CQ's have those bracket-to-rack bolts going down. is that wrong you are saying?

if the bolt goes thru the top, and the nut fell off, the bolt would still be threaded in the rack. but if the bolt was up thru the bottom, and you lost the upper nuts, the bolt "COULD" back out and then fall off, thus screwing you royally. but if it goes in from the top, it wont fall out?

in my ETKA, LHD looks to go pointing downwards, and RHD looks to go pointing upwards.... all i have to go on is both my cars and ETKA.

[mcandmar]

I actually think my CQ was the other way around with the nuts on top

Bolts on top makes more sense to me, i.e. they cant fall out. Chances of that are remote anyway as the purpose of the nut is to lock the bolt in place..

[robert_n]

Ok I have got back to this job after the weekend. Inboard side is all nicely disassembled now. But the outboard sides are causing issues as the bolts now spin in their housings. I have tried using a g-clamp to press them together again with no luck. One of the nuts is unthreaded enough i could get a hacksaw to it (sadly the only saw i have on me at the moment is a borrowed junior hacksaw that could not cut cheese) but the other side i will have to chop the seal off to get to metal to cut.

Is there any other way to remover these? (note where i am working on the car has no power outlets otherwise i would be very tempted to get an angle grinder out)

Thanks again.

[S2central.net]

I have a big jawed set of vise grips which are brilliant when that happens - I use them to force the joint into the strut so that the nyloc nut can be removed... works every time... but don't be afraid of a nut splitter if you cant do that - its a nyloc nut that needs renewed anyway.

[robert_n]

Brilliant!

As stupid as it sounds I didn't realise there was such a tool as nut splitter!

Thanks!!!!!!!