How to recondition AE86 Manual steering rack

[kerola]

I have an AE86 Manual steering rack for my KE70 but its looking a bit tired.
Whats the go with getting it reconditioned...
whats involved, is it hard to do, do you need any special tools?
also what parts will i need?
any help to point me in the right direction would be great.
thanks

[Sam-Q]

I would like to do the same myself soon also. There a bush or bushes in there that wear out pretty easy apparently.

Jonny R on here has mentioned it before and he said he used the head of a bolt to undo the larger internal hex fittings. However if you have to undo the main hex in the side you would need a huge mother of a bolt. I will make my own tool for it.

[ae86]

i was planning on just giving mine to a bloke that reconditions racks

[takai]

Piece of piss really. Dont need any overly special tools, the hex heads in the side can be taken out by hand usually as they have a lockring which holds them in place.

[kerola]

so what actually needs to be replaced inside? are there bearings or just bushings?

[takai]

Couple of bearings, easy to get from CBC or similar. They are normally pretty ok though, most racks just need a re-grease, new tierod ends, and new outer bushings (the ones that mount to the crossmember).
If you have to replace the pinion bearings then youll need a press for the upper bearing and a waterbath for the lower bearing.

[kerola]

ill check them out, if they seem ok ill just do "re-grease, new tierod ends, and new outer bushings" and a coat of paint
thanks for your answers

[Oly AE86]

When I reconditioned my rack bearings were NSK made specifically for Toyota and not available through bearing shops. They are available through Toyota and cost about $45 each. I only had to replace the upper bearing as it has a harder life than the lower one.

Parts I used were:

Oil Seal - Rack - 90311 15002 $6.15
Bearing - 90363 15003 $45
Rack Bush - 455522 10021 $51.60
Washer - End Rack x2 - 90214 14002 $1.95 each

I used some large In-hex Sockets @ Work with a torque wrench when re-assembling, all instructions are in the AE86 Body Manual available from tech documents page =

[shift_rook]

yeah i reco'd mine myself when i threw the quaife bar in there, piece of piss, jut make sure you have a really really good torque wrench, either digital or something that goes down to lower scales because torques have to be pretty perfect, now my rack feels amazing, you'll never find one tighter and yeah while it was apart i thought it was good to jt replace everything

[takai]

For a bearing preload wrench you can get a 1/4" Park Tool, or similar made for bicycles pretty cheaply, good torque readings for bearing preloads, and usually 3/8 or 1/4"