[koukis13]

Originally Posted by racepar1

Well, you've gotta center the rack before you install it. Far too many people, even "professional" mechanics, screw that up. To do that all you need is a sharpie and a set of channel-locks. Turn the rack all the way to full lock in one direction. On the 240's you need the inner tie rods installed since they are what actually stops the rack. Mark the splined shaft and the housing so the marks align when at full lock in that direction. Then you turn the rack all the way to full lock in the other direction and mark the housing again to align with the mark you already made on the splined shaft. Steering racks are almost always an awkward number of turns, so this is where it gets complicated. Now you've gotta split the difference between the two marks you made at full lock in either direction. Once you split that then you've gotta split the difference in overall turns. Once you install the rack you have to check and make sure it is centered. Do this by turning the steering wheel from lock to lock. The wheel should be in the same position, on the opposite side, when locked in either direction. I don't tighten the steering joint untill I've got the rack and wheel centered as it usually takes a try or two to get it right. From my experience 240's are never 100000000% centered, there's always a very small difference from side to side.



As for rebuilding your own rack, I'm an ASE certified master tech and even I wouldn't bother. It's really pretty simple, other than setting the pre-load on the rack gear. BUT it's always nice to be able to take it back and have it fixed if it's not right. Also finding the seal kits isn't easy since almost nobody does their own re-building anymore. Really getting a rack re-built is pretty cheap, around $100 without inner tie rods and boots, around $120-$150 with the inner tie rod ends and the bellows boots.

Thank you for the knowledge and everyone else that contributed!!