Steering boots and Strut Failure

[rdweninger]

Hello all,

  '85 EA 82 Wagon 4WD 5MT.   A couple of new repairs for me.   The rubber boots on the right/left side of my manual steering rack are toast.  So I am replacing them.   But how ???   I have never replaced an inner tie rod...  Does the boot just slide over the inner tie rod (after removing the tie rod end?)  How does the inner tie rod connect to the rack? 

  I really want to remove as much as I can... including the inner tie rod.  So that I can clean all the road grime out - Boots have been wasted for a few years.

  Next, I have my front coil springs compressed with the proper tool.   When I try to loosen the 17mm nut on top of the strut mount... the entire shock absorber turns (the chrome part).    I tried clamping with a big vise grip, but the chrome part of the shock just spins in my vice grip.  The lower part of the strut is securely held by my bench vise.

  I have new KYB's and top strut mounts... just waiting on my workbench.   Thanks, in advance, for the help.   240,000 and still running.

[l75eya]

I don't know about on a manual rack, but on my power steering rack you remove those dust boots by removing the outer tie rod and then if you look there are metal spring like things around the rubber. Remove those and you can slide the boots off. Also on my rack the inner tie rods thread in to the rack. There's a metal plate bent around the end to keep it from backing off. Punch those plates out of the way, grab on to the inner rod as tight as you can with a wrench and it unthreads.

 

About the strut, i had the same problem when i did mine. I wound up having to go get a garage to remove it with an impact. You may have luck using a drill with a socket on it.

[ruparts]

hi,

  the inner tie rod is threaded to the rack shaft, there is a locking washer that is peened into  notches that act as locks so it can't unscrew, use a punch and knock those clear of the notches  and then the big inner joint will unscrew,, its not left thread , regular thread.  you are supposed to hold backup on the shaft since all the turning force will be on the steering pinion if you don't,  but it takes a special  thin wrench to fit in the space that is meant for that.. 

  the struts probably need to use an impact,  it seems to work better than hand tools for getting that big nut off,  the vice grips should be able to hold the strut shaft if using an impact gun on the nut.  they actually have a flat or hex or something on top of the shaft to hold it but then you need the special tool to turn the nut.  

  note:  the upper spring cup has to be oriented in the proper direction,   the hole is NOT in the middle,   it's marked "out" on top of it,  ( you might need to clean it some to find the marking)   this has  to match the offset of the bottom spring cup, which is offset noticably to the outside.  the top of the strut shaft has a flat side that matches with the upper spring cup  flat side hole,   but the strut shaft can  turn to get the "out" alignment correct.  all this is so the spring is not misaligned,  since the spring is not centered on the strut,  like the earlier version ea81 cars were.  

[rdweninger]

Thanks for the advice.  I appreciate it.   It rained all day Sunday... so I rebooted my axles and installed new bearings and seals in the front hubs.  I will try my impact drill tonight on the shock nut.  Maybe get an extra set of hands to hold the strut.

  That's a good point about the top mount orientation.  I had not noticed that the spring is not centered on cups.

Of course it is sunny today... wish I was home working on the Subie.  Instead of being stuck in an office.

Can't wait to get the front-end put back together.   With new struts, mounts, tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings, axles re-greased and booted, and new brakes... the little beast should drive like a dream.   Hard to believe all that stuff was original.  I bought the '85 in 1993 with 85k on it.    So I can't complain that I have to spend $300 in parts to rebuild the front steering and suspension.