How difficult is the steering rack replacement?

[chtucker]

I am thinking of taking the plunge and upgrading to the full Weld74 kit.
I am fairly handy mechanically and electrically. I have installed my suspension (Bilstein 6112s) other bolt ons and have all the tools imaginable.

can it be done without dropping springs/shocks/axles out? If that was the case I might as well do the FPP axles at the same time.

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[zuke]

It's not hard from a techinical perspective, it is difficult from the perspective of fitiing things around...

I'm also not sure of how difficult the 74Weld housing is to squeeze around things, as I haven't done one yet, But getting a HOSS 3.0 rack over the top of the FDU pumpkin is challenging.

The only things I found neccessary to pull were;

Front mount on the FDU
Inner bolt on the Lower Passenger A-Arm (Doesn't have to be removed, just loosened and backed out far enough to fit the rack past)
Tie Rods from the Rack

 

[kodiakisland]

It's not hard from a techinical perspective, it is difficult from the perspective of fitiing things around...

I'm also not sure of how difficult the 74Weld housing is to squeeze around things, as I haven't done one yet, But getting a HOSS 3.0 rack over the top of the FDU pumpkin is challenging.

The only things I found neccessary to pull were;

Front mount on the FDU
Inner bolt on the Lower Passenger A-Arm (Doesn't have to be removed, just loosened and backed out far enough to fit the rack past)
Tie Rods from the Rack

As far as the 3.0 is concerned, I didn't have any problems from the LCA bolts. Just removed the front mount from the FDU and the tie rods.

 

[zuke]

As far as the 3.0 is concerned, I didn't have any problems from the LCA bolts. Just removed the front mount from the FDU and the tie rods.

Might be a difference between the Black Diamond M190 and the Badlands M210, Unless you have the Upgraded axle? OP is a first edition, so he's got the M210.

 

[kodiakisland]

Might be a difference between the Black Diamond M190 and the Badlands M210, Unless you have the Upgraded axle? OP is a first edition, so he's got the M210.

Yeah, it's possible that is part of it. As it was, just figuring out the correct sequence of inserting up, rotating, and then falling into place was the most difficult part of it. I could do another one fairly quickly I think now.

 

[Bmadda]

Don't need to mess w/springs/shocks at all. Axles can stay put. I had to remove front diff mount completely, unbolt passenger side diff mount completely, and loosen 2 front mounting bolts. Theres a little tin bracket that holds the frt diff vent hose...helpful to remove that. Mine kept hitting the passenger front LCA alignment bolt, so I marked the cams, took the nut off, and tapped the bolt through just enough to be flush w/the frame. I had tie rods removed already, makes it much easier. 74weld housing fits the same, but its chunky...so be patient! It does go!

 

[userdude]

There's a video, doesn't look difficult (especially if you have a car lift ). YMMV depending on your current axle config.

Edit: Actually, it's an FE in the video...

 

[Snacktime]

You can pull the passenger side differential mounting bolt for even more room. If you don't want to scratch it you will have to drop the entire differential. With an impact it's a 2 hour job.

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