"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
09/15/2014 at 14:33 • Filed to: camry, beige
5
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"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
09/15/2014 at 14:33 • Filed to: camry, beige | 5
| 9 |
AWWW YISS.
Ever since I !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , it hasn't been the same. I have been meaning to replace the rack ASAP, but have had other things take up my time, and replacing meant staying late some day at work, or coming in on a Saturday off. That just couldn't happen until this past weekend.
So, I replaced my leaky 221k original rack that the previous owner hit a curb with, bent a wheel, threw off the alignment, cause a weird feeling in the steering and probably caused that leak too with a low mile (90k) rack from a Lexus ES300.
That's right bitches, LEXUS parts in my Camry! Oh, and added some performance parts too.... WHITELINE RACK BUSHINGS!!!
See those clean black polyurethane bushings on the left rack? Yeeeeah, like a race car and shit. Since Toyota doesn't sell the bushings separate, nor do any OE-like aftermarket companies, the only choice was a performance upgrade manufacturer.
They actually do add some steering feel, and the steering feels much more direct that it did before. And it's SURELY not because it came from a Lexus, as it is exactly the same part as a Camry's, but because it's now mounted more solidly to the chassis.
Speaking of mounting, here's what it looks like when you take out the sway bar (new ploy MOOG bushings on that too when I put it back in) and rack:
SO MUCH ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES!
Replacing it was pretty easy, except for the STUPID lines. No room to get a proper wrench on them, no room to move a wrench once I got it on them, and the one line did NOT want to line up and thread back into the "new" rack. Spent most of my time jerking it around.
BUT, after hours and hours of swearing and busting knuckles, I got it in. Got it on. Filled it with fluid. and aligned that bitch PERFECT.
Don't worry 'bout that camber doe. It's not adjustable and a little negative camber never hurt a race car like the Camry anyways.
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> Takuro Spirit
09/15/2014 at 14:41 |
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Spent most of my time jerking it around. BUT, after hours and hours of swearing and busting knuckles, I got it in. Got it on. Filled it with fluid. and aligned that bitch PERFECT.
Tohru
> Takuro Spirit
09/15/2014 at 14:49 |
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You lazy bastard. Should've de-powered the rack and ran the non-PS belt routing.
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Takuro Spirit
> Tohru
09/15/2014 at 15:50 |
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That's kinda what I was running all summer. My pythons are like pythons.
deekster_caddy
> Takuro Spirit
09/15/2014 at 15:51 |
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No room to get a proper wrench on them, no room to move a wrench once I got it on them, and the one line did NOT want to line up and thread back into the "new" rack.
Hell yes to this. Steering racks are like a last thought item for engineering. I had to change an inner tie rod once, fought with all kinds of different tools and none would work. Ended up taking a big adjustable wrench and cutting the handle down so there was room to turn it. Ended up using that wrench for quite a few other things over the years though. I should be a toolmaker!
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Tohru
> Takuro Spirit
09/15/2014 at 15:54 |
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I did that in my red Escort after the deer hit. I kinda liked it as a manual rack.
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Takuro Spirit
> deekster_caddy
09/15/2014 at 15:55 |
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When I was a tech for Mitsubishi they had a recall on the p/s lines at the rack. They were a straight shot through the driver's side wheel well, so we would snip the old ones off with a side cutters, put a socket on the fitting, and EASILY put the new lines back on.
Sure beat trying to wrench off rusted old shit, like I had to do to my car.
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Takuro Spirit
> Tohru
09/15/2014 at 16:00 |
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I did it to my beater Neon because the pump was going out. Looped the line at the rack to keep fluid in it. Felt great.
P/S pump died on my Crown Vic and I never wanted to have power assist back quicker in my life. Fixed it the next day because driving that tank was impossible.
The Camry was somewhere in between.
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deekster_caddy
> Takuro Spirit
09/15/2014 at 16:02 |
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Great, now I need to add some crows feet tubing wrenches to the box next time I have extra dough laying around!
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Takuro Spirit
> deekster_caddy
09/15/2014 at 16:40 |
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Love those things. Would have worked on ONE of the lines, but only after the other was out of the way.