thought i would do a how to on these as there common on vectra b's.
Ive been playing with the idea of changing the track rods or rack ends wichever they are called for a while now and after reading up on it in the haynes book it put me off a bit.
The book states that you need to remove the whole rack by lowering the subframe to gain access to the rods :wtf:
I managed quite happily doing them with the rack still in the car and without to much hastle :thumbup:
Right lets start with the obviuos:
Slacken wheel bolts jack up one side ir both and support with axle stands, Remove road wheels.
Working from the near side first. relese the clips off the boot and slide it back from the iner rod joint
Then take an acurate measurement from the inner edge of the inner joint to the start of the track rod end(not to the nut) This will make sure everything goes back how it was and possibly without having to get the tracking done. altho it would be advisable to have it checked after.
Write the measurement down in a safe place
Next is slacken off the adjuster nut and track rod. Not as easy as it sounds if theyve been on there a while! If you planning to do it a certain day soak the nuts and track rods in penetrating oil or wd40 the night before. You can also frighten them loose with a blow torch ive used a throw away plumbing torch before and warmed them up for about 15mins the attacked them with some decent spanners.
Next is undo the nut from the track rod end that connects to the hub assembley. depending on what sort you have you can put a star bit to hold the center while undoing the nut. after the nut is removed you can use a ball joint spliter/seperator to pop it out.
Next the large hexagon on the inner part of the rod needs to be loosend off i used a BFO adjustable but a 34mm spanner would be perfect. They arent murderd up so once you get it started they spin off by hand.
Then you need to change the boot over to the new one and fit the inner end back on the rack and tighten up.
Then spin the track rod end back on and get it wound on neer the measurement that was taken. I used copper grease on the track rod end threads and nut to help adjust them in the future.
Then fit the trackrod end ball joint back into the hub assy and tighten the nut.
Then re check the mesurement and adjust to suit by turning the rod with a 13mm spanner once your happy with it tighten the adjuster nut to the track rod end then check the mesurement again to make sure its spot on if not slacken back off and adjust it to suit.
Now everything is tightened up and fitted the boot can be slid back over the inner joint. I packed a load of grease round it to help just incase of water ingress. and used jubley clips to hold him back on.
The off side is exactly the sam apart from when it comes to undoing the inner joint. theres not much space so i turned the wheels all the way left hand down and used a pair of mole grips to loosen it off. not the easyest thing to do but by f**k i had the little bas*ard :lol:
All in all not a bad job it cost me about 25quid for two new rods and took about 2 1/2 hours including fag and tea breaks!
Not one slight bit of play in the steering now so thats one less thing to do :thumbup:
Hope this helps and if ive missed anything let me know.