Race (and 1JZ) Buildup Journal

12/28/2004 - Power Steering Rack Bushings

Installing the rack and pinion bushing would have been much easier if I had had them before installing the engine. Unfortunately, that isn't the way it happened. I began by removing the two clamps that hold the rack and pinion down. They are held on by 2 bolts each. After the clamps were off, I removed the old rubber bushings with a little tugging.

I got the new bushings from a friend who bought the Supra Sports poly bushing set, but decided not to use the rack and pinion bushings. The bushings are not cut when they arrive. I simply slit them in approximately the same location as the rubber bushings using a sharp razor blade.

After they are slit, you have to put them onto the rack. The passenger's side bushings is pretty simple. You simple pick the rack up some and slide it around, making sure it is oriented correctly. The squarish part goes towards the front of the car, and down so that it is at the spot where the camp and cross-member meet in the front.

The driver's side bushing was more of a problem. Becuase of the rack's design, the bushing has to seat down in a channel. The poly bushings are much stiffer than the toyota rubber bushings. While they are identical in size, they are much hard to put on because they don't flex.

At this point life got frustrating. The clamp that holds the driver side down is wedged into the bushing in the channel. Because the bushings are stiffer, getting the camp bushed on so the bolts would start proved impossible. After about an hour of trying to get the bolts on the clamp started, I gave up for the night. I'll try again tomorrow.