Just an info dump thread for anyone else with these year model RHD barges. Not too many pictures unfortunately, my hands were absolutely filthy to the point that someone could accuse me of trying to do blackface, if it were on my face.
Tools/sockets needed:
- 19mm or 3/4 inch socket
- 16mm or 5/8 inch crow foot wrench highly recommended (not sure if there's even enough room with a regular wrench)
- (potentially) tin snips or needle nose pliers
- (potentially) 10mm or 3/8 inch socket
- hammer
- 6 or 7mm, and 8mm pin punches
- crowbar or something to pry with
- floor jack
- front end ball joint service kit
The steering box is HEAVY. It's about 16.5 kg, so if you need to ship yours to the US for modifications like the Firm Feel upgrades I hope you've got a nice fat wallet. Position the floor jack under it to catch it when you start removing it.
This guide assumes that you have already disconnected the rest of the steering gear, which the ball joint service kit will make significantly easier. Have some spare ball joint boots ready, as the kit will more than likely damage the existing ones if you need to use it.
The steering box is held to the right side of the stub frame with three 3/4" pinch bolts, so a 19mm socket will fit perfectly. You'll have to either remove the wheel, or turn the steering all the way to the left for enough clearance to work on it. The wheel well cover/piece has a factory-drilled hole for access to the rear-most bolt, but if you're unlucky like me, the bolt may be partially covered, and you will need to enlarge or peel back the hole for easier access. You might be able to save having to remove the 3/8" nuts that are holding the cover to the stub frame, and simply peel back the metal with some pliers or something:
As you can see, the steering box is already out of the vehicle. But before you do that, you need to disconnect the rag joint. It can be removed without having to unbolt the steering column, but space will be very tight if you don't want to get the brake booster out of the way and you don't have small-ish forearms, sorry gym bros. You'll need a 6mm punch, and be sure you're punching the steering column side of the rag joint out and not the steering box side (unless you like giving yourself more work than necessary). The box side will allow an 8mm punch to fit snugly inside the hole, while the column side seems to be slightly smaller, probably 7mm, but a 6mm will also work. Turn the steering wheel until you can see, from between the brake booster (or where it was if you removed it) and the fender/wheel cover, the side of the hole that has the pin NOT visible at the surface. Remove the transmission dipstick and there will just be enough room to hammer the roll pin out. It's possible to remove the box side roll pin out here as well, but not really worth it...it's a lot easier when the box is out of the vehicle.
Once removed, position the floor jack under the front of the box if you haven't already, and get your crowbar and start prying on the rag joint. On my vehicle at least, there was a very conveniently placed threaded stud that allowed me maximum leverage to pry from the top and push the joint off the column shaft.
If converting the rag joint to pinch bolts for easier servicing, the studs will need to have the smaller head cut off before they can be pressed completely out.
Once you've got the box out, use an appropriately sized wrench to remove the barb fittings from the box, as these apparently tend to get damaged in shipping.
Use the ball joint separator tool to pull the rag joint off the shaft. This is a very good time to upgrade this joint by replacing the factory pressed-in studs with pinch bolts, which will make for much easier future servicing.
This is also a very good time to replace the boots protecting your steering linkages. Get a boot that's about 0.5mm narrower in diameter than the sizes mentioned below:
Inner tie rod, pitman arm: ~16mm small end, ~32mm big end
Unsure about the idler arm as I didn't take that off.
Lower ball joint boots: ~20mm small end, ~43mm big end.
Get a boot that's about 0.5mm narrower than the above measurements for a good seal.
Tools/sockets needed:
- 19mm or 3/4 inch socket
- 16mm or 5/8 inch crow foot wrench highly recommended (not sure if there's even enough room with a regular wrench)
- (potentially) tin snips or needle nose pliers
- (potentially) 10mm or 3/8 inch socket
- hammer
- 6 or 7mm, and 8mm pin punches
- crowbar or something to pry with
- floor jack
- front end ball joint service kit
The steering box is HEAVY. It's about 16.5 kg, so if you need to ship yours to the US for modifications like the Firm Feel upgrades I hope you've got a nice fat wallet. Position the floor jack under it to catch it when you start removing it.
This guide assumes that you have already disconnected the rest of the steering gear, which the ball joint service kit will make significantly easier. Have some spare ball joint boots ready, as the kit will more than likely damage the existing ones if you need to use it.
The steering box is held to the right side of the stub frame with three 3/4" pinch bolts, so a 19mm socket will fit perfectly. You'll have to either remove the wheel, or turn the steering all the way to the left for enough clearance to work on it. The wheel well cover/piece has a factory-drilled hole for access to the rear-most bolt, but if you're unlucky like me, the bolt may be partially covered, and you will need to enlarge or peel back the hole for easier access. You might be able to save having to remove the 3/8" nuts that are holding the cover to the stub frame, and simply peel back the metal with some pliers or something:
As you can see, the steering box is already out of the vehicle. But before you do that, you need to disconnect the rag joint. It can be removed without having to unbolt the steering column, but space will be very tight if you don't want to get the brake booster out of the way and you don't have small-ish forearms, sorry gym bros. You'll need a 6mm punch, and be sure you're punching the steering column side of the rag joint out and not the steering box side (unless you like giving yourself more work than necessary). The box side will allow an 8mm punch to fit snugly inside the hole, while the column side seems to be slightly smaller, probably 7mm, but a 6mm will also work. Turn the steering wheel until you can see, from between the brake booster (or where it was if you removed it) and the fender/wheel cover, the side of the hole that has the pin NOT visible at the surface. Remove the transmission dipstick and there will just be enough room to hammer the roll pin out. It's possible to remove the box side roll pin out here as well, but not really worth it...it's a lot easier when the box is out of the vehicle.
Once removed, position the floor jack under the front of the box if you haven't already, and get your crowbar and start prying on the rag joint. On my vehicle at least, there was a very conveniently placed threaded stud that allowed me maximum leverage to pry from the top and push the joint off the column shaft.
If converting the rag joint to pinch bolts for easier servicing, the studs will need to have the smaller head cut off before they can be pressed completely out.
Once you've got the box out, use an appropriately sized wrench to remove the barb fittings from the box, as these apparently tend to get damaged in shipping.
Use the ball joint separator tool to pull the rag joint off the shaft. This is a very good time to upgrade this joint by replacing the factory pressed-in studs with pinch bolts, which will make for much easier future servicing.
This is also a very good time to replace the boots protecting your steering linkages. Get a boot that's about 0.5mm narrower in diameter than the sizes mentioned below:
Inner tie rod, pitman arm: ~16mm small end, ~32mm big end
Unsure about the idler arm as I didn't take that off.
Lower ball joint boots: ~20mm small end, ~43mm big end.
Get a boot that's about 0.5mm narrower than the above measurements for a good seal.
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