For the new viewers, you don't need the crowfoot wrench but you can use it if you want to. Lower the subframe 6-8 inches. Remove swaybar then undo the 2 steering rack nuts/ bolts. Pull the sway bar towards driver side wheel knuckle and get a 18 on this 2 steering rack hose nuts. This job not easy but not that complicated for experienced backyard mech. I did it without a lift and only took 3 hours.
Hey man I just came across this comment while I've been looking into fixing my girlfriends 2003 chevy impala rack and pinion. Is it possible to get some contact info from you? You seem knowledgeable and I'm not lol. If you can give me any knowledge I'd be very grateful
man well done video. im a mechanic at a shop and this job calls for 7 hours. looking at it i knew there was an easier way to take it out. and after watching ur video i got the rack out and in within 3 hours. props to you for doing this in your driveway as well with no power tools. mad respect
Videos done this well should be spread all over youtube. You are very concise and showed every detail with every step of the way. Very impressive. I hope you continue to produce how to do videos. Please keep up the good work so you may educate the amateurs like us!
With the vehicle still being on jack stands you can fill the power steering pump with fluid ,turn the wheel left and right without the engine running that will keep air in the system at a minimum, when the vehicle is started there will not be any power steering noise, something I learned along the way.😊
The best way to feed the fluid through the system is to leave the car jacked up, (must have both front tires off the ground) and manually push and pull the tires all the way to the right and left. Yes, grab the tire with your bare hands and turn the wheel back and forth. This is the fastest and cleanest way to do it without getting air in the lines. Other than this, it was a great video, and I thank you for sharing.
To avoid the "whining" when you turn the car on, BEFORE starting the engine, fill the power steer reservoir with fluid, keep turning the wheel both directions to each stop watching the fluid level and adding when it gets low, until it fills the new power steer rack and lines and the fluid level in the reservoir doesn't go down. All of this is done WITHOUT starting the engine. When the level of the power steering fluid in the reservoir stays to the proper level, you have "bled" the lines and new rack. Now when you start the car, it won't "whine."
"and remember, if you want to strike it rich - just count your blessings", .... amen to that brother, amen to that !!! As far as that Rack & Pinion job goes though, I'd have left that one for Mr. Goodwrench to count his blessings over - got to give you credit for filming while learning, and success is always a celebration, big thumbs up and thank you so very much from forced out retired in NE FLA (and lovin every minute of it).
I liked this video. I have had shaking in the 2012 Chevrolet Impala. Only one mechanic told me it was the rack and pinion, after sending a lot of money. He showed me the leaking, and the loose
A great video, always appreciated when somone takes the time to share. One suggestion to those of you looking to complete this task, its best to turn the wheel all the way to the left and all the way to the right while the wheels are still elevated and the motor not running. This will ensure the new part is properly primed and not damaged aswell as saves the pump itself from damage. After doing this a few times you should have a pretty good idea how your fluid level is when you set the car down and before starting it. 👍🏻
Great video my friend. I used your same technique, I even asked my father-in-law for help lol. You are right lowering the mount body gives to much more space to work on. Craw food works, unfortunately my bolt was so tight we ended up using small gas wrench and we end up moving the rack and pinion to the side with one line connected to get a better grip. Thanks a lot my friend and God bless you!
You're a life saver! I have a Chevy uplander and got to the part where I needed to take off the lines and I couldn't get it off even with my crows foot. I was trying to get it from underneath for 3 hours and then I ran across your video and doing it from the side, I was able to break the torque. Thank you so much!
Thank you for taking the time, to do this video, I have a friend, that has a 2011, impala, that needs a rack&_pinion, I have replaced many, I was a Chrysler, mechanic, for 20+years, and I was hoping, there would be a video, on it, great job, awesome, video!
I bet you had a blast doing this....it looks by the looks of the video it was more than a day todo this job. I dropped the down stream pipe then lowered the front cradle bolts 4.5 turns and put a hydraulic floor jack on the rear part of the cradle and completely removed the rear cradle bolts and disconnected the steering arm from the strut assembly from both sides. This rack came out with no fuss and the installation was easy with no more 3hrs total R&R (power tools were used). More steps but worth it. I can deal with longer steps and have more ease then todo all this aggravated. Thx for sharing.
Thanks for the video, saved me even more cuts,bruises and aches. Wish I would’ve watched all the way through before I started. Got to the second line on the rack and couldn’t get it off with the crows foot, had to drop the subframe and was able to use a regular 18mm wrench to get it off. I was going to cut the line and replace it but the guy at advance auto said to drop the frame a bit and you’ll have room, sure as shit I finish watching the video and wish I would’ve started by dropping the subframe
You can also count how many threads there are before you unscrew the tie rod so you can get your alignment close to perfect so you dont wear out the tires. I've done it many times on cars and they run straight.
The best way to bleed your power steering is to Jack steering tires up off ground fill power steering system with right amount and type of fluid and with MOTOR off turn ignition key to run/accessories do not start car.. all your doing is unlocking the wheel to turn and turn your wheel lock to lock for 5 min or so. Check fluid levels and adjust to specs And bam when you do start it for first time after this type of work.. Their will be no bubbles no and maybe a slight wine but will quickly fade out to how it should sound Awesome
Use a vacuum pump on the power steering pump reservoir to help pull all the air out as you turn the wheels left and right. Here's the best video I can find - czcams.com/video/ts6vX8csaTA/video.html Bleed with the vacuum pump by turning the wheels left to right with the engine off, check the fluid, and do it again with the engine running to get the rest of the air out.
Wrong. The easiest way is to seal it with vaccum pressure. Its actually reccomended by the manufacturer as you cannot get the air out by turning lock to lock.
My 2011 is leaking really bad, to the point where I need to top off the fluid daily now. This looks simple enough to do, now I just need to save some coin to find a place to do the repair, buy the few tools I need (Like those mini-wrenches!) and I should be good. Doesn't look like I'd be diving too hard into the hardware. Awesome video, thanks.
i just cut mine... i live in the rust belt the ps lines were as thin as paper...great video... i also have a fear of jack stands letting go as one of mine did years ago and it installed a little paranoia in me
From a former engine builder and rat rod builder, NICE video. No one could ask for one better that this. I have a 2012 Impala cop car and the local Midas shop told me it was going to take them 7 hours to r&r the rack! I just wish that the assholes who design the crap being made in recent years would have tp actual;ly WORK on this garbage before they are allowed to work as designers. Maybe then they'd think before they do stupid shit like making us have to lower the engine and remover the sway bar before we can remove a rack & pinion unit. Like that will ever happen!!!
If you have never replaced a rack before, how can you possibly say your a former engine builder and a rat rod builder. But I guess you've never done a frame-off restoration before. It just seems odd for someone to say they built rat rods and never replace the rack before. I'm not hating on you bro it just seems kind of funny
I appreciate your video. I been fixing my friend's car a Chevy Impala. I've replaced lost of things on it. I even swapped out a transmission. Her rack and pinion is leaking lots of fluid so we need to replace rack and pinion gear. Watching your video gives me confidence that I can do it. Taking it to the shop will cost an arm and a leg so I'm going to do it myself. I've learned a lot from CZcams tutorials. Every time I'm replacing parts for that Chevy Impala it seems to run better and better. I've learned a lot about Chevy Impalas. I'm definite that I'll be a Chevy Impala expert lol 😂
My 2011 had a loud PS whine recently. I thought it was the cold. Fluid level seemed OK. Two days later. I added a small amount of fluid, and after another day, the whine was gone. Fast-forward to now, while performing an oil change, my repair shop told me that the PS Rack was leaking. $808 with labor. I don't have the tools or the work space, so cha-ching! Thanks for showing what I'm paying for.
its Nov now, but in the summer my '01 Malipoo had some minor clunking sounds going up and down a multi level parking structure 2x+ per day, on the hard turns. Now the cold is setting in & turning the wheel in either direction sounds like a giant rubber band straining against metal. so I took it in to my favorite Mechanic. its the Rack and pinion. ugh!! I guessed it was that and it is... my husband thought it was the power steering fluid. I feel for the home mechanics because it looks like a hot mess to fix... and that is not considering the cold but my cost will be about $750
Jeffrey J I have had great luck with the Lucas power steering rack leak seal . It fixed my original 1976 corvette power steering minor leaks ,my 2004 Grand Prix ,and my 2006 gxp ,my 1992 chev Suzuki tracker . It won’t do any thing for large leaks . Make sure your fluid is clean before adding Lucas
Great video the only thin I would do different is the for the tie rod and I would put some tape on both side of the nut to stop the nut from moving and causing the measurement to change.
Thanks for the vid, Dan. This was my go-to for the job. In the end, not that bad since I’d watched this enough to know what to do and anticipate. Hardest part for me was getting the steering shaft reattached, which took about an hour or two to get it to slide on. I also did the hoses (SS), which was by far more difficult that the rack and pinion park itself, but that’s a whole other story. Anywho, just wanted to give props since this vid was very helpful. Thanks again.
Good job on the video. I always appreciate it when someone takes the time to mention the bolt / nut sizes for the wrenches required. Allows you to plan ahead a bit more. Going to be replacing my daughter's rack and pinion soon. Thanks, again!
Nice work, good communication skills. Thanks for the video. You did a good job explaining how the recess pin recesses in to the recessed near the firewall.
Please remember that the major factor in all of this is to remove the sway bar and links first, then drop the sub frame. You must drop the sub frame in order to remove and install the rack and pinion. I learned this the hard way on my 09 buick lucernce 3.9. It is the same set up. I went to youtube after hours of fighting with it. I dropped the sway bar and sub frame and wala. It came right out.
@@traviscarson9131 thanks for the quick reply. I ended up using a prybar and prying against the ball joint and the brake caliper. This allowed me to tighten it up. On a side note.. my high pressure line broke. 😢🔫
This helped immensely. Our problem was somehow the rack was broken clean off at the mount on the passenger side of the car. Definitely followed you suggestion and dropped the subframe almost four inches to get to the high pressure lines. You tube for the save.
Daninator . . Thanks for doing this vid, it was a big help to understand the labor and tools involved! I own a 2008 Chevy Malibu LTZ (which belongs to my young daughter) and it just started leaking extremely bad after 160,000 miles on the vehicle and I originally thought that it was the power steering pump was going out . . but as it turned out my local mechanic shop as like the stearlership your girl friend took her car in for an estimate was over a thousand to replace . . so typical that parts are always a few hundred dollars . . Yeah, the labor is what gets most of the projects . . Have not decided what to do as of yet . . Anyway, Thanks for sharing your experience.
Excellent video. Judging by the time it took you to do it. I can see why a shop would charge nothing less than $300.00 for labor. Not only do you have to have the right tools but you also need patience and basic skills. I can see this as a 4-5 hr job if not more. Really good video. Thanks for taking the time to post this.
Thank you so much on such great job, It’s much appreciated it, it sure will help me a whole lot on a same job I got coming up soon,and thank you much for your knowledge and explanation sir.
I would highly recommend bleeding the system before starting the car. Foaming the fluid like that is very high risk for damaging the pump and new rack very quickly. You shouldn’t ever hear that horrible noise if you bleed the system prior to starting it, and it shouldn’t ever foam up. You can’t quickly defoam fluid once it happens. The only right safe way to get rid of the foam is to flush the system. It would just suck for someone to watch this and destroy their pump from not properly bleeding the system.
Great job....helped me out,helping friend out with that pressure side hose...yep its a bugger...kind of thought that crow foot was the answer....thanks again
Great video!!! I would only add that if you jack up the subframe and take the two bolts out and lower the subframe it gains you so much room for working with the lines.
Just replaced one of these last night on an 06 3.5L. The best way to bleed the air out is by leaving it up on the stands and filling it with fluid then with the engine off turn lock to lock about 20 times. Also to get that bolt that connects the steering wheel on easier I put it on and put the bolt in before installing the two main bolts on the rack.
Very good video! Job well done! I have a 2015 Impala Limited same car! I believe the rack is still good but I may have an issue with the inner tie-rods and or possibly the struts put new ones in and they seem to creek and crack lubricated the bushings and the springs and rubber mounts still making a noise stay away from Monroe products no good! But still going to check those inner tie-rods!
One idea is to get a few different color paint magic markers. Draw a line on the nut onto the bar. The other color mark aline on the other side of the ridge of the nut onto the bar . Mark around the inside of the nut all the way around the bar inside. When you take em apart you can match exactly where it came off. To preserve to he alignment.
Replaced the rack & steering shaft this past Sat and the whole job wasn't as difficult as I anticipated. Removed the outer tied rod first, strapped the steering wheel with seatbelt & removed 11mm steering shaft bolt next. Drop the engine a few inches and I worked my 18mm crow foot socket to disconnect the 2 PS lines. I did have to remove the stabilizer bar to get the 2 R&P bolts out. The rest is straight forward... When reassembling, I had hard time line up the steering shaft to the rack; I had to disconnect the shaft from the top and connected the bottom first and reconnect from the top. My 08 Impala PS developed a symptom that it didn't turn left sometimes (turn right perfectly every time). Tried a number of fixes over period of over a month the new rack finally fixed it. I watched this video many times to get myself mentally prepared. If I have to do it again, I can probably cut down the time to under 4 hours.
I have a 05 Impala with a serious power steering leak. Even though chevy made changes form 05 to 06 the process should somewhat be the same. Thanks for your transparency on this being your first time changing a rack and pinion. It will be my first time also. It will be worth a few skinned knuckles to get this changed. I just need to go out and get a set of crow foot wrenches! Thanks again.
Great video 👍 line wrenches are made for hoses and lines they have more surface area of contact around the nut than a standard wrench ! I think it would be better to use a crows foot style line wrench so you don't risk round off the fitting nuts , but I have not changed a rack on a Impala so I don't know if there is enough room for a line wrench .
I agree with Gerret and I'll add that when you first start turning your wheels you don't want the tires on the ground with full weight on tires. Let the car down to where the tires just make contact with the ground. As to the swaybar you don't want to tighten the bolts completely until you you put jack stands under the control arms and let the full weight of car down then torque spec the swaybar bolts.
Great video....I would tackle this before but my back injury would keep me from it now....Always worked on my vehicles but only small jobs now. Im hoping my leak is only the return line but drained pretty quick so figure its the pressure hose or the rack. Again, good job.
The entire sway bar is not necessary to take all the way out just disconnect the entire right side of the sway bar giving u enough wiggle room to get the rack n pinion bolt out😅
Your video helped me out a lot I'm in the same predicament I just made a video on my channel to find out if I can find anyone who know how to fix this issue and now I know thank you very much
its Nov now, but in the summer my '01 Malipoo had some minor clunking sounds going up and down a multi level parking structure 2x+ per day, on the hard turns. Now the cold is setting in & turning the wheel in either direction sounds like a giant rubber band straining against metal. so I took it in to my favorite Mechanic. its the Rack and pinion. ugh!! I guessed it was that and it is... my husband thought it was the power steering fluid. I feel for the home mechanics because it looks like a hot mess to fix... and that is not considering the cold
I did this job today and couldnt get the high preassue side off. i even cut the pipe and put a socket on the fitting but just cant get enough torque on it so we pulled the entire rack out! What a stupid desighn
Cutting 16mm/18mm wrenches in half makes them the stubby wrenches we need or “want,” for this job. Also there is a open square space above the steering column knuckle that comes down on the stubby shaft of the rack. If you put a long bar through this and grab both sides of the bar pull down onto the stubby shaft and move the bar back and forth in the groove and rock the knuckle down on the shaft it could save you 8 hours of experimenting!
I was wondering if you would manage to get that done without dropping the subframe. Big job indeed. I would have been tempted to replace the intermediate shaft at the same time since they tend to seize up after awhile as well. Good video. thanks!
I don't think the difficulty of the step at 12:00 - 12:10 can be overemphasized. This is an extremely difficult step, lining the stub shaft up with the intermediate shaft. You have very little room to work, you can hardly see back there to see what is going on, and the angle you're on makes it very hard to pry down on the intermediate shaft portion of this. People should be aware of how difficult this part of the job is.
What I had to do was stick a screwdriver in the metal slot on the end of the intermediate shaft and work it back and forth, every so slowly, a fraction of a millimeter at a time, working it onto the stub shaft. Without a helper, this was the only way. It took a long time but it worked.
I think that I would just get new pressure line and a return line while you are at it, since you have everything disassemble and just cut the lines. Although maybe you can't get a pipe cutter in there? I would probably replace the power steering pump as well. I guess if your not on a budget , because those will all eventually fail if the rack did.
For the new viewers, you don't need the crowfoot wrench but you can use it if you want to. Lower the subframe 6-8 inches. Remove swaybar then undo the 2 steering rack nuts/ bolts. Pull the sway bar towards driver side wheel knuckle and get a 18 on this 2 steering rack hose nuts. This job not easy but not that complicated for experienced backyard mech. I did it without a lift and only took 3 hours.
Hey man I just came across this comment while I've been looking into fixing my girlfriends 2003 chevy impala rack and pinion. Is it possible to get some contact info from you? You seem knowledgeable and I'm not lol. If you can give me any knowledge I'd be very grateful
Ty for the information this video and your comment gave me some type of relief when doing this
man well done video. im a mechanic at a shop and this job calls for 7 hours. looking at it i knew there was an easier way to take it out. and after watching ur video i got the rack out and in within 3 hours. props to you for doing this in your driveway as well with no power tools. mad respect
Agree
Videos done this well should be spread all over youtube. You are very concise and showed every detail with every step of the way. Very impressive. I hope you continue to produce how to do videos. Please keep up the good work so you may educate the amateurs like us!
With the vehicle still being on jack stands you can fill the power steering pump with fluid ,turn the wheel left and right without the engine running that will keep air in the system at a minimum, when the vehicle is started there will not be any power steering noise, something I learned along the way.😊
The best way to feed the fluid through the system is to leave the car jacked up, (must have both front tires off the ground) and manually push and pull the tires all the way to the right and left. Yes, grab the tire with your bare hands and turn the wheel back and forth. This is the fastest and cleanest way to do it without getting air in the lines. Other than this, it was a great video, and I thank you for sharing.
Leave the car in the air yes, but do the turning with your steering wheel. Car should always be off until fluid is filled and air has been burped.
To avoid the "whining" when you turn the car on, BEFORE starting the engine, fill the power steer reservoir with fluid, keep turning the wheel both directions to each stop watching the fluid level and adding when it gets low, until it fills the new power steer rack and lines and the fluid level in the reservoir doesn't go down. All of this is done WITHOUT starting the engine. When the level of the power steering fluid in the reservoir stays to the proper level, you have "bled" the lines and new rack. Now when you start the car, it won't "whine."
This video is great! I started changing out my rack and pinion this morning. Zero issues so far except getting to hot. Should be done tomorrow.
"and remember, if you want to strike it rich - just count your blessings", .... amen to that brother, amen to that !!! As far as that Rack & Pinion job goes though, I'd have left that one for Mr. Goodwrench to count his blessings over - got to give you credit for filming while learning, and success is always a celebration, big thumbs up and thank you so very much from forced out retired in NE FLA (and lovin every minute of it).
4 years later and this helped me . You the man 🤟🏾
I liked this video. I have had shaking in the 2012 Chevrolet Impala. Only one mechanic told me it was the rack and pinion, after sending a lot of money. He showed me the leaking, and the loose
A great video, always appreciated when somone takes the time to share. One suggestion to those of you looking to complete this task, its best to turn the wheel all the way to the left and all the way to the right while the wheels are still elevated and the motor not running. This will ensure the new part is properly primed and not damaged aswell as saves the pump itself from damage. After doing this a few times you should have a pretty good idea how your fluid level is when you set the car down and before starting it. 👍🏻
Great video my friend. I used your same technique, I even asked my father-in-law for help lol. You are right lowering the mount body gives to much more space to work on. Craw food works, unfortunately my bolt was so tight we ended up using small gas wrench and we end up moving the rack and pinion to the side with one line connected to get a better grip. Thanks a lot my friend and God bless you!
You're a life saver! I have a Chevy uplander and got to the part where I needed to take off the lines and I couldn't get it off even with my crows foot. I was trying to get it from underneath for 3 hours and then I ran across your video and doing it from the side, I was able to break the torque. Thank you so much!
Thank you for taking the time, to do this video, I have a friend, that has a 2011, impala, that needs a rack&_pinion, I have replaced many, I was a Chrysler, mechanic, for 20+years, and I was hoping, there would be a video, on it, great job, awesome, video!
Thank you. Very helpful to document the sound of the low fluid level pump sound. An audio troubleshooting library would be way cool.
I bet you had a blast doing this....it looks by the looks of the video it was more than a day todo this job. I dropped the down stream pipe then lowered the front cradle bolts 4.5 turns and put a hydraulic floor jack on the rear part of the cradle and completely removed the rear cradle bolts and disconnected the steering arm from the strut assembly from both sides. This rack came out with no fuss and the installation was easy with no more 3hrs total R&R (power tools were used). More steps but worth it. I can deal with longer steps and have more ease then todo all this aggravated. Thx for sharing.
Yeah, power steering sucks!! Those connecting bolts for the lines are the worst! Great video! Thank you!
Thanks for the video, saved me even more cuts,bruises and aches. Wish I would’ve watched all the way through before I started. Got to the second line on the rack and couldn’t get it off with the crows foot, had to drop the subframe and was able to use a regular 18mm wrench to get it off. I was going to cut the line and replace it but the guy at advance auto said to drop the frame a bit and you’ll have room, sure as shit I finish watching the video and wish I would’ve started by dropping the subframe
Now I’m stuck at the steering knuckle. Can’t get it to slide over the new rack pinion.
Did you solve this issue? Connecting back to the shaft i would assume is the tightest part. Gonna tackle this soon myself
your video saved me 968 thanks keep up the good work
Awesome!
Delfino Perez wow. I live in los angeles have a 10 impala and its costing me 300 dollars total to have it done
.
Just got quoted 850$ to fix this
@@crivas461
Can u give me the name or place that will do it for 300 cuz I live around ther too and they want 2000
U couldve just dropped tha subframe an been done way sooner but great video💯
You can also count how many threads there are before you unscrew the tie rod so you can get your alignment close to perfect so you dont wear out the tires. I've done it many times on cars and they run straight.
That works too! Great tip.
Same
The best way to bleed your power steering is to Jack steering tires up off ground fill power steering system with right amount and type of fluid and with MOTOR off turn ignition key to run/accessories do not start car.. all your doing is unlocking the wheel to turn and turn your wheel lock to lock for 5 min or so. Check fluid levels and adjust to specs And bam when you do start it for first time after this type of work.. Their will be no bubbles no and maybe a slight wine but will quickly fade out to how it should sound Awesome
Good deal. Thank you for the tip!
Gerret Elizond
Use a vacuum pump on the power steering pump reservoir to help pull all the air out as you turn the wheels left and right. Here's the best video I can find - czcams.com/video/ts6vX8csaTA/video.html Bleed with the vacuum pump by turning the wheels left to right with the engine off, check the fluid, and do it again with the engine running to get the rest of the air out.
Wrong. The easiest way is to seal it with vaccum pressure. Its actually reccomended by the manufacturer as you cannot get the air out by turning lock to lock.
@@pstansberry542 you can get the air out. It just takes a long time and may not be 100% air free. But it will be good enough.
My 2011 is leaking really bad, to the point where I need to top off the fluid daily now. This looks simple enough to do, now I just need to save some coin to find a place to do the repair, buy the few tools I need (Like those mini-wrenches!) and I should be good. Doesn't look like I'd be diving too hard into the hardware. Awesome video, thanks.
Basically the exact same procedure as the 97-2004 W body GM cars.. Thank you!!
Good video. Liked that crowfoot wrench tip. Thanks for sharing.
jaydwgtre0 glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
i just cut mine... i live in the rust belt the ps lines were as thin as paper...great video... i also have a fear of jack stands letting go as one of mine did years ago and it installed a little paranoia in me
From a former engine builder and rat rod builder, NICE video. No one could ask for one better that this. I have a 2012 Impala cop car and the local Midas shop told me it was going to take them 7 hours to r&r the rack! I just wish that the assholes who design the crap being made in recent years would have tp actual;ly WORK on this garbage before they are allowed to work as designers. Maybe then they'd think before they do stupid shit like making us have to lower the engine and remover the sway bar before we can remove a rack & pinion unit. Like that will ever happen!!!
I had never replaced a rack and pinion before. I don't have a shop or a ton of tools...and I don't think it took me seven hours.
If you have never replaced a rack before, how can you possibly say your a former engine builder and a rat rod builder. But I guess you've never done a frame-off restoration before. It just seems odd for someone to say they built rat rods and never replace the rack before. I'm not hating on you bro it just seems kind of funny
I appreciate your video. I been fixing my friend's car a Chevy Impala. I've replaced lost of things on it. I even swapped out a transmission. Her rack and pinion is leaking lots of fluid so we need to replace rack and pinion gear. Watching your video gives me confidence that I can do it. Taking it to the shop will cost an arm and a leg so I'm going to do it myself. I've learned a lot from CZcams tutorials. Every time I'm replacing parts for that Chevy Impala it seems to run better and better. I've learned a lot about Chevy Impalas. I'm definite that I'll be a Chevy Impala expert lol 😂
Good stuff bro
My 2011 had a loud PS whine recently. I thought it was the cold. Fluid level seemed OK. Two days later. I added a small amount of fluid, and after another day, the whine was gone. Fast-forward to now, while performing an oil change, my repair shop told me that the PS Rack was leaking. $808 with labor. I don't have the tools or the work space, so cha-ching! Thanks for showing what I'm paying for.
its Nov now, but in the summer my '01 Malipoo had some minor clunking sounds going up and down a multi level parking structure 2x+ per day, on the hard turns. Now the cold is setting in & turning the wheel in either direction sounds like a giant rubber band straining against metal. so I took it in to my favorite Mechanic. its the Rack and pinion. ugh!! I guessed it was that and it is... my husband thought it was the power steering fluid. I feel for the home mechanics because it looks like a hot mess to fix... and that is not considering the cold but my cost will be about $750
Jeffrey J I have had great luck with the Lucas power steering rack leak seal . It fixed my original 1976 corvette power steering minor leaks ,my 2004 Grand Prix ,and my 2006 gxp ,my 1992 chev Suzuki tracker . It won’t do any thing for large leaks . Make sure your fluid is clean before adding Lucas
Great video the only thin I would do different is the for the tie rod and I would put some tape on both side of the nut to stop the nut from moving and causing the measurement to change.
Local shop doing this to my 2011 Impala this coming Monday. Thanks for the video. Looks like a PITA kind of job.
Thanks for the vid, Dan. This was my go-to for the job. In the end, not that bad since I’d watched this enough to know what to do and anticipate. Hardest part for me was getting the steering shaft reattached, which took about an hour or two to get it to slide on. I also did the hoses (SS), which was by far more difficult that the rack and pinion park itself, but that’s a whole other story. Anywho, just wanted to give props since this vid was very helpful. Thanks again.
VERY VERY VERY GOOD JOB
VIDEO WISE AND EXPLAINING IT
I'm about to knock mine out as soon as the weather break
Good job on the video. I always appreciate it when someone takes the time to mention the bolt / nut sizes for the wrenches required. Allows you to plan ahead a bit more. Going to be replacing my daughter's rack and pinion soon. Thanks, again!
Nice work, good communication skills. Thanks for the video. You did a good job explaining how the recess pin recesses in to the recessed near the firewall.
Please remember that the major factor in all of this is to remove the sway bar and links first, then drop the sub frame. You must drop the sub frame in order to remove and install the rack and pinion.
I learned this the hard way on my 09 buick lucernce 3.9. It is the same set up. I went to youtube after hours of fighting with it. I dropped the sway bar and sub frame and wala. It came right out.
The nut for the ball joint spins the stud on the ball joint so I can't tighten it.. what gives???
@@dnegel9546 get some chanel locks and lock them on the stud.. then take your wrench and loosen the nut. Try that
@@traviscarson9131 thanks for the quick reply. I ended up using a prybar and prying against the ball joint and the brake caliper. This allowed me to tighten it up.
On a side note.. my high pressure line broke. 😢🔫
Uu ooh. Hope that line isnt to hard to change
This was a phenomenal video dude! Thanks.
Thank you!
Good video. Informative for the impala servicing of rack and pinion. Thanks.
This helped immensely. Our problem was somehow the rack was broken clean off at the mount on the passenger side of the car. Definitely followed you suggestion and dropped the subframe almost four inches to get to the high pressure lines. You tube for the save.
Daninator . . Thanks for doing this vid, it was a big help to understand the labor and tools involved!
I own a 2008 Chevy Malibu LTZ (which belongs to my young daughter) and it just started leaking extremely bad after 160,000 miles on the vehicle and I originally thought that it was the power steering pump was going out . . but as it turned out my local mechanic shop as like the stearlership your girl friend took her car in for an estimate was over a thousand to replace . . so typical that parts are always a few hundred dollars . . Yeah, the labor is what gets most of the projects . . Have not decided what to do as of yet . . Anyway, Thanks for sharing your experience.
What did you end up doing?
@@dabama1 Purchased OEM parts through a friend working for a GM dealer and replaced worn out parts … sold it about 6 months later
Thank you so much dude this video helped so much, im working on the same project for my brother
Excellent video. Judging by the time it took you to do it. I can see why a shop would charge nothing less than $300.00 for labor. Not only do you have to have the right tools but you also need patience and basic skills. I can see this as a 4-5 hr job if not more. Really good video. Thanks for taking the time to post this.
Requires much more than basic skill, there's a lot that can go wrong with a job like this, a lot.
Lol a shop will charge way more than 300 labor for this
Thanks a lot, the crowfoot wrench hint was great! Saved me lots of money and anxiety!
Good deal!
good explanation on how to do this can't imagine doing this without a hoist
Thank you so much on such great job, It’s much appreciated it, it sure will help me a whole lot on a same job I got coming up soon,and thank you much for your knowledge and explanation sir.
Very helpful video thank you. I was wondering where to support the car while lowering the sub frame for clearance, the wood works well.
A 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue rack is exactly the same, down to having to remove the sway bar to remove the bolt on the driver's side. Nice job.
Thanks. Just installed mine because of these videos!
I would highly recommend bleeding the system before starting the car. Foaming the fluid like that is very high risk for damaging the pump and new rack very quickly. You shouldn’t ever hear that horrible noise if you bleed the system prior to starting it, and it shouldn’t ever foam up. You can’t quickly defoam fluid once it happens. The only right safe way to get rid of the foam is to flush the system. It would just suck for someone to watch this and destroy their pump from not properly bleeding the system.
Watching you with that crows foot, I was like Daaaaaaaaaaamn Daaaaaaann.
Great job....helped me out,helping friend out with that pressure side hose...yep its a bugger...kind of thought that crow foot was the answer....thanks again
Glad the video was helpful. Thanks for watching
Great video!!! I would only add that if you jack up the subframe and take the two bolts out and lower the subframe it gains you so much room for working with the lines.
He literally did that...
Good knowledge on the bolt to steering ujoint👍
Just replaced one of these last night on an 06 3.5L. The best way to bleed the air out is by leaving it up on the stands and filling it with fluid then with the engine off turn lock to lock about 20 times. Also to get that bolt that connects the steering wheel on easier I put it on and put the bolt in before installing the two main bolts on the rack.
Was your car hard to turn when you replaced it
Good work I love your videos thanks
Robert Castro thank you
I am about to do this to my 2010 impala and it was very informative watching this beforehand. Thanks for this video.
Thanks for saving me a headache this weekend 🤙🙏 happy new year
Very helpful just got mine fixed for way cheaper than taking it in someplace for them to charge so much for the labor.
U skipped locking the steering so u don't break the clock spring and all u have to do is remove the sway bar links and flip the bar up 👍🏿
Great informative video! I'm gonna take on this job next week.
Charlie B how did it turn out bro? I mite have to do that soon, my steering wheel is taking more than usual to turn the tires
Very good video! Job well done! I have a 2015 Impala Limited same car! I believe the rack is still good but I may have an issue with the inner tie-rods and or possibly the struts put new ones in and they seem to creek and crack lubricated the bushings and the springs and rubber mounts still making a noise stay away from Monroe products no good! But still going to check those inner tie-rods!
Good job...It surely will help me when I do my 1998 buick century......Hopefully not much differant
One idea is to get a few different color paint magic markers. Draw a line on the nut onto the bar. The other color mark aline on the other side of the ridge of the nut onto the bar . Mark around the inside of the nut all the way around the bar inside. When you take em apart you can match exactly where it came off. To preserve to he alignment.
Replaced the rack & steering shaft this past Sat and the whole job wasn't as difficult as I anticipated. Removed the outer tied rod first, strapped the steering wheel with seatbelt & removed 11mm steering shaft bolt next. Drop the engine a few inches and I worked my 18mm crow foot socket to disconnect the 2 PS lines. I did have to remove the stabilizer bar to get the 2 R&P bolts out. The rest is straight forward... When reassembling, I had hard time line up the steering shaft to the rack; I had to disconnect the shaft from the top and connected the bottom first and reconnect from the top.
My 08 Impala PS developed a symptom that it didn't turn left sometimes (turn right perfectly every time). Tried a number of fixes over period of over a month the new rack finally fixed it.
I watched this video many times to get myself mentally prepared. If I have to do it again, I can probably cut down the time to under 4 hours.
That braveheart scene got me 😂
I have a 05 Impala with a serious power steering leak. Even though chevy made changes form 05 to 06 the process should somewhat be the same. Thanks for your transparency on this being your first time changing a rack and pinion. It will be my first time also. It will be worth a few skinned knuckles to get this changed. I just need to go out and get a set of crow foot wrenches! Thanks again.
Great video 👍 line wrenches are made for hoses and lines they have more surface area of contact around the nut than a standard wrench ! I think it would be better to use a crows foot style line wrench so you don't risk round off the fitting nuts , but I have not changed a rack on a Impala so I don't know if there is enough room for a line wrench .
I agree with Gerret and I'll add that when you first start turning your wheels you don't want the tires on the ground with full weight on tires. Let the car down to where the tires just make contact with the ground. As to the swaybar you don't want to tighten the bolts completely until you you put jack stands under the control arms and let the full weight of car down then torque spec the swaybar bolts.
Great work I have to do mine on my car also and did not know where to start I will definitely watch as I go when I do mine.
Bubba has the soul of a seasoned mechanic..... Talm bout... "now that I got the nuts loose, time to celebrate"
Great video....I would tackle this before but my back injury would keep me from it now....Always worked on my vehicles but only small jobs now. Im hoping my leak is only the return line but drained pretty quick so figure its the pressure hose or the rack. Again, good job.
I have a 2007 impala, Auto Zone says there a two different types of R&P for my vehicle. How do I know which is the right one?
Was quoted for $1700 to have this done in the shop. Definitely might have DIY attempt this one
Thanks!
The entire sway bar is not necessary to take all the way out just disconnect the entire right side of the sway bar giving u enough wiggle room to get the rack n pinion bolt out😅
This saved me so much time, much appreciated!
Your video helped me out a lot I'm in the same predicament I just made a video on my channel to find out if I can find anyone who know how to fix this issue and now I know thank you very much
its Nov now, but in the summer my '01 Malipoo had some minor clunking sounds going up and down a multi level parking structure 2x+ per day, on the hard turns. Now the cold is setting in & turning the wheel in either direction sounds like a giant rubber band straining against metal. so I took it in to my favorite Mechanic. its the Rack and pinion. ugh!! I guessed it was that and it is... my husband thought it was the power steering fluid. I feel for the home mechanics because it looks like a hot mess to fix... and that is not considering the cold
Next time you might try removing the main hold down bolts and then maneuvering the rack to any position you like to take the lines loose
Thank you so much great video
I did this job today and couldnt get the high preassue side off. i even cut the pipe and put a socket on the fitting but just cant get enough torque on it so we pulled the entire rack out! What a stupid desighn
Great job
Cutting 16mm/18mm wrenches in half makes them the stubby wrenches we need or “want,” for this job. Also there is a open square space above the steering column knuckle that comes down on the stubby shaft of the rack. If you put a long bar through this and grab both sides of the bar pull down onto the stubby shaft and move the bar back and forth in the groove and rock the knuckle down on the shaft it could save you 8 hours of experimenting!
Great Job!! I appreciate you sharing the video!
Thank you
Great work man, keep it up👍
FYI- those hoses that run to the rack are 100x easier to take out from the top of the engine
Your vid is awesome sir.
Thanks!
Due to the stress being put on the aluminum flex pipe it would have been best to undo the exhaust mounts. Ive had 1 flex pipe rip on me.
Can you tell me what all tools I need to complete this job
Awsome video I have waltz n not much videos on this model
I just changed my rack and pinion and the power steering cooling line the hydraulic motor mount went bad and smashed the line
I was wondering if you would manage to get that done without dropping the subframe. Big job indeed. I would have been tempted to replace the intermediate shaft at the same time since they tend to seize up after awhile as well. Good video. thanks!
Dropping the subframe is the way to go. It would have been a nightmare to have tried to remove the rack without dropping it.
I don't think the difficulty of the step at 12:00 - 12:10 can be overemphasized. This is an extremely difficult step, lining the stub shaft up with the intermediate shaft. You have very little room to work, you can hardly see back there to see what is going on, and the angle you're on makes it very hard to pry down on the intermediate shaft portion of this. People should be aware of how difficult this part of the job is.
What I had to do was stick a screwdriver in the metal slot on the end of the intermediate shaft and work it back and forth, every so slowly, a fraction of a millimeter at a time, working it onto the stub shaft. Without a helper, this was the only way. It took a long time but it worked.
Can you tell me what tools you used in this video to perform the job
Thanks Much.... Video is spot on
Thank you THANK YOU so much.
I think that I would just get new pressure line and a return line while you are at it, since you have everything disassemble and just cut the lines. Although maybe you can't get a pipe cutter in there? I would probably replace the power steering pump as well. I guess if your not on a budget , because those will all eventually fail if the rack did.
Daggone...this is like a doctor doing surgery! You go!!!
Good video bro
I like it great job
😂 done went through that one ☝️ and I had to drop the whole engine.😵💫