Hey all. I have a 1990 XJ6 that is leaking from the steering rack boot. I bought the new rack and need to install. I also bought the pressure line and inline filters. Does anyone have any advise to help with this install? Tricks of the trade, so to speak. The haynes manuel is rather vague. I know how to take care of the tierod end, no problem. 4 bolts hold the rack. Fluid will leak when I remove the lines. Haha. Anything else? I need to make this a quick install. I have pretty good mechanical ability. The manual says to mark the relationship between the steering shaft u-joint to the steering gear pinion shaft. Is this importtant if I'm replacing the entire rack? Just need as much input as possible before I start. Thanks.

 

I think I saw a guy do a XJ40 front end rebuild on YouTube a while ago.

Search maybe "XJ40 ball joints" (or something like that) on YouTube.

The relationship between the steering components?
My guess is that if they are misaligned, you end up with the steering wheel in the car at 1 or 2 o'clock or so when the wheels are pointing straight ahead...

Good luck with the job and let us know how you get on!

 

I am in process of changing the rack now. I see that the return line goes to the cooler on radiator. I have the inline filters, but see nowhere to put one. The pictures look completely different than my pump. So far, this job has been rather simple. Please advise on filter location if there is one. Also still not sure about whether or not I have SLS. The reservior is rectangular, not square. It is a base model. It already has red ATF in it. The dealer said SLS has a square reservior. Any one agree or disagree. Thanks.

 

Okay. The new rack is in. Changed the pressure line, return line o-ring, made hoses good for no leaks. Not a difficult job. Now I am ready to put the tie rod end back on. The only thing is that when I took off the old rack, the wheels were straight. Now when I put the tie rods in the wheels are turned way right. The steering wheel did not move. I have never done this much on steering, just outer tie rods. I was thinking of taking the boots off t he old rack and measuring the inner rod lengths and the outer thread length. Does this sound right? Also. The factory put mineral oil in the rack for testing, so I have to bleed the entire system for putting in ATF.

 

I answered my own question. When I turned the steering shaft on the new rack to line up the pinch bolt slot, I turned the steering on the rack to the right. OOPS. I will drop the rack and turn the steering back 360 degrees. Hopefully the wheels wil be straight then. I'll kep you informed.

 

Alright. All done. Turned the rack shaft 360 degrees and tie rods slipped right in. Flushed the system and ready for alignment. Job was pretty easy. I advise having 2 gallons of ATF ready when flushing entire system. Until the next time. Enjoy.

 

Thanks for the details. Good reference for the future.

 

Quick info. We pulled the car out when done and parked it. The next morning, son went to start and nothing. Then the horn started honking as though the alarm was on. We are going to check inertia switch later. Weird huh? We did have the car on stands for 2 days, other than that no jolt of any kind.

 

Dang. I missed out on the core return on my old rack. If anyone needs a complete rack that needs new seals, I can ship within the US. I won't ask much for it. Let me know. Thanks.