What kind of tools are needed to remove an Aerostar's rack & pinion?

[joshhemming]

I'm buying a new long rack (new inner tie rod ends included) and both outer tie rod ends from AutoZone next week and will install them myself. I have the advantage of being able to use a lift bay at a military base auto craft shop so at least I'll have good access.

I've never did one of these jobs before but I've got the Haynes manual plus some Internet printouts that appear to have come from the actual 93 Aerostar shop manual. I've got my Harbor Freight flex head crow foot flare wrenches in both metric and SAE since it looks like the fittings will be challenging. Everything I've read about the job calls for using a gear puller to separate and take off the outer tie rod end. I've seen a special tool with a long handle and a tapered U on the end that's also used for that. Should I get one of those tools, will just the gear puller be sufficient?

Also, what is the tried and true method for refilling the power steer reservoir and working the fluid down into the R&P (without getting it foamy)? I read one suggestion of cranking the engine a few times with the HV lead off the distributor while slowly adding fluid????

Speaking of fluid, I've been using Type F in it for the last 10 years since it leaks quite a bit. Is it OK to continue using that with the new R&P, rather than the higher priced power steering fluid?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Get this tool: http://eppys.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProdID=4499

As for the fluid, you should use what the manufacturer recommends. A 1/2" drive breaker bar or an impact gun are used to remove the large lock nuts. Flare wrenches are used to remove the hydraulic fittings.

 

[speleopower]

I rebuilt my 1997 Aerostar steering a couple years ago thinking I had major problems. It turned out it was only one of the little flair nut hard plastic seals that was broken.
There was power steering fluid everywhere and I could not see where it was coming from so I bought all new parts but when I took the van apart the only damage was the seal! If I had known I would have gotten just the seal!!!

-Scott

 

[joshhemming]

Mine has 172,000 miles and the left front wheel has a lot of play when manually shook. That tells me the outer tie rod end is probably shot. That, combined with the leak, convinces me my best course of action is to replace the rack & pinion, both tie rod ends and get an alignment.

Even if I knew exactly which R&P fitting was causing the sizable leak, I'd be crazy to just replace the tie rod ends while I've got it up on the lift. I want a new front end and an alignment. That should get me through another 100K.

 

[speleopower]

Also double check your wheel bearings to make sure they are properly seated as well.
I had a loose wheel bearing and I could shake the wheel pretty good. It just took a few minutes to fix.

 

[joshhemming]

OK, thanks....I'll take a look at the wheel bearings while I'm doing the R&P and tie rod ends.

One question: The shop manual says pull the ICM cable so the engine won't start, and turn the wheel while cranking the engine to work the fluid through the new system without inducing air. ICM means the Ignition Control Module, on the passenger side fender, right? Wouldn't pulling the HV lead off the distributor or coil accomplish the same thing? I've never messed with the module since I've had the van, and would like to avoid doing so now.

Speaking of the ignition module, my neighbor who has a 1990s era F150 says Ford modules have a high failure rate. He's had to replace his twice. Is that true of Aerostar ICMs too? I think Mine still has the original, at least it's the one the van had when I bought it 82K ago. It had 90K on it at the time.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Ford moved the ignition module to the side fender wall, and added an aluminum heatsink. The older models had more heat related failures because it was connected to the distributor. You could unplug the fuel pump relay or the inertia switch if you don't want to touch the plug on the module.

 

[joshhemming]

Thanks for all the guidance.

I replaced the R&P and the 2 outer tie rod ends Wednesday. It took me just over 7 hours but knowing what I know now I could probably do it in half the time. Some comments on the job, in case other Aerostar owners are contemplating doing their's for the first time:

I bought the tie rod end separator/puller that was recommended here but it wasn't up to the job. It got a great grip on the joint but I couldn't get enough torque on the bolt to get the end to pop out. I borrowed a super heavy duty OTC brand Pitman arm puller and after a couple of turns the end popped out slick as can be.

The two pressure fittings on the R&P were the most time-consuming. Even with the flex head crowfoot flare wrenches (11/16" works best, 19 mm also works), plus a universal socket joint, they're still a *****. There's just not much room between the fittings to get the wrench in. Progress came in 1/4 inch increments. The bottom one kept trying to cross-thread when re-connecting so I had to take the top one loose again to get more access to the bottom one. It finally threaded on straight.

I wasted half an hour trying to get the two big mounting bolts loose from the crossmember. They wouldn't budge. The problem was headspace (MINE): I thought they were only a couple of inches long and threaded directly into the member. It didn't dawn on me that they are actually 8 inches long and have nuts on the back of the crossmember.

I wasted close to another half hour trying to get the intermediate steering shaft to slip back into the new R&P. I had noted its position but it just wouldn't go in. The problem was I hadn't noticed that the shaft is not completely round....it has a small flat spot which has to line up completely with the flat spot inside the R&P. After I noticed that, it slipped in pretty easily.

I pulled the ICM cable and cranked the engine while turning the steering wheel to push the fluid (Type F) down to the rack w/o air bubbles. I repeated that a couple of times, refilling the pump in between. I had to add about a quarter cup more after driving it home. I'm having it aligned next week, after which I'll mount the 4 new tires I order from Discounttire online.

All my parts were Duralast from Autozone....$69 plus core for the rack and 23 each for the tie rod ends. The ends aren't shaped exactly like the originals but they fit fine. Mine took 16 turns for the dvr side and 14.5 turns for the passenger side. I drove the van another 8 miles today....steers fine and not a single leak.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the update!

 

[Brian A]

I was a front end mechanic at a Ford dealership for years back when I was younger.

a tip on the outer tie rod ends. All you need is a good size hammer to get them off the steering knuckle. Works on any front end, not just Fords

remove the tie rod nut.

Smack the cast iron part of the knuckle (surrounding the tie rod stud) from the side and it will break the taper and the tie rod will fall right out. MAy take a few hits but it will pop out like magic with no damage to anything

DO NOT smack the tie rod end.

This is very handy if you have a broken tie rod end with the tie rod seperated at the knuckle

Also good if you are seperating the tie rod but not replacing it. A pickle fork or puller might rip the tie rod boot

 

[joshhemming]

I saw videos on YouTube of people using the hammer method to separate them but since the service manual didn't mention it I was afraid of cracking the knuckle. Figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

But it's good to know that would work on an AeroStar in an emergency.

 

[Brian A]

works on about any vehicle

driving your vehicle puts way more strain on the tie rods and steering knuckle that hitting it with a hammer would ever do to it

I also worked for Ford for 12 years building prototype vehicles after my dealer stint, whenever we would remove a tie rod that was the preferred method

 

[BrooklynBay]

Were the prototype vehicles concept cars?

 

[Brian A]

Were the prototype vehicles concept cars?

prototypes and concept cars are 2 different things

a prototype is a vehicle with test (or experimental) parts on it, for engineering development purposes. Like when they want to change a fuel system or a subframe, etc. Or even change a model year. They will build a fleet of vehicles with the test parts on them and put them through a battery of tests for design validation and other engineering uses. Sometimes we would pull vehicles off the production line and build them up to the next model changeover to test all the parts before the vehicle is put into production.

concept cars are just that, they are ideas that car makers test out on the public and internal people to see if they would be a viable product. Some have experimental parts on them, some parts may be current production, some may not even be drivable or even run, all depends on what they are doing