Inner stearing rack arm replacement

[NMB]

Hi all,

I've been giving my 2008 MY XC90 some serious love with a full service, brake pads (front and rear) break Flexi pipes (front and rear) brake shoes and I have discovered play in the outer inner ball joint to the steering rack (drivers side).

I have ordered a replacement part which should be here in the next few days but I was wondering how difficult the job would be having never done this before.

Having looked at the job externally it just looks like the only issue will be limited space? Thoughts welcomed as always.

Thanks in advance.

Nigel.

[azzledazzle]

I've just done this to mine last week. New inner and outer track rods, to be honest it was a doddle. The hardest bit was separating the outer track rod end from the hub and slackening off the nut that attaches it to the inner rod.

Turn the steering full lock to the opposite side to give you as much room as possible. Remove the outer rod then remove the dust cover for the inner rod and get a big adjustable spanner on it.

I carefully measured the track rod end and counted the turns when removing, however on reassembly it was still a mile out so its very likely you'll need to have the tracking done afterwards. And also bear in mind that if one side is sloppy, the other side won't be far behind either so ideally replace them in pairs.

[NMB]

Originally Posted by azzledazzle

I've just done this to mine last week. New inner and outer track rods, to be honest it was a doddle. The hardest bit was separating the outer track rod end from the hub and slackening off the nut that attaches it to the inner rod.

Turn the steering full lock to the opposite side to give you as much room as possible. Remove the outer rod then remove the dust cover for the inner rod and get a big adjustable spanner on it.

I carefully measured the track rod end and counted the turns when removing, however on reassembly it was still a mile out so its very likely you'll need to have the tracking done afterwards. And also bear in mind that if one side is sloppy, the other side won't be far behind either so ideally replace them in pairs.

Thanks for this - really appreciate the advice.

It's the driver's side that probably has 2cm lateral movement in the steering (Scary) and its clearly fubared. The near side is tight and i'll leave that alone for now as plenty of other jobs to do currently!

Best.

Nigel.