Knuckledragger's Treehouse

I finally got that stubborn nut recovered from behind the gas pedal… a little fishing line and a magnet took care of that.  The alarm system is rewired and operational, so the starter is back online.  Once that was all done, it didn’t take long to get the dash put back together and all of the little things under hood finished up.  I didn’t take into account that the ECM was cleared, so it took awhile for the car to relearn it’s idle setting, but all is well now.

It feels good to have my car back… and my tunes

The rack is finally in the car and about ready to go.  My wonderful wife helped me get the rack and the steering column lined up, and we were able to get the intermediate shaft connected after a few minutes of maneuvering things around.  It took awhile to get the clamp on the driver’s side lined up with the studs, but the nuts went on nice and easy.  On the passenger side, it was easy to get the clamp lined up on the studs, but more difficult to get the nuts tightened down due to the space restrictions.

I also installed new tie rod ends on both sides.  I was originally going to simply replace the boots, but I had issues with the passenger side tie rod end.  Apparently part of the old cotter pin had rusted inside the hole, and there wasn’t enough clearance to install the new one.  I attempted to chisel the remainder out, then tried drilling it out, but it didn’t want to come out.  It was just easier to replace the ends, and a set for both sides only cost $31.  They also came with new boots and cotter pins.  I figure the old ones already have 117,000 miles on them, so replacing them is probably a good idea anyway.

I drained the oil, changed the oil filter, put the tires back on and dropped the car.  Then I went to work on reassembling everything under the dash.  The only thing left there is to install the last brake power booster nut.  I still have to retrieve it from behind the gas pedal.  I’ve tried a couple of things to get it out so far, and they failed, so I’ll have to be more creative tomorrow.

I still need to replace the air filter, replace the windshield wipers, repair/replace the crank case vent tube, adjust the throttle cable, replace the muffler strap and clean the battery connections.  Then I can do some of the minor wiring work that needs to be taken care of under the dash.  I’m going to hold off on replaced the brake pads until spring.  It hasn’t been fun working on the car in the driveway with 25-35 degree temps and 5″ of snow on the ground.

All in all, probably about a half a days work left before I can fill all the fluids, flush and bleed the steering system and go for a drive.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and it feels good.  Hopefully this will keep her running for a few more years… or at least until my wife’s van and my bike are paid off in 18-24 months.

I managed to weasle the old rack out of the car finally.  I removed the tie rods from the old rack with a little force - those bolts were torqued down nice and tight.  I ended up using the puller again to remove the existing inner tie rod bushings - they were worn and needed to be replaced.  I put new ones in and bolted the tie rods up to the new rack.  The tie rod end boots were torn, so I’ll have to replace those as well.  I find it odd that nobody here carries black ones in stock, although I can get red ones for $4.99.

It took a little effort to get the new rack all the way into the car.  You have to find the right ways to twist and turn it, but it’s finally in.  It seemed to take forever to get the steering column intermediate shaft lined up properly with the pinion.  I fought with that for a long time before it finally slid on.  I got it bolted down before it had a chance to move on me.

Then I got the pressure and return lines reconnected.  I purchased a set of crows feet, and man, I wish I’d had those when I took the lines off.  It was so much easier.  I was able to get to both lines from the top of the car, and I was able to use the torque wrench to get them tightened to spec.

I’m having fun trying to get the steering column aligned with the intermediate shaft now, but once that’s on, I think I’ll be homefree.  I should just have to bolt up the rack clamps, put the brake system back together, install the tie rod ends, and flush and bleed the power steering system.

I’m glad I won’t be doing this again anytime soon!

I’ve taken a couple of days now to try and get the leaking steering rack out of my car.  It’s been a difficult job so far.  It’s not nearly as easy as it sounded when I began the work.  Originally it was simply pop the tie rod ends off, undo the pressure lines, unbolt the clamps and the intermediate shaft, then pull the rack out.  Installation reverse of removal.

Um,  I don’t think so.  There should be a large print warning in every manual that states “While performing this work, be sure that no children are close enough to hear you cursing.”

So far, I haven’t lost any nuts or bolts, although I have one nut trapped behind the accelerator pedal I have to fish out somehow.  The car has also eaten one 11mm deep well socket, and I haven’t been able to locate it yet.  Hopefully once I slide the rack out, I’ll be able to find it.

I had to unbolt the power brake booster to gain enough clearance to remove the pressure lines.  This is a major pain in the backside.  You have to crawl under the dash with a flashlight in one hand and a ratchet in the other with extensions and swivels on it to reach a couple of the nuts.  The rack clamp nuts on the driver’s side weren’t too bad, although the ones on the passenger’s side were difficult at best to reach.  Popping the tie rods was easy enough using a puller.

The second biggest pain was getting the intermediate shaft to separate from the rack.  It came off of the steering column easily, but getting the rack out far enough from the firewall to get to the bolt on the rack side wasn’t easy.  Even then, getting the shaft off of the rack was a pain because every time I’d slide it up through the firewall, it would hit the steering column, and I didn’t have enough room to completely separate the two.  I finally got lucky under the dash and was able to pull the shaft back through enough to pop it off of the rack.

So, as it stands now, the rack is hanging loose.  My hands are still cramping from trying to twist and turn the rack to get it out.  I haven’t had much success with that yet.  I’m hoping tomorrow my luck will change, since all I have to do is turn the rack about 30 degrees and slide it out.  After that, it’s just a matter of mounting the tie rods on the new rack and reinstalling everything.

In the process of being under the dash, I found that my alarm bypass switch is broken, so I’ll have to replace that, and I’ve managed to pull two of the wires loose that fed the alarm indicator LED, so that’ll have to be fixed as well.  While I’m at it, I guess it’ll be a good time to mount the power supply for the 160 GB Seagate FreeAgent hard drive that feeds the audio system.

If time permits once all of that is completed, I’ll probably change the oil and filter, then look into replacing the front brake pads with ceramic pads.  The last set I put on were semi-metallic, and they’re leaving brake dust everywhere.  I doubt it’ll take more than an hour to do all of that, since I already have the tires off the car and it’s already on the jackstands.

My car is now 13 years old and starting to finally show some signs of the beatings I’ve put her through over the years.  I’ve had plenty of repairs over the years…

Alternator
Fuel Pump
Radiator
Rear brake line rusted out
Water Pump

After last weekend I added a power steering pump to the list.

I don’t want to get rid of the car though.  It runs good, still looks pretty decent, gets 34 mpg… and the big one: it’s paid off.

Starting with the 1995 model year of the Beretta, the engineers decided it was a wise choice to put an engine mount directly in front of the power steering pump pulley and require partially removing the mount to simply change the engine belt.  They also relocated the thermostat under the intake and behind the exhaust crossover pipes.  I think the general idea was to make things as difficult for weekend mechanics as possible so people would be more inclined to take their cars to the dealer for service.

Another thing that bugs me is the lack of repair information for the Berettas… especially the Z26 models.  Most of the repair manuals seem to claim they cover all models up until 1996, but they actually only cover vehicles up to 1994.  They don’t include the changes made for the GM 3100 VIN M engines, so you have to figure out the extra work that needs to be done.

For example, the books all say that to change the belt, you simply pull back the belt tensioner (which is almost impossible to do unless you’re under the car), pull off the old belt, slip the new one on, then release the tensioner.  Unfortunately, there’s no mention that you have to support the engine block, remove the passenger side engine mount, remove an additional bracket on the engine block, then change the belt.

The power steering pump wasn’t any easier… Remove the engine mount, the belt, the alternator, and then you can pull the pump up the couple of inches needed so you can remove the high pressure line.  The two most difficult parts of the work were breaking free all of the bolts on the engine mount, then trying to line the engine back up when it was time to put the mount back on.

With that work all taken care of, I ultimately ended up blowing a seal in the rack after testing the new pump out, so there is now a puddle of steering fluid under the car in a new spot.  This time it looks like the rack is leaking where the steering column connects to the rack.  The new rack is here and it looks like I’ll be busy the next couple of nights putting it in.  According to the resources I have, it shouldn’t be too bad - just time consuming.  The $260 I spent on a new belt, pump, rack, rack bushings and a few new tools still beats the $1,500+ it probably would have cost to have the work done at a dealer.