Page E-14
Repair and Service Manual
B
FRONT SUSPENSION AND STEERING
Read all of Section B and this section before attempting any procedure. Pay particular attention to Notices, Cautions, Warnings and Dangers.
To remove rack ball joint (1), loosen passenger side
front wheel and lift and support front of vehicle per
SAFETY section (Ref Fig. 14 or Ref Fig. 15).
Remove passenger side front wheel and turn steering
wheel fully to the left.
Remove the cotter pin (2) and loosen the castellated nut
(3) until rack ball joint (1) threads are protected. Using a
ball joint separator as a lever, apply pressure to ball joint
and tap nut with plastic faced hammer to release ball
joint from passenger side spindle arm. Remove nut from
ball joint and ball joint from spindle arm.
To install new rack ball joint close to its correct position,
measure amount of threads exposed from jam nut (Ref
Fig. 16).
Fig. 16 Rack Ball Joint Installation
Loosen jam nut (4) and remove rack ball joint from rack
extension (5).
Using measurement made earlier, thread jam nut and
new rack ball joint to previous location on rack extension
and set jam nut hand tight.
Attach rack ball joint to spindle arm. Tighten castellated
nut (3) to 36 ft. lbs. (50 Nm) torque and continue to
tighten as needed to insert new cotter pin (2). Maximum
torque is 50 ft. lbs. (70 Nm).
After replacing or servicing steering components, always
verify that an 1/8” gap exists between large hex of rack
extension and rack and pinion unit when steering is
turned fully to the right forcing passenger spindle arm
against front axle (Ref Fig. 24).
Check for proper rack extension-to-rack and pinion unit
clearance before tightening jam nut (4) to 35 - 45 ft. lbs.
(47 - 61 Nm) torque. See “Spindle Contact with Front
Axle” on page E - 19.
Install passenger side front wheel per WHEELS AND
TIRES section and lower vehicle per SAFETY section.
Check front wheel alignment and adjust if necessary.
See “Wheel Alignment” on page E - 5.
Tie Rod Inspection/Replacement
Tool List
Qty.
Tape Measure ..............................................................1
Wrench, 3/4" ................................................................1
Wrench, 9/16" ..............................................................1
Needle Nose Pliers ......................................................1
Wrench, 11/16".............................................................1
Ball Joint Separator......................................................1
Plastic Faced Hammer ................................................1
Socket, 11/16” ..............................................................1
Torque Wrench, ft. lbs. .................................................1
Crowfoot Socket, 3/4” ..................................................1
Grasp the tie rod (8) at ball joints (6) and check for any
vertical motion which would indicate a worn condition
and require replacement (Ref Fig. 14 or Ref Fig. 15).
To remove tie rod, loosen wheels and lift and support
front of vehicle per SAFETY section.
Remove front wheel.
To install new tie rod ball joint close to its correct posi-
tion, measure the exposed thread length from jam nut
(Ref Fig. 17).
Fig. 17 Tie Rod Replacement
Loosen jam nut (7) at threaded tube (8).
Measure exposed thread length
and use length to position new
ball joint at same location
Flat section towards end identifies
end with left hand threads
Measure threads showing for length to
position new ball joint at same location
Summary of Contents for EXPRESS L6 2012
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