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Seen people ask a few times for a guide on doing this job and if it can be done in-situ or not. I've been doing a lot of work around that area recently, and looking at it I thought it must be doable in-situ without too much work. I'm always up for a challenge so decided to smash it out on Saturday and take you all along for the ride...
Usual disclaimer, not my fault if you break your car or drop it on your head etc etc
All of the bolts are removed from below... Top right is found just above where the driver's side driveshaft enters the gearbox:
Top left is found to the left of the flexi on the 4-2 section of the exhaust, in line with the coupling on the driver's side driveshaft:
And the bottom two are found just above the drain for the A/C, above the exhaust hanger:
Leave it loose in the engine bay, as we need to remove the chassis brace first. There are two bolts either side of the chassis, easily accessible through the wheel well roughly in line with where the track rods come through to the wheel well (photo taken from engine bay):
Unhook the heat shield from the brace, and then remove the brace through the passenger wheel well:
Next, carefully remove the heat shield, being careful not to damage any hoses with the sharp edges:
Next up, need to remove the track rod assembly. These are held on with hexagonal washers bent over the rack slider. I find the easiest way to remove these is to use my long Sealey pry bar to knock them back, but the job is made much easier if you've got someone to hold the end of the pry bar on the washer. They're bent on the top and bottom, and accessible from each wheel well. Have read online of other people doing it with a chisel, but I'm not a brute.
Next, turn the wheel all the way to the right which will move the rack to the left and easily accessible. Try and get the steering lock to trigger to keep it there. You now need to remove both the inner track rods - I find a crow's foot spanner makes this easier as you can put a breaker bar on it if they're tight. This is the setup:
You get the gist from this pic:
You should now have this in front of you, with a lock washer on one of the bolts. Remove this washer with a flat-head screwdriver
Usual disclaimer, not my fault if you break your car or drop it on your head etc etc
- If you've got an aftermarket strut brace (e.g. Mugen) between the shock mounts, remove it to give you more space
- Remove your air box so you can see the top of the gearbox. I've got a Tegiwa one fitted so just removed the big carbon part and the heat shield
- Jack the car up safely, onto axle stands, remove the front wheels
- Remove the nut from the track-rod ends and free them from the suspension struts
All of the bolts are removed from below... Top right is found just above where the driver's side driveshaft enters the gearbox:
Top left is found to the left of the flexi on the 4-2 section of the exhaust, in line with the coupling on the driver's side driveshaft:
And the bottom two are found just above the drain for the A/C, above the exhaust hanger:
Leave it loose in the engine bay, as we need to remove the chassis brace first. There are two bolts either side of the chassis, easily accessible through the wheel well roughly in line with where the track rods come through to the wheel well (photo taken from engine bay):
Unhook the heat shield from the brace, and then remove the brace through the passenger wheel well:
Next, carefully remove the heat shield, being careful not to damage any hoses with the sharp edges:
Next up, need to remove the track rod assembly. These are held on with hexagonal washers bent over the rack slider. I find the easiest way to remove these is to use my long Sealey pry bar to knock them back, but the job is made much easier if you've got someone to hold the end of the pry bar on the washer. They're bent on the top and bottom, and accessible from each wheel well. Have read online of other people doing it with a chisel, but I'm not a brute.
Next, turn the wheel all the way to the right which will move the rack to the left and easily accessible. Try and get the steering lock to trigger to keep it there. You now need to remove both the inner track rods - I find a crow's foot spanner makes this easier as you can put a breaker bar on it if they're tight. This is the setup:
You get the gist from this pic:
You should now have this in front of you, with a lock washer on one of the bolts. Remove this washer with a flat-head screwdriver