1999 Ford Taurus rack and pinion seal

It's usually better to replace the entire rack and pinion. End seal leakage is usually caused by wear in the housing or scoring of the rack. Seal replacement is more involved than pulling out one seal and tapping in another like on, say, a transmission tail shaft. You can replace the R&P yourself if you are mechanically adept. Ford SLTS claims 1.2 hours, more like 3 DIY in your garage. Here's a quick rundown. 1: Inside the car, remove the boot covering the steering shaft at the firewall and remove the pinch bolt holding the shaft to the rack input. 2: Slide the shaft off. 3: Under the hood; Disconnect both power steering lines from the R&P, disconnect the connector from phe PS pressure switch. (See #7) 4; Raise the vehicle and place stands behind the engine cradle on the subframe.Remove the wheels. 5; Support the rear of the cradle with a jack and remove the 2 rear subframe bolts. 6; Disconnect both outer tie rod ends from the spindles. 7; Lower the rear of the engine cradle fully. (It may be easier to access the PS lines through the left wheel opening at this point depending on Engine\trans combination). 8: Remove the 2 nuts from the R&P attaching bolts and remove the R&P assembly through the left wheel opening. 9:Reverse to reinstall. Be sure to install new teflon washers on the PS line connectors.

Replace the rack. Sorry.

CJB

Thanks for the replies! I guess my nightmare starts tomorrow morning, bright and early! Just curious....has ANYONE had good luck with a Taurus? This car is eating me alive...already replaced the transmission, got to replace the heater core, now the rack and pinion...this car has been well taken care of, never abused, only has 90,000 miles on it.

142K on our 97 this week. I expect to get 230K-250K out of it easily. The PS rack job has been done once February 2005. This has been the only major repair. Minor: DPFE sensor at 88K, regular brake service(no "failures"), front sway bar end links 2005, the LF hub & lower ball joints fall 2004. I expect to do a water pump by 175K.

Rob

119xxx on the 98. LF wheel bearing and ball joint while I was there. Brakes, tires, etc for normal service. Been getting a whiff of coolant when turning on the heat lately. Proable heater core soon.

welcome to newer cars