Thanks for the Subaru videos! Thanks to you, I did the timing belt & water pump on a 2.5, replaced a motor and did the head gaskets on another car and today I changed the rack on 2009 Outback. I learned a couple things today that may help your viewers who would attempt this: 1) I couldn't get the hoses disconnected at the couplers you pointed out, so I disconnected them at the pump and the reservoir and I pulled them out with the entire rack. (I couldn't loosen them at the pinion, either.) I had new hoses anyway and I just connected them to the new rack before I installed it. 2) I unbolted the stabilizer bar bushings and lowered the stabilizer bar to give me more room to pull the rack. This allowed me to pull the rack complete with the outer tie rod ends and hoses. I had new tie rods for the new one anyway. (Of course this may not apply to all models.) 3) I measured reference points on the old rack to the tie rods and set the new ones the same way so I could at least be in the ballpark with the alignment. Sorry to see you had a failed "rebuilt" rack. Seeing that scared me, and after doing some research I found that junkyard racks are usually better than those "rebuilt" ones so that's the route I took. (keeping fingers crossed) I hope this helps somebody. Thanks again for the videos and maybe next time I'll try a valve adjustment!
Thanks Brian! My son and I have brought back to life a '06 Impreza thanks to your videos. I cringed when I realized my steering rack was the same mfg you had trouble with. I bought it at a local foreign autoparts place because I wanted to avoid the bigbox garbage that's out there. 500 miles and so far so good for me. Sorry you had the experience you did. Also viewed your axle swap and timing belt vids. They too were a big help! Thanks!!!
If the lines begin to bend, you need to either SOAK them in PB blaster overnight, or use a torch and heat them up. Either way they've oxidized and need to be cleaned by either method.
Thank you soooo much! I just finished up replacing my girlfriends power steering rack in her 1996 Legacy Outback. I would not have had the confidence to tackle it if you hadn't uploaded this video. The car is on its way to the alignment shop tomorrow. One word of caution for anyone reading this. Be careful torquing the exhaust manifold studs. I stripped one of the holes out and had to install a helicoil.
Dude, I’ve connected with you on FB and a little in the U2be. You’re gracious all the way, but this video exposes more than knowledge on a subject. I appreciate your calling out the late night silence. As of this 4/1/19 I’ve got a 15yo. daughter. I remember the days of extra hour magic. Recently I spent a couple all-nighters rebuilding my 97 OBW, bebegirl sleeping thru the night. I saw this video 5 years ago when the “Subaru Guys” in Albuquerque said I should pay attention to my steering rack. Well, I smell burning oil after a few miles on the highway and I monitor engine oil level 2x/day. It’s time and I’m not looking forward to it. You seemed really in the zone in this video. I’m guessing you we’re in it for the surround couple years with a littlie around. Anyway, cheers, mate. Thanks for some excellent entries in the early U2be days.
I always come back to your videos for tips and techniques. Doing my 06 forester rack now. Ran out of sun light trying to drop it down. It will have to wait till next weekend. But now I have a plan of attack. Thanks man! Liked and subbed a while back👍👍
@06acc When I diagnose something as bad I mark it. Often times people won't do the repair that same day, but they come back weeks later to have me fix things. The paint saves me time from having to diagnose it over again just to be sure. I Use gloss black engine paint after new parts go in.
Your videos are amazing man. I am watching many of your videos and fixing my car little by little here in the alps of Italy. Next is head gasket and steering rack 😂 I see you love skiing too. If you can come to Italy you can stay with me and my family at my house and I will show you cool ski lines or hiking areas in exchange for a little help with the old scoring. Thanks again man for sharing this knowledge, it’s very very useful and humbling when people share such things. Grazie!
Dude best videos ever!!! Please keep them coming. Got a 98 rusty forester and I’ve watched a ton of your videos! Gotta do this next and I’m already dreading it.
@diegosti That's the bottom section of the steering input shaft of the pinion (as in rack and pinion) It's like the lower bearing/cup/cap where the steering shaft goes in. This car is left hand drive.
Thank you. I am going to change my Rack in a 2003 Subaru Impreza. It is not leaking but I have severe hard steering and I can not find any leaks, I did bleed the steering and replaced the fluid. Local dealer tells me it will be estimated 2,000.00 for repairs. They told me the rack may be bent and that is why I am having the hard steering. Thanks for posting the video, Any other tips are always a welcome. Dave
I like the videos, you show how its done without actually showing us the actual work. I just have to imagine some of the steps involved. Thanks and please keep the videos coming. I wish you could do a tune-up on a Nissan Quest.
Thank you! That trick with the stabilizer bar was a life saver. Getting transmission lines loose very hard. Now I need to get rack off universal joint...
YOU'RE the BEST, Dude!!! Thanks so much for all your instruction and help!! AND... thanks for showing how even after all your care & effort, the remanufactured part can still leak. Thanks for everything!!! YOU ROCK!!!!!
Thanks Brian, just got, wait for it, 98 legacy ouback just like yours. Doing head gaskets and steering rack. You made my life a lot better. Michael Clark
Neat trick with the red paint. Keep 'em comin'. We are taking notes and the tests keep coming.... (especially on our mercury w/ 310K) Thanks for what you do.
1st off GREAT video! I just did this today on my "parts" suby... Long story short the parts suby was in a roll over and the one I own now the outer tie rod ends wont come off so I'm using the old one. Only thing I did diff then what's shown in the video is I kept all the lines attached and just pulled them from the pump itself. Any way you can show a video of replacing the inner tie rods WITHOUT using a special tool such as a crows foot or rental tool? Many thanks for this video and the rest!
Great video, I was stuck getting the rack out and referred to your video, it saved my butt. After getting the new rack&pinion in, what do you suggest is the best way to get a full system flush? I have seen some people disconnect the low pressure return line off of the power steering pump and route it to a bucket and then continuously feed the oil reservoir while cranking the starter. (All while the ignition fuse is pulled) What is your suggestion?
brian you are outstanding good sir. this is next on my list and the cv axles went swell because of your informative how to videos. thanks very much and have a good day
I thogt i was the only one that thought that.... I love the night time, like you said no calling my phone, nobody calling your name every min. its just relaxing
We had this exact same car, same color too. It also had torn axle boots in addition to a bunch of other things. We ended up donating the car after owning it for 14 years.
I appreciate the video and your time for making it. I like to look at what Im getting into before I do it. I really would have no problem changing the rack with out watching as I've done a few before on other models. The most awesome thing is though you told me how to use RU-vid better. I had no clue, I never hit any buttons but like or subscribe before. This is the first video I have saved yet and I created a file I titled auto parts. I mean don't get me wrong I like cat videos and all but when I want to rewatch a video this is going to help a lot. Thanks.
Hey Brian: about to replace my R&P on 2001 Forester. Looking at Rockauto, they have several remanufactured brands; BBB, ATSCO, A-1 Cardone, and ACDelco. Do you have a preference or a brand that you stick with? ACDelco has lifetime warranty, and others less. Tried to see the brand name on your video but wasn't able.
EXCELLENT demonstration! Does Subaru use the same part number for most of their tie rods and rack & Pinion years 1995- 2002? Also, do they interchange the same tie rods/rack&pinions between Foresters and Outbacks? Thank you!
You seem like a very knowledgeable and trustworthy mechanic. Our guy is quoting $1200 to fix/replace the rack and pinion on our 2009 Subaru Outback. Does this sound like a fair quote to you?
+Kristie Filion Holy cow.. I'm currently getting the following done on my 01 Legacy by my mechanic/friend: Timing job (/w Dayco timing water pump kit ) Cardone rack and pinion (reman) NGK Iridium IX spark plugs & NGK wireset Gates serpentine belts Fel-Pro valve cover gaskets Timken front wheel bearings Subaru rear differential bushings Wix fuel filter Coolant flush Engine degrease Total $1,600.. $900 of that is his labor, the rest is parts/shipping. All parts were purchased from Rockauto.com except for the coolant, engine degreaser, and rear diff bushings. We found that the old spark plugs had oil on them and so needed the valve cover gasket kit, which was $20 and he charged $100 for labor on that (which is included in above price). $1,200 for just the R&P seems like a lot!
Yeah I realized just the other day that we were also talking about the headers in the same conversation and what they said all turned into one big mess because the guys at work are just r&r mechanics haha, thanks for the reply though and i'll be taking a look at your other videos before I carry out the steering rack r&r for some useful bits and pieces.
I purchased a brand new unit for my 1997 L wagon for $295 with a $75 core charge. I also purchased inner and outer tie rods, for about $15 each, total of about $60. Was it a mistake to purchase the inners too?
Hi Brian, I live in Australia and my 05 Outback is right hand drive, I'm about to replace my steering rack and was curious about what side of the car would be easier to take the rack out ?? Do I take it out from my right hand side ? ( your passenger side) or L H Side ? (my passenger side ) sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, ( I'm not so young anymore so the least amount of time under the car the better 🤔 thanks Brian, love your videos mate, they are super informative. Cheers Tony.
I'm swapping the rack on my 02 wrx, and I've got everything back together, except the steering linkage doesn't want to fit - with the linkage on the steering rack with the bolt through the notch, the other side lines up before the notch by about 1/4 in. The steering rack is fully bolted up to the body tightly, so there's no more slack there. Is there slack in the steering column that I may have pushed under the dash somewhere? Or what else could have gone wrong here?
Have a 2008 Sub Impreza 2.5i. I am doing the Lower Control Arm and front brakes. The mechanic shop said these needed to be done and the rack as it leaks. Dont know yet. Watched a bunch of videos and think the Control Arm looks pretty easy. But the Rack is another story. Have not done either so tell me all, if i do the Arm, how much harder is it to do the Rack?
Hi Brian, thx for all the vids you have been posting they have helped me understand my Subaru. Things that I would never have been doing 2 years ago I now do. I now find myself changing my 2011 legacy rack and pinion and was hoping I don’t have to pull the subframe down, I was told by the Subaru technicians that this would be needed for my model yr. is there a work around for not having to pull down the subframe? Thx . -Jc
Brian I changed the rack in my Subaru but neglected to center the new rack before installing. Subsequently had the car aligned and now my turn radius is off (too far to the right not enough to the left). Any suggestions on how best to fix this?
Hey I was wondering if you happen to know if the 97 or thereabouts liberty is the same sorta R&R because while I was at work one of the guys was telling me that I have to remove the engine and do it all from the top to replace a steering rack...I need to replace the rack on my car because it's pretty much in the same condition as the 95 legacy you did in this video haha. Also this video was very clear and easy to follow, Thumbs up and subscribed =).
Instead of running the engine with the return line removed to flush my power steering fluid could I jack the front wheels off the ground to make the steering wheel easier to turn and pump the old fluid out of the line that way? I don't really have anyone to help me with the engine running. Thank you really enjoy your videos
You should NOT have to remove the engine. You can actually lower the metal structure the engine is mounted into by removing the back verticle bolts and loosening the front ones a half inch or so. I think I have a video on how to do it on an Acura MDX this way and or a Honda Accord V6 too.
Thanks Brian, just finished one on a 2000 Forester, but still having problems with stiff spots, could this be air in the system ? I tried the whole turning lock to lock about 45 times with engine off but it didn't help. Also I changed out the strut mounts were someone before me had put them on the struts wrong and the whole spring was turning. Anyway any advise would be greatly appreciated.....Thanks and keep up the good work
I'm struggling with a new boot on the driver side of an 01 outback. May drop the rack so I can get my hands on it thanks to this video. Unless there's a better trick?
Nice Video, just one thing I wanted to share, I used to use PB Blaster all the time until I tried "Kano Sili Kroil Aerosol Penetrating Oil" The stuff is awesome. Have you ever tried it?
Dont know if you guys cares but if you're stoned like me atm you can stream all the new series on instaflixxer. Have been binge watching with my gf lately xD
Ron Paul 2012! Nice!! I saw a glimpse of your banner in the garage. Lol. Question, do you know of any Subaru with manual rack and pinion? Im looking into converting my 2007 STI to manual steering. Thanks bud.
jdmcommute Apparently the Subaru Justy did, but that's all I know of. You can convert to manual steering but you have to DIY it or fabricate a universal rack to fit.
Thanks canadian attack moose, I actually have never heard of a justy, we probably never got it here in the states. Actually I have been going all mad scientist in my laboratory garage putting together the ultimate Subaru power steering fix...and I have created it. Im still getting all the parts together but I am going to do a video of it on my channel and its going to be epic!. Life changing even! at least in the world of Subaru. :)
I was waiting for the bonus footage...guess that comes in later gen videos...thanks for posting, going to look at an 01 Legacy with a leaking power steering...what and where it is leaking, no one knows...little old lady car...
what is the best way and what tools did you use to remove the lines when trying to remove them i get alot of bending affriad of breaking a line im trying to remove them from in the engine compartment up top seemed to be easyest but maybe there is a tool im not using that makes this easyest another way.
thanks for video - I have 2004 forester w/ 256k miles. It needs a new rack (quoted $1200 for part/ $300 for labor). With this video (and my haynes manual) I might just try it myself. I need struts, too - do you have a video on that? btw -the Pick A little Talk a LIttle song is from "The Music Man" - just to clear up any confusion. But 'My Fair Lady" has the great song "Why Can't A Woman Be More Like a Man?" thanks again
do it yourself! i do all my own work but unfortunately i didnt have time or patience to replace the rack and pump on my wifes 05 in the beginning of this year. i brought it somewhere and $1000 and 8 months later we are worse off than before it was replaced. lesson learned :/
Am stragling with steering leak for my subaru forester (model DBA-SH5) 2010, I have been advise to change the electrical powered system to the hydraulic steering system one. kindly advise if this works perfect
Great video, thanks for posting. After installing new rack and pinion on Subaru Legacy muffler sounds terribly loud, and head lights flash. What should I do? Thanks.
Sounds like an exhaust leak, did you undo any exhaust components while installing the rack? Usually the flanges need to be cleaned up and the gasket replaced. On especially rusty or otherwise deformed flanges I apply some liquid gasket to the new gasket prior to installation to improve the seal. Regarding headlight flashing, check the voltage at the battery and alternator. Are any other lights dimming or flashing in the vehicle? Are they OEM bulbs? Did you pull or chafe any wires (e.g., for the O2 sensors) while replacing the rack? Check all these things.
Hey Brian, I just took my 97 outback to my local shop, the guy there said $800 total, $550 for parts $250 for labor, does that sound right in your opinion?
I have an 05 Forester. It appears to be leaking at the rack where one of the lines from the pump attach to the rack. Not sure if its the high or low pressure side. I have cleaned it up a few times. Is this a flared fitting or is there an O-ring on the line? Unless the rack is leaking and it just looks like its coming from the line fitting.
