Need Help Removing Steering Rack, Now I Get IT!!! Options

[ericread]

HELP!!! I have read and re-read the prior posts on steering rack replacement. I am at the point where the following has been completed:
1. Removed fuel tank.
2. Removed right and left tie rods.
3. Detatched U-Joint directly inside driver compartment.
4. Removed two bolts that attach steering rack to the support.
5. Removed two bolts that attach support bar to body (off the tabs that face the rear of the car (shown at item 6 in the diagram).
6. Removed the two bolts that attach master cylinder to the bulkhead/pedal cluster.
7. Removed the two bolts that hold the steering shaft bearing (over the steering shaft bellows underneath the fuel tank).



Question 1: How do I move the master cylinder out of the way? The short brake line that goes to the tunnel doesn't give the master cylinder a lot of distance to back off, and the support bar (item #1 in the diagram) is in the way when I pull the master cylinder back.

Question 2: How do I actually remove the rack? The steering shaft directly connected to the rack seems to require that I drop the rack directly down. But the bolt tabs on the support bar itself (Item #1 in the diagram), as well as the bolt tabs that run a few inches to the underside of the body (towards the rear or the body) (item # 6 in the diagram) all seem to be in the way? What am I missing???

My thanks.

Eric Read

[mcbrems]

FIX: Remove master cylinder nuts and angle master cylinder above crossmember - IT WORKED FOR ME !!
No need to drop the whole front suspension, the fallback is to droop the crossmember as Spoke describes earlier in this thread

Question 1: How do I move the master cylinder out of the way? The short brake line that goes to the tunnel doesn't give the master cylinder a lot of distance to back off, and the support bar (item #1 in the diagram) is in the way when I pull the master cylinder back.

Hey Eric - I know this is a very old thread, but I just ran into the same issue, and the Haynes manual mentions nothing about the brake cylinder obstructing the removal of the support crossmember bar. I leave this here as a searchable post for future owners.

With the steering rack bolts removed from the support crossmember, as well as the mounting bolts at the adjuster cap ends and at the rear brackets, the support crossmember was loose and hung about an inch lower. Then I removed the master cylinder nuts, pulled it partly away from the firewall, and was able to angle the master cylinder upwards just enough to clear the support crossbeam with a little coaxing.

There was enough flex to angle the master cylinder upwards without needing to remove any of the reservoir feed tubes or hard lines, although I did need to release the lines from the bendable tabs that hold them in place. Then I was able to tap the crossbeam backwards with a rubber mallet to remove it. I was happy that I didn't need to drop the entire front suspension.

"Installation is the reverse order of the removal procedure." (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)