I've finally got round to uprating the steering rack bushes.
I'd been checking out ebay and found this kit for sale:
http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_..._number=KSR206
But in yellow.
I considered doing this on the drive, but even with axle stands it was really cramped, so I booked a couple if hours here:
http://www.liftofframps.co.uk/
It's £15 per hour and I think money well spent. Getting under a lift makes everything much easier and faster. Lift off ramps also provide all the tools you could want and they've got mechanics to assist if you need advice or a third hand.
So, once the car was up in the air getting the undertray off was simple. The brace was a bit trickier, the backing nuts required a 12mm flexihead spanner to hold them in place:
But it came off in the end:
Then it was a simple matter of removing the brackets over the top of the old bushes.
The next two parts were by far the hardest. First was getting the nut from the bush removal tool over the top of the old bushes. No pictures of this as I was getting frustrated. The steering rack needed very careful manipulation to get the nut in. However, once the nut was on amd engaged they slid out no problem.
Second part was the hardest. Once I'd cleaned the rack and lubed the bushes and holes, trying to get the bushes over the top of the steering rack and into position was really frustrating, and at this point it's good to have another pair of hands about to move to steering rack while you get the bushes in position.
But they went in eventually:
Fiddly b*stards.
The other bush was throughly lubed and went in no problem. But I didn’t get any pictures as I was running out of time.
These bushes are far harder than the 11 year old, slightly perished, oem versions that came out. The difference it makes is quite subtle, the steering feeling much better weighted and tighter. As a result the car, to me, feels "newer". A worthwhile job.