2002 Cavalier Power Steering Rack Replacement (Part 1) -EricTheCarGuy

[@swiften]

these videos make me even more grateful for my 89 B Body. no dismantling half the engine to get to a steering part.

[@MaximillianPraetus]

I just wanted to say thanks for the great video! I had to replace the rack on my wife's Sunfire this weekend and your video was worth a thousand times more than the bloody manual.

[@Barnekkid]

Takes a lot of effort to make a video like this, with moving the camera around and getting all the various shots. Thanks for the hard work.

[@kmcca08]

I seriously don't know how you went as long without a lift. I would've spent every cent I had to get one as soon as I moved into that shop..really happy that you have one now. Love your vids.

[@kennybaker3646]

kmcca08 howto replace spark plug wires on a oontiac sun fire S.

[@honeybear8485]

This is an excellent step by step video do-it-yourselfer appreciate it man how you break everything down simplified from setting the car up locating the parts how to remove them hats off. That's cool too cuz somebody just gave me a 2002 Chevy Cavalier needs rack and pinion and I have all the parts with the car so I'm going to go for it. I sure wish I had a friend like you though ha....

[@watcbd]

Thank you for the tip. I’m aware that I’m in for one hell of a journey, and that I may even lose money on a few flips in order to learn. It means a lot when people take time from there day to share their experience with me.

[@Eremon1]

Also Eric, you must be the most patient mechanic around. Nice shop space but you still don't use a lift. I can barely stand jacking my own car up let alone doing it daily for work. A patient mechanic is a good mechanic. Cheers.

[@notserpmale03]

Hey, 2002 Sunfire SE owner here, I thought i'd share this tip here incase anyone needed it. Dropping the subframe actually isn't necessary, once the rack is loose, you can tilt it about 90 degrees backwards into a little "compartment" (connection for steering pointing to the back of the car) from here, push it as far as possible out the passenger side, you should sooner or later be able to pull out the driver's side tie rod end, pull that out through the opening under the car then essentially what you can do is then pull the whole rack and pinion out from under the car.

[@zyplex1]

Good job man, lot of work for a car that was pretty much written off.

[@fatboyshadetree5139]

I know this is an old video but I am doing a similar repair to my 01 sunfire. I found the cavalier and sunfire share alot of parts. My subframe had rusted and started tearing. I am down to the steering rack connections and the steering shaft. I hope I dont have to remove the master cylinder bolts but if you say it makes it easier I think I will try it. I am replacing a lot of stuff on this car to keep it in the family for long time. I have a new subframe, new brake parts, new inner and outer tie rod ends and ball joints. I read that the steering rack can just be unbolted and left in place when I go to pull the subframe. But they also recommend lowering the subframe to get clearance to disconnect those fittings. Just wanted to thank you for the detailed video. I never came across this when i first started the work. Would have made this much easier.

[@youfrancis]

Eric is a saintly person. This isn't the worst procedure I've ever seen a person have to go through...but it's pretty miserable. To this I say: bravo. Bravo indeed good sir.

[@ErlangenRC]

I'm diggin' those black gloves - gives you that automotive assassin look. That rack is no match!!

[@-BEASTOR-]

Aww need to wait another week for part 2. I dont even own a car like that, but i so enjoy watching your video's and learn alot.

[@pyro8818ak47]

ERIC, one thing you should mention in your video or another video is that when you have one side on a stand and you jack the other side up to put a stand, you should watch the stand already under to make sure it dont tip over my nieghbor had his car tip over and the brake rotor landed on his thigh

[@Russellslayer666]

Did this to my cavalier but watched ur 2 videos and got job done(these videos helped), took it to a mechanic to get it aligned but I still have that whine but it stopped leaking power steering thank you

[@MakefoodwithApril]

raise ur front, start the car, turn the steering wheel lock to lock like 20 times. Put the car back down and turn the steering wheel again lock to lock again a few times. Check ur fluid if its foamy, you still got air in the system. Check the level and look for leaks. For me getting the air out of the system stopped the whine i was getting. However your power steering pump may be on its way out if none of the above work. Also make sure the whine is from the steering system.

[@Russellslayer666]

Yeah it was the pump cause I replaced it weeks later and whine went away

[@discodave25138734]

Everyday is a school day Eric! I find that when I come to do an unfamiliar job I tend to strip parts off that don't really need to be taken off. On the plus side, you tend to find out how other bits and pieces come to bits so its never a real waste of time.

[@Robert-zx2df]

Just did this on my 2005 sunfire . A few things to help others. Buy a crow foot flare nut wrench for the fittings . Use a heat gun on that plastic collar to get it back on - slips right on. If you break the outer cross member bolts or the nut inside the frame spins, you can cut an access hole in the floor board from the inside . It sucks but has to be done . I He have inspection cam footage video on my channel showing the issue Go to scrap yard and pull the same bolt from same car to replace . Make sure your rack is centered before putting it into the car , mine wasn't . Took me about 30 hours because of all the issues I had . Good luck , dont start if you need the car with in a week or two

[@ericthecarguy]

The biggest line wrench I have is 17mm. What I did worked but if I were to do it again I'd use a line wrench or crows foot.

[@ericthecarguy]

You'd be surprised at how often that's how things work with auto repair. The real professionalism comes in the results and how you sell the job. Keep the customer in the loop and all is good. I know it's easy to judge me, but try being me for a day or any technician for that matter, and I'm sure you'll have a better understanding. BTW there was footage cut that shows what I suspect was wrong with the rack. It's available to Premium Members of my website.

[@mdiller47591]

Nice TerraLux 300 flashlight. You're the only other person I've seen have one other than myself. Same color and all. Keep up the good job man. I really appreciate your videos.

[@bmcguire56]

Just a few tips for people trying this job...If those power steering hoses are awful to take off, just buy new ones and cut them. They are only $30 from Rockauto for both and most steering rack manufacturers recommend changing them at the same time. My high pressure line was already rounded off and the air chisel trick didn't work for me. If you aren't getting enough clearance to pull the rack out when you remove the 2 sub frame bolts on the driver side and the two in the middle, just take off that stupid frame brace on the driver side. I think I gained another half inch just by removing it. I could not get the long passenger side bolt out, and after many heat-impact-heat-breaker bar attempts I snapped the head off. That bolt was completely rust fused to the car for me. Removing that brace also allowed me to get all the bolts back in much easier. Thanks as always Eric!

[@janbill79]

I like how that bolt came out of the sub frame crossmember with 1 try "no" snapping off. The one next to the similar bolt that holds lower control arm is the one I'm referring too. I'm in the Midwest salty winter road region. on a 2005 Sunfire. I spent hours. I rusts into the pipe it goes thru before it meets where it screws into the bottom of the car. Anytime a bolt goes thru & is surrounded by tightly touching ( in this case a pipe) there is no chance on getting it out. I snapped both left and right side I was replacing the subframe cross member anyway. Along with my power steering rack, so it didn't matter hat I cut/burned, melted away the surrounding channel to use a grinder to split the pipe and free the bolt up . Because it will ,( the sub frame crossmember) won't lower with that bolt (with the snapped of head) . still frozen in the rust for the 3 or 4 inches inside that pipe. The passenger side was so frozen in there even after grinding a 1/2 inch path from top to bottom on the pipe where I could see the threads on the bolt. A 1/2 wide path from top to bottom on the pipe. using the heat and quench method & trying to shake it loose by hitting a bunch with the chisel gun. I never got it loose. I eventually pried with a big huge bar and broke the bolt further up in the pipe a second time . 1st time when I snapped off the head with the air impact gun. But you just use the impact and socket and it comes right out . LOL

[@blkthunderbolt]

Eric. I always have found it much easier to gain access to the line fittings after dropping the rear of the subframe. I rarely have to move anything on top.

[@blastbeator]

Steering shaft joints are always a pain to disconnect.. even harder to reconnect. good job eric!

[@ericthecarguy]

No matter what you'll still be draining fluid when you remove the lines from the rack even if you drain the reservoir. It's just a matter of efficiency to drain it at the lines as I did in the video. It saves time and effort. Why make more work for yourself?

[@Carroll49]

The best tech on YT.

[@youdontwantthesecrumbs3996]

Great thorough vids dude, subbed

[@muadeeb]

Watching Eric go though this make me glad I have a pitman/idler arm setup.

[@jameslaws4164]

Very helpful video! Make sure you watch both parts I didn't at first and I made a few mistakes that made this job harder than it should have. I changed my rack on a 1998 but this video is the same for it also.

[@sjs2657g]

Eric, in a earlier years, those racks were attached with saddle clamps attached with 4 bolts [upper and lower] and bushings. Alignment and tightening of those bolts was a real PITA. The Power Steering lines could be loosened and tightened by crowfoot flare wrenches from the right side.

[@elikoronov9658]

your work Helps others!

[@mkleij]

I always imagine he can't do the trick within the duration of the video, but he always proves me wrong ;)

[@thybain]

Great video, that top engine cradle bolt isn't damaged thats how its made. Its also discontinued so you cant order from a gm. I just replaced my engine cradle and control arms on my Sunfire.

[@juanh2096]

dude this is exactly what i needed man i jst needed to know if there was anything connecting the steering rack to the subframe and u showed me tht inside the boot man, great big fakin help man thnksXD

[@z1r000]

Everytime i check your channel I see things what i need to do in college :] Not sure if related or not :P Keep up the good work

[@anthonydeandre6808]

Dunno if you guys cares but if you're bored like me atm then you can stream all of the new movies and series on Instaflixxer. I've been streaming with my gf for the last days xD

[@eddiecorbin2773]

@Anthony Deandre Definitely, I've been watching on instaflixxer for months myself =)

[@julioreginald3836]

@Anthony Deandre Yup, have been watching on instaflixxer for since november myself =)

[@ericthecarguy]

No I'm afraid I don't. I just know it works for the most part and that's good enough for me.

[@olenaerhardt7725]

I'm thinking to drop the subframe on one side and about 1" only, since too little clearance to change the Inner Tie rod Boot on the driver side of 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier. I changed it on the passenger side, and it was extremely difficult, since practically no space, but it seems like even more tight area on the driver side. In general, I think it is not done normally that way how I did it, it is better to drop the frame on one side a little bit, about 1". Thank you for the film, very informative.

[@noemipr2009]

you are great ERIC.

[@henryreprogle4877]

Your videos are the best found hope you can keep getting more up

[@poonjaber1122]

I'm really glad u got a camera guy now ur videos went up a level forsure... Good video nonetheless, always entertained by ur vids.liked

[@ericthecarguy]

Because the car is being fixed to be sold. The kid got a new car out of it.

[@TorqueEffect]

I just obtained a 2002 Cavalier LS Sport for free. Been sitting on my property for 2 years, friend doesn't want it anymore. threw a can of Seafoam in the tank, and swapped out the dead battery and it started beautifully, not all in that order though. lol Currently has some idle issues, but I am trying to work all that old fuel out of the system. I did top up at the pump to dilute the old fuel, and also threw in a bottle of HEET to get rid of any water that accumulated in the tank from sitting with a half tank. Definitely going to be throwing injector cleaning in there for quite a few fillups to clean out any gunk that might have accumulated.

[@TorqueEffect]

Also before they let it sit, they had a completely re-manufactured cylinder head installed. Such a waste. I am glad it's in my possession now as it only has 108k miles on the clock, and is the newest car I have ever owned. My other cars are a 98 Monte Carlo, and a 91' Festiva (With a 1.8 BP swap)

[@TorqueEffect]

Also first car I owned that isn't rusting. lol

[@solesearched]

Ahhh I hate when you release a two part video and I have to wait for part 2! Giant tease! Lol Keep it up Eric! Love the videos.

[@ericthecarguy]

I mostly only see that on GM's which is probably why you don't see them in Europe. I know you have a version of GM there but it's far removed from what we have it seems. I think the reason they did it that way was to prevent corrosion of the terminals. It fails miserably at that BTW. Also, it's easy to cross thread the terminals and create a loose connection. Personally, I'm not a fan.

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

The GM's you're referring to are the German Opels (sold as that in the rest of Europe, as Vauxhall in GB and as Holden in AUS). They don't have battery terminals on the side either, and while GM takes a lot of good German engineering from the Opel engineers, they didn't seem to have adapted this to their own products. The Saturn Astra by the way is one of those, it was basically an H-model Opel Astra (produced from 2004-2010). So if you want German engineering at a good price, that's it! ;)

[@ratmphan]

Eric, you sure do know your stuff about GM, they love re-badgeing EVERYTHING, which can be good and bad. But you were correct that Pontiac's Cavalier was the Sunfire. Also Oldsmobile didn't have their own version of this car, around this time at least, but the Oldsmobile Alero (also a compact car, on a different frame) had a couple of the same motors.

[@ericthecarguy]

I don't do a sufficient volume of work to justify a lift and I would also need to redo the electric at the shop to accommodate one. So it's not just the cost of the lift but also the cost to rewire the shop that needs to be considered. I honestly don't mind working without a lift, it bothers my viewers much more than it does me. I'd rather spend money on new cameras and a new computer to edit with.

[@adriansrealm]

And if anyone is wondering pilot points align themselves so they are easier to get started. Especially when the two holes are not properly aligned at first.

[@JackTekkel]

Part 2, Part 2, Part 2!!! Can't wait... :D

[@bposey69]

Thanks for the air box tip.. I rolled around for 10 minutes looking for a good angle to get at those hoses

[@bposey69]

Pipes... Fittings... Whatever you wanna call them

[@ericthecarguy]

I have answered this question SEVERAL times over on ETCG1. You should check it out.

[@ericthecarguy]

You're right I don't. Thanks for the additional information though.

[@rhkips]

The "missing" threads on GM chassis bolts are (usually) by design. It allows you to use the bolt as an alignment tool to wiggle and pry the part into place without any negative effect on the bolt itself, and not have to do the funky shuffle between a pilot tool and the bolt that needs to go in its place. Just make sure once the bolt is seated, to turn it backwards until you feel it catch before running it down, otherwise it may crossthread. :-)

[@IrnMaiden304]

Question, turning left is no problem but cutting back to the right is a little harder. You can feel pulsing in the steering wheel like its trying to fight back to the left. Most likely the rack is bad but i just wanted a second opinion. The car in question is a 92 storm GSI and both the pump and rack are expensive for this type of car. Thnks eric

[@ericthecarguy]

That's hard to say because videotaping it takes up a BUNCH of time. I'd say if I were just doing the rack and not shooting it about 2 hours. Taping it took about 5.

[@gusmodelmaker]

above ground hoist? of course it would be easier, but we love ETCG because he DIYs just as about as everyone up here, in their own garage with simple tools - keep it simple and stay dirty!

[@mohamedgamaleldien4216]

what a good days my master!!

[@pepene93]

thats one of the batteries preferred by gm. its a 75 size. they also have a wider version for some of their bigger trucks called the 78. they can be a pain at times, but i prefer them overall

[@THETHINKINGMINDS]

Great videos Eric, thanks. I need your recommendation. After installing new rack and pinion on Subaru legacy 2008, it makes a loud sound as if the muffler is broken, and frong light flashes. Muffler is properly connected. What should I do? Thanks.

[@ericthecarguy]

Indeed there was.

[@72sarge]

helpful hint ( unless you knew this ) on bolts/ nuts/ fittings that havent moved since put in service, give it a quick tightening 1/8th turn to loosen build up rust. works on busses.

[@epiphaknee]

With a GM vehicle you can always call the Parts Dept. at a dealer and provide your VIN number and then they will have the correct part. You ask for the part number and then provide that to your parts supplier. Using the RPO code works too. There are many excellent RPO code decoders on the Internet which will define your codes for you. Some owners may want to replace their 3 lock to lock rack with a 2 1/2 L:L rack for tighter turning. Check the forums on Cavaliers to verify. New air gun?

[@marksponge9852]

How i remember why i stick to pre 1978 vehicles ....sorry you had to go through that....

[@dave1135]

Another way to get the rack out is to remove the subframe. 2 ball joints, 6 bolts, 2 for the rack, some clips. Rack is fully exposed. Just undo the pinch bolt, and lines, pop the tie rod ends free

[@ericthecarguy]

You might want to re-watch.

[@helloitsme4139]

Watching this almost 10 year later, doing this exact job, yeah not gonna disturb those old brake lines, imma go from underneath, lol

[@margolo]

An example would be the '90s Pontiac Grand Am, which has the battery at the front nose of the car and with the top terminal style batteries the hood could ground out on it. It happened to my 1970 Buick Skylark once and the underside of the hood actually caught fire.

[@michaelking14]

great video, replacing the rack in my 2002 cav rotted thru started leaking bad, in the process of removing old rack at the moment, running into issues though, the lines going into the rack are stuck, I got the fitting loose but it seems to be stuck on the line... is this the same issue you had and used to air chisel to knock it off? or was that to get the fitting loose from the rack? it doesn't help that its such a tight space... very helpful video though thanks.

[@GammaCruxis]

I somewhat agree - but Eric went back to the customer and would have told him of his assessment - and lack of certainty. It's up to the customer to continue forward, even with the possibility of failure. In the end, the customer went through with it - so Eric is absolved of all issue at that point.

[@Eastahtata]

I would say it's sometimes best not to know too much about GM

[@BiologistRyan]

ugh. mine just went out. given all the other issues the car has big and small im not even going to bother with this repair. literally almost cheaper to buy a cheaper replacement car. fantastic vid as usual though.

[@Cragified]

Lowers package height as well and prevents shorting of terminals out on things like the hood in tight clearances.

[@WiseWik]

you know you're a petrolhead when a half hour long repair video flies by like 5 mins.

[@thenameisethang]

Hi, Eric! My father's name is Eric! haha Anyway, I have a 2004 Buick Rendezvous with 180,000 miles on it. When you reach highway speeds the vehicle becomes unstable and wobbly. It isn't really up and down, it's more like it wobbles side to side. It's really scary to drive it at interstate speeds. My mechanic said he has never seen one do what it is doing. He said the control arm bushing definitely needs replaced and that it could be struts also. What do you think? Thanks- Ethan

[@Marine052191]

I was in an accident that snapped my rack too, got it replaced. Runs good, but now my shocks are all blown. So, i'm going to call insurance since they totally ignored that, if they cant. Gettin my hands dirty. 93 mustang based off of McPherson's design. Going to buy the shock/strut kit from KYB....

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

Also, I have never seen batteries with side terminals, except in KZbin videos from the USA or Canada (with GM vehicles in them, I guess). So that might be something special as well: Make a new battery design, patent it, then build it and sell the batteries for more bucks than the old, very common battery design would cost, also make some bucks on the side from licensing the patented battery design to other battery manufacturers etc...

[@Armus769]

Hey Eric, the side battery terminals on GM vehicles are 5/16".

[@SweetHere111]

Can you recommend an impact wrench and compressor brand/model that would be good for a DIY'er? Thank you for your time either way. You inspire me to fix my rusting shit-heap.

[@jiyushugi1085]

Keep some of your old carpet (or if you see some sitting out for trash pickup, cut off a slab). Put it on the ground under your car when working on it Easy on the body, soaks up oil, etc. - throw it away when it gets messy.

[@blackprelude1]

Great video man very helpful in all areas

[@dave1135]

three words to getting that power steering line loose from the rack.. flare nut wrench, eric break it loose, then use the combination wrench on it.

[@ericthecarguy]

Cool, thanks.

[@KenLyns]

For such a small, simple car, the Cavalier is really difficult to service!

[@davidshears1449]

Its a steering rack , how easy can it get. Try working on some of these newer cars. Iam never getting rid of my 97 cavalier....so easy and cheap to fix.

[@yurifanforever]

I have a Cavalier, there are some things I like about it, and then there's crap like this that makes me glad I've got my Jetta now.

[@edgarzavala1436]

Hey eric, hope you see this message on a 7yr old video. What was the torque spec on the subframe bolts?

[@fat49782]

hey eric, I did a quick search and didn't see anything on your channel.. I was wondering If you could do a video sometime about how to do a tune up on a newer car or truck? important things to check/replace ect... thanks!

[@trirycheman]

This is a J-Body yes, but has very little in common with the 80's j-body. This is based off the 80's Beretta platform it was modified, shortened and called the new j-body. The 92-98 Buick Skylark was also loosely based on the Beretta platform. So was the Oldsmobile Achieva. Wikipedia doesn't know everything!

[@adriansrealm]

Eric the bolts with the weird threads are called pilot point bolts.

[@margolo]

It only became a problem when the metal strap broke on the Buick, due to body flex from torque, and the Pontiac has side posts so it's not a problem, and you can't really get the screws reversed that easily.

[@cupofdiarrhea]

Technically there have been 3 different J-body cars since 1989, the Cavalier, the Sunbird (around until 1994) and the Sunfire. I won't begrudge you lumping the Sunbird and Sunfire together though, as one was the precursor to the other.

[@DeusEx_Machina]

I wonder if in the effort to make cars more compact makes for having to remove more non problem parts to get to the problem parts, thus making repair times longer/harder, and hence more expensive?

[@talleddie81]

I prefer cardboard too. And my wife keeps complaining that I save all the big sections of cardboard that I can, LOL.

[@raybenoit5238]

hey car guy,what kind of gloves are u using?

[@OutDatedMobile]

you are wrong J-body has been used by Chevy Pontiac Cadillac Buick and Oldsmobile. Chevy Cavailer,Pontiac Sunbird/Sunfire,Buick Skyhawk,Cadillac Cimarron and Oldsmobile Firenza and For the Japanese Market the Toyota Cavalier form 1996 to 2000 model years. Go get some info when you do a statement ! nice video Eric

[@ericthecarguy]

Friday.

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

I've just had another idea what the special battery design is about: it's patented and thus a way to make more money from selling batteries with side-terminals at a higher price than the usual top ones, and licensing fees for the battery patent from manufacturers. It's all about the money! ;)

[@bunning63]

We had those things as a Toyota in new Zealand, didn't compare well to the real Japanese cars. Very rare to see one now. Quess there were many people who wished they had bought a Honda...

[@agmechanic94]

Small cars, mini-excavators, and skid-steer loaders are pains in the but to work on. So glad I'm not an automotive tech.

[@keeping-up-with-pg]

I am no means a certified mechanic, so am just wondering after disconnecting the battery why not drain the power steering fluid as much as possible 1st. Again just asking not criticizing.

[@XxBulletEaterxX]

Yes it's common. There are also ones with the two terminals on top.