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      07-08-2017, 12:09 AM   #52
dancing__narwhal
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Drives: 2024 m340ix
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

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I did this job over the weekend and this DIY was very helpful. The hardest part for me was getting the hubs to stay in place on top of the jack / block of wood contraption without the steering rack moving right or left. The passenger side was OK since applying force on the bolt actually helped keep the steering rack in place. The driver side was horrible because the force of the jack made the steering rack naturally want to turn the opposite direction of the wrench which made it constantly turn back and forth with each turn of the wrench.

At least once I had the hub turn too much and the jack + wood block flung out. So be very careful!

I would agree with the OP that this is a fairly easy job so long as you have the right equipment and are comfortable wrenching under a car. it took me about 3 hours which includes two trips to the auto-parts store since I didn't have the right sockets for my torque wrench. Once you have the car properly jacked up, the actual removal and replacement job is pretty straightforward (besides the whole hub jacking issue mentioned above).

The other thing that was a pain was getting my jack underneath the central jack point and then getting it high enough to place the jack stands on the sides. Perhaps my cheap-o jack is to blame, but I couldn't get it high enough without adding a wood block. To get the wood block between the jack and the car, I had to drive the car part-way onto rhino ramps and then slide the jack + block under the central jack point. Not too bad on the way up but a pain when lowering and having to slide the ramps back in place and drive the car up them slightly before removing the jack. A better jack would probably be able to raise the car far enough on its own.

Hope these can be helpful to anyone else attempting this DIY. Cheers!
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