Tackled this today. I took my time because of my hand and also trying not to make one of my classic dumb mistakes. But it was really straight forward.
I studied the directions one last time and noted that they want you to replace the lock nut for the steering shaft. So I started the project by going to the dealer and bought their two lock nuts for the steering shaft bolts. They are a 140 part number, which is fun.
Put the car on the lift and my plan was to secure the steering wheel with the seat belt. So I did.
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Then I measured the toe from the two outer most continuous tread sipes. 66-5/8".
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Buzzed tie rod nuts off.
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The instructions point you to the process to remove the lower steering shaft. But I looked more closely and it seemed like I could just unbolt the pinch bolt that holds the shaft to the rack input shaft. So I did that and worked on prying the shaft off the spline, which wasn't too difficult. I was a little worried the steering shaft might be tricky so this was going well.
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Disconnect the main power plug and the CAN plug. There are two bolts that secure the rack to the subframe, two that go into a stiffening plate that also attaches to the subframe, and a single small bolt that goes sideways instead of up directly into the rack. This was fine until I realized the two long bolts that go into the subframe actually are through bolts, with nuts on top. Access was tight but after studying it I was able to slip a wrench in the various crevices and hold the nut. I give them points because this seemed thought out.
The nut on the pass side was trickier but once that was all loose, I removed the tie rod ends from the knuckle and this thing was ready to drop onto my chest. Through all that I think I easily had it out in under an hour and I think an experienced tech could do it in like 25 minutes. It's so easy. It actually might be easier on 4Matic cars, based on some of the RWD-only steps I saw.
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Oh look, ZF Lenksystems like Napa claimed. And what's that? Made in China? Yes, the original steering motor was made in China, all the way back in 2013 or whenever this was made.
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Had the new rack loosely bolted in place less than 15 minutes later. Again, it's incredibly easy the way they put the car together.
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This shot shows the reach around action for the wrench to hold the nut on top of the subframe. Not bad once I devised the right angle of attack.
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I did put thread locking compound on the little M8 because I seem to recall the internet saying that one can get loose.
Assembly is the reverse of removal. The two main bolts take angle torque (as well as the tie rod ends) and I think everything else is regular torque.
Last step was to adjust toe. It looked like about 1/8" too little toe which is...remarkably close to what it was before. But I was able to toe in each side about 1/16" and get it to the same as I measured before I took stuff apart. I do feel like this tape measure toe is probably enough to drive the car around before my alignment next week.
I decided to move onto the stabilizer bar next.