Tips for inserting pinch bolt connecting steering column to steering gear?

[steve s]

( Editing to add make: 1993 Festiva )

Hi folks--

After just replacing the steering gear (rack and pinion) --

I'm having extreme difficulty inserting and tightening the pinch bolt that connects the lowermost knuckle on the "steering gear intermediate shaft" (following terminology in Ford manual) to the input shaft of the steering gear (rack-and-pinion). I have another (used) set of the same parts so I can see how it all goes together and can see that the bolt won't slide in if the knuckle is positioned too high or too low on the input shaft. But even when everything appears to be lined up just right it's really hard to get it in.

The real issue is that all this is happening inside of that stiff rubber boot which makes it ultra-difficult to get my hand in there with the bolt and put the darned thing into place. I've tried attaching hooks to strings to pull the boot part way upwards but it doesn't really help much. If only one could just roll the boot up out of the way like a sock but of course it's way too stiff for that.

Turning the steering column so that the bolt should be inserted from about a 30-degree angle, coming in slightly from the passenger side rather than straight in front-to-back, seems to help a tiny bit, but not much.

Any tips on how to tackle this difficult problem?

I'm tempted to just give up and cut a big slice in the boot so I can peel it out of the way-- but would rather not!

Thanks for any tips--

(Btw the parts I'm using don't have any "key" that would require the steering gear input shaft to be positioned in one precise orientation, rotation-wise, relative to the intermediate shaft, to make the splines mesh. The other used parts I'm looking at for comparison do have such feature-- which would just seem to make the job even more difficult.)

[WmWatt]

Haynes manual doesn't seem to cover it, just removal and installation, not overhaul ...

pg 10-10
14 Steering gear - removal and replacement

Removal
3 Remove the plastic protector that covers the intermediate steering shaft and the universal joint which connects the intermediate shaft to the steering gear in put shaft.
4 Mark the relationship of the universal joint to the steering gear input shaft. Remove the U-joint pinch bolt

Installation
9 Raise the steering gear into position, right end first, then insert the tie-rod end through the right fender well opening far enough to allow insertion of the left tie-rod end through the left fender well opening. Don't snag the steering gear boots on any sharp edges. Connect the steering gear input shaft and the steering intermediate shaft U-joint. Make sure the marks are aligned.
10 Install the steering gear mounting brackets and tighten the bracket fasteners to the specified torque.
11 Connect the tie-rod ends to the steering knuckle arms.
12 Install the universal joint pinch bolt and tighten it to the specified torque.

[steve s]

Haynes manual doesn't seem to cover it, just removal and installation, not overhaul ...;

Hey WmWatt, thanks, I do appreciate the reply. I do have a Haynes manual too (though not sure how carefully I checked this section) -- that stiff rubber boot is the problem, so difficult to do anything inside of that--

[1990new]

I have changed several steering racks on several Festivas during my 30 plus years of owning them and I can tell you that it is one of the jobs that I like the least.
With the motor and transmission removed it is a much easier job. I once tried to install the rack without removing the steering column, I split one of those boots before and tried to seal it back together but it never worked well and I ended up removing the steering column and putting in a new one boot in with some difficulty.
I have a good extra boot on the shelf now but getting one back in means removing all the padding and matting in the floorboard.
To do the job right you will have to remove the steering column. You will need to connect the universal link shaft to the rack at the bottom before putting it through the boot then connect it to the steering column as you reinstall the steering column.

All that said... if you are so frustrated at this point that you just want to get it connected and get back to driving... I would recommend that you carefully cut the boot so you can get the shaft connected. It will be a lot easier to try to seal it back that way.

[WmWatt]

Not having done this I'm just looking for ideas. How about removing the boot, inserting the pinch bolt, disconnecting the tie rod, replacing the boot, reconnecting tie rod. See Haynes chpt 10 section 13 "Steering gear boots - replacement" Also here's a youtube video which I have not seen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2xac4Bv0k8