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What I learned about steering box brace replacement

alloriginaltone

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Pittsburgh
It's common knowledge among XJ fans that the aluminum bracket that mounts between the inside of the steering box and the driver side frame must have been designed by the same people who make the plastic cutouts for model car parts. It is fragile and disintegrates. So, it needs to be replaced.

The issue I ran into is the steering box bolts sheared off when removing them. I sprayed them with kroil and was gentle and patient. Didn't matter. Two of the three sheared off.

The good news is when they shear they leave quite a large stub to grab onto. The bad news is that they weren't budging with a vice grip. So, I heated the area of the steering box that captures the bolt. I happened to use an "induction" heater rather than torch. Once heated, the bolts came out easily.

I was really glad I didn't have to take out the entire steering box to ream out those bolts!
 
Recently did the same upgrade when replacing my front bumper. I didnt have any problems taking them out but getting them back in was a PITA.

I had to leave the steering box unbolted (but still in the roughly same position, resting on the frame) overnight and it leaked some fluid on the ground.
 
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