Hello everyone. I'm posting this to close the loop on some other threads regarding steering rack preload adjustment with the rack still on the car.

This is how I was able to do it:
- Raise the front end on jack stands and remove front wheels
- Remove front sway bar (15mm bolts)
- Use a 22mm wrench to break loose both the adjuster plug and the lock nut at the same time
- Adjust the pre load per the factory service manual (attached screenshot)
- Mark the correct position on the bolt to keep track of it while tightening the lock nut
- Tighten the lock nut and the adjuster plug at the same time using a 22mm wrench (takes a little trial and error to get the adjuster plug to land in the correctly adjusted spot)

There isn't enough clearance on top of the adjuster plug to get a socket on it. The best tool is a combination wrench from underneath the car (with the sway bar removed).

It's very hard to get any tool around the lock nut, and even if you do it deforms very easily.

It might be possible to make the adjustments with a crows foot without removing the way bar, but it's tricky enough that it won't save you time in the end.

My car is a 1992 with 127,000 miles. I had loose steering, specifically a dead spot on-center and when reversing steering direction with no other obvious cause. The adjuster plug on my rack turned out to be about a quarter turn too loose based on the FSM. In the end the adjustment took away about 50% of the dead spot. The rest I think is just wear.

I hope this is helpful for anyone else working on steering issues.

 

I had an issue with the rag joint to rack and pinion pinch bolt not being tight. This was causing the rag joint to rock on the splines of the rack and pinion. I was going to do an adjustment to the rack free play like you did as there was not movements in any tie rods. I decided to check that bolt and it seemed tight and then it went a good 1/4 turn more. Check that pinch bolt.

 

Thanks for the tip. I took a look at that pinch bolt today. Like you said it was fairly tight but I was able to get another 1/4 turn or so on it. I didn't notice much of a difference though after I drove it.

For anyone who wants to try this, I had to remove the AC compressor from the mounting bracket to get access.