I need to replace my power steering pump, and i have a rack leak aswell that needs fixing, just wondering if its all easy to replace. I got a pretty general sorta mechanical knowldge, ive changed over a water pump before, and that wasnt very complex. itll cost me 320 at the mechanics, i can get one for 85 on ebay.

one of the easiest job you can do providing you have a good set of spanners and sockets and a 3/8" socket handle to release the serpentine belt tension

It is pretty simple...just messy. Pump is pretty straight forward.

If you are replacing the rack, just make sure you have a big enough spanner for the tie rod end nuts.

Another thing to look out for is the steering wheel during rack replacing. When you remove the rack from the intermediate shaft...DON'T rotate the steering wheel...you could accidentally mis-align it later on if it is 360 degrees out and break the clock spring. If the wheel doesn't move...you should be sweet. To be safe you can always tie a brick to the bottom of the wheel to stop it from rotating.

So there is no worries about tensioning, and that kinda thing? is the only thing that i can really screw up the moving the steering wheel thing?

Pretty much. It's all bolt on. Other thing would be o-rings for the high pressure line. Usually if you buy a reconditioned rack, you should get o-rings with it. 2 for the high pressure line, one for the power steering switch and another for the return line. If you don't get any, just go out and buy a box of multiple sizes of o-rings and use that.

Bolts just have to be tight when you put everything back together.

Once everything is back together, fill the pump up close to the top, run the engine with the cap off and watch the fluid get sucked in and circulate, top up as necessary. The fluid will start to foam and bubble, this will go away overtime. If you can, do this while the front end is off the ground...it's much easier to do the following test.

To check the steering wheel is really centred, you rotate the steering wheel slowly left or right until you feel the steering bump stop. While you do this though, count how many rotations it takes to reach the bump stop. If I remember correctly, it is 1.5 turns in either direction from centre to hit the bump stop and I think the clock spring has a maximum of 2 turns. So if for some reason the steering wheel rotates past 1.5 but less than 2 turns before it hits the bump stop in one of the directions, don't force it any further...because you may over stretch the clock spring and break it. Or if it only takes 1 turn to get to the bump stop in one direction...it may also not be centred either since it would take 2 turns in the opposite direction to hit the bump stops. So in essence, it is 3 complete rotations of the steering wheel from lock to lock.

Once you have checked the steering wheel is centred, turn the steering wheel from lock to lock 3 times with the cap on the pump. Once you've done that, open the cap and see if the fluid has dropped (may be hard since it is probably all foamy).

After all that you should be fine .

I did the above and the steering is awesome compared to the before...pump is still noisy though since it is a dodge one .

Just to make phong's info more accurate, you will find you have 5 turns of steering lock, 2.5 either way... If you end up with 1.5 I'd like to see you navigate a car park

The clock spring has 5 turns of movement too... May be a tad more but definitely not another half... Its only bad if you get it a full turn out... If it stays close it'll be ok because you have master splines to line up and this will ensure steering stays true...

Cheers,
Tim

Nah, E series have 3 turns lock to lock (18.5:1 variable ratio) - I'm assuming AU runs same - someone correct this if necessary ??
This is a good point - otherwise, what you can do is remove the wheel and pull the clockspring and reset it (instructions on the clockspring).
Check your front suspension and see if anything needs replacing - because you'll need a wheel alignment with the rack change (toe in/out at least).

startin to sound like i should pay a mechanic, lol, got quoted 320 bucks, just for the pump and fitting. I dont know how much the pumps generally are, but i know there about 80 bucks on ebay

I got quoted around $260 installed...but my memory is shot.

I ended up rebuilding my own pump for $15. Was leaking at first but not anymore.

If it's just the pump you are replacing, then you shouldn't have to touch the steering wheel until everything is back together and need to turn the wheel from lock to lock 3 times to push air bubbles out.

ah, okay. Its the next most expensive thing i need after tyres for a roadworthy. Wish i was still up in mackay, i could just get a dodgy roadworthy done, lol

Do it right once and never have to worry about it .

But yeah, pump is straight bolt on.

BTW do you know where your rack is leaking? if it's near electrical wiring, it is most likely the power steering switch. I suggest you replace that while there is low fluid in the system.

i dont even know what the rack is, id have to google it. They just said it in the thing they gave me to say wasnt roadworthy

The ford manuals are good info for this. Provided you inspect everything and are careful, it's not that hard - you don't need to remove the pulley off the shaft. Probably the hardest part is removing/installing the circlip for the large spring.
Not recommended for the novice though.
Best to degrease the rack and to monitor for leaks, but as mentioned, most likely the pressure switch.