Jim, coincidentally I did this conversion this weekend. I too found the
nuts very hard to tighten even with a long handle on the socket wrench.
I was so uncertain that I had tightened them up enough that I sent mail
to Richard last night asking for suggested torque settings because the
instructions ("Tighten mounting bolts firmly") are not helpful when
tightening firmly wont even get the nuts half way up the bolt shafts..
Given the size of the wrench handle I was using I was very concerned
that I was going to shear the bolts.
The alu mounts are very well made and they fit well so other than the
bolts this is a very easy project.
In the end I didn't detect any movement in the rack once they were
installed so I took it out for a drive and was very happy to get rid of
the slop in the steering. I never did get the rubber mounts compressed
right after the new rack went in years ago and yes I have seen all the
tricks but in the end I decided to opt for the solid mounts.
Stan
-----Original Message-----
I installed a set of Goodparts solid steering rack mounts this weekend.
It was EXTREMELY difficult to tighten the nuts onto the supplied bolts.
It required a good bit of anti-seize compound to lubricate 'em! After I
got 'em on I tried turning the steering wheel while the car was standing
still in the garage.
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