Uprating Escort Steering
The steering rack in XMT 441G was already a high ratio 2.4 turn rack but it had developed a fair amount of play. This really showed up under braking.

Parts needed
Rather than replace the bushes with standard nylon items I bought a bronze bush kit from Burtons for about £28. I also bought a group 4 steering joint and some poly rack mount bushes from Rally Design. I couldn't see the point in not uprating them while it was removed.

Dismantling
After removing the rack from the car I removed the rubber gaiters and drilled out the small roll pins that help lock the bits together. Using a wrench I undid the locknuts and unscrewed the ends to remove the track rods.

You can see from the picture on the right where the problem was. The nylon cups that support the ball on the end of the track rods had a ridge round them.

The next thing was to remove the big nylon bush that supports the nearside end of the steering gear with a pair of needle nose pliers and a screwdriver. Mine was still quite pliable but I have seen them come out in three pieces!

Re-assembly
The large bronze bush was easily fitted by drifting it into the rack tube with a socket. To prevent this from coming out I 'bent' the lower edges of the oval holes inwards by tapping them with a hammer and screwdriver.
The nylon cups were replaced with the bronze cups and then the track rods, ends and locknuts were refitted.
DO NOT put grease on the new cups. It will allow slight movement as the grease moves. The bronze is self lubricating anyway.
Each end was tightened until each track rod would just support it's own weight and then locked off with the lock nuts. I then drilled a new hole and fitted a new roll pin. The gaiters were re-fitted and the rack filled with oil

Re-fitting
The group 4 steering joint was fitted to the steering column first. This was left loose so that there was some movement to help position the rack. I found that the bottom of the steering column was 'bottoming out' on the joint before the rack could be lifted hight enough to bolt in. After some careful checking I removed about a millimeter and a half from the end of the column with a Dremel. This worked and it all bolted up nicely.

After re-setting the tracking a took it for a test drive. I must report that it was a great improvement. Steering was much less vague and even braking was improved. I think the wheels must have been toeing out under braking before, due to the excessive play in the rack.