I changed the rack and pinion on my Diamante recently - was leaking. The rack can be removed from the top side of engine. The exhaust does not need to be removed. Snaked it out the drivers top side. I had to remove the air intake and vacuum canister but needed those out anyway to access the steering connection. Also needed to remove front and rear engine torque mounts. The two hydraulic lines that come on the rebuilt were removed for ease of install. Also removed those lines in order to get the old one out. Necessary when trying to snake it out thru top of engine. Beats removing the exhaust. Just put some tape or plugs over the ports to avoid contamination or leakage. The tricky part is setting the outer tie rods the same length and getting the steering wheel straight. Nothing a wheel alignment cant fix but you do need to get it close. The trick is to mark the position of the steering connection to old rack so you can make the rebuilt the same.

Anyway it was a long day!!! No wonder the dealership charges so much.

 

Did you still have to take off the crossmember and the left and right support plates?

 

Its been awhile but I think it was only the mount that went front to rear. You definitely need to get the lines off if you want to snake the rack out thru to top drivers side. I bought the rack from Rack Doctor

 

What year was that Diamante? I would like to take advantage of your experience. It appears that on the 2002 you have a couple of brake lines to contend with.

Thanks

 

It was a 99. I think your 02 should be similar. Keeping the steering wheel straight is a little tricky.

 

You do have to remove center member with front roll stopper and the mount attached the the firewall and metal bracket attached to the transmission.
Removing the exhaust was easier than expected.Front of engine then rear then at the second connection past the flex pipe.I wanted the hanger to keep supporting the section being removed. Also I did not want to chance ruining a bolt. One connection had bolts.Replacing a bad or stripped nut is a lot easier.Put a bottle jack under the front of the trans pan using a block of wood for protection.Slowly apply pressure tilting the engine toward the rear until it is as far as it will easily go.This is the whole KEY. REMOVE THE left tie rod end. Counting the turns as is always done when removing any tie rod end.Turn the rack counter clockwise making the left tie rod as short as possible.Slide the rack assembly as far to the right as possible wiggling here and there. You have clearance now to pull the left tie rod down toward the ground and sliding the whole assembly out very easily angled down to the left.
Be sure to center and mark the new rack center at the steering shaft. It helps measure the left tie rod length just to help in re-centering.After installing and centering using your reference mark check the left tire rod length and you will see if you are at the center point.It is a lot easier to mark reference points out of the car and resetting center after installing.

 

One long center member with front roll stopper attached.
Removing the exhaust was necessary to allow clearance and the engine to be rotated to the rear a bit.The LEFT TIE ROD end must come off to allow clearance on the left side allowing tilting downward and sliding out to the left under the transmission.