Stan944

and what do they actually do during the rebuilding? Who sells high quality rebuilt (manual !) racks?

Mike C.

Markus Blazak did mine 4 years ago. No problems since.

FRporscheman

Most of the online order places don't rebuild it right. Basically, they tear it apart, replace every seal and o-ring, and put it back together all clean. However, the main shaft should be machined smooth very lightly to ensure a smooth sealing surface and so it doesn't slowly chew up the new seals.

Many rebuilt racks won't last very long before they start leaking. If you get one rebuilt right, then there's no problem. I can't remember who the good shops were. Call the places and ask how they rebuild it. If they send it out, then get the number of the place they send it and ask them.

I rebuilt a rack last year myself, using basically the method above, and so far everything is looking dry but it's still too soon to tell.

User 41221

Go with a Griffiths unit. They truly remanufacture the rack, and don't just reseal it. Its a bit more money but its well worth it.

No affiliation in recommending them, but I have used several of their products and never been disappointed.

Regards,

FRporscheman

I think I've also heard good things about Griffiths - the name rings a bell. I know many people on the 928 board here have needed to buy rebuilt racks (or sent their racks to get rebuilt), so try searching there too.

Stan944

thanks guys. although it's a manual rack, machining is what I also believe should be done to avoid slope. The reason I need one, is that it developed a knocking noise at low speed over not-very-smooth road.
Who sells Grifith?
Paragon sells racks, is it Grifith?

tifosiman

Are you certain it isn't the tie rod? There isn't much to go wrong on the manual rack. I have seen a few where the teeth on the rack gear are worn out in the "wheel centered" area. At that point, it best just to purchase a new manual rack.

Techno Duck

Heres a thought, is it possible to change the rack gear with one from a power steering unit? This way you can use regular PS tie rods but still have the advantage of the manual rack. Is the ratio different on the input shaft and the rack gear?

FRporscheman

The only racks that fit a 944 are made by ZF. Griffiths is a company that just rebuilds the ZF racks.

I have heard that Autozone offers rebuilt racks for Porsches, with lifetime warrantees. Maybe they don't rebuild it right, but heck, lifetime warrantee! Might be worth checking out.

Bill

I just purchased and installed a Griffiths rack last week. It is definately high quality.

I also ordered a new power steering pump, reservoir and replacement hoses from Griffin. The reservoir should always be replaced with a new rack. It has a built in filter that can clog and/or allow particles flow into the new rack.

Stan944

I did lots of testing over the weekend, and everything is tight except for the rack/pinion; I recently installed a new intermediate steering shaft. When I took one boot away, I could twist the rack about 15 degrees (should be zero). I retightened the screw at the front, but I did it 2 weeks ago, and now it's the same problem! I think there is uneven wear, and the noise/play will keep coming back.

tifosiman

How many miles are on the rack in your car? More than 200K?

Jeremy Himsel

I've rebuilt a rack myself with the Rennbay kit as well as installed the Auto Zone RB rack. To be perfectely honest, the AutoZone rack is a great deal and if you can get past the fact that it's painted black, it's much less of a hassle then rebuilding one yourself.

Stan944

the car is about 190,000miles (or more, i.e. +n*100,000), I bought it with 120,000 miles.

tifosiman

Time for a new manual rack then. That's about right at the point where you could see wear-out on the rack and pinion.

The rack and pinion gears are tandem, they aren't interchangable between the two different racks due to ratios.