xsbank

I jacked up the car to replace struts etc as well as to have a good look under there and its quite mucky with old oil mixed with road crud. When I started cleaning up the rack to see if it is leaking or the PO was just really messy with oil filter changes, this hard plastic line was loose, held more or less in the correct spot by a zip-tie, but the passenger side end was just hanging loose and the hole in the rack it was supposed to fit in was also full of crud. Can anyone explain this hard line's purpose, why its a press fit and whether or not my rack is full of crap/crud and will have to be repaired?

xsbank

No ideas?

V2Rocket

pretty sure it just lets air from one side of the rack to the other when it moves from side to side

Tedro951

It lets air flow between the bellows.

MAGK944

?? Bellows, no. Piston, yes.

As the piston moves inside the rack it transfers air from one side of the piston to the other. There is no fluid in that line, if there is you have a bad rack.

If there is gunk in there clean it out the best you can and reattach the compensating line. The gunk will not have caused any damage.

xsbank

Thank you for answering, I'll give it a bath in brake clean and reattach it. The jury's out whether the rack leaks or not, tonight I will test it.