Pretty straightforward -

Who here has replaced thier steering rack, and what, exactly, was involved with the new one? Where did you get it, how much, etc?

I was either going to get it from one of the big three, or possibly griffiths.

I replaced a hose about 12k ago, and checked and while doing that found no leaks. All of a sudden, my fluid was low, and I had to refill quit a bit. There are various "wet" spots on the bottom tray now, at each side of the car right under the rack. I am assuming its the rack. Car has 64k, right on target for this stuff. I need motor mounts anyway, and probably could use a new pan seal (not leaking, but wet).
I was hoping I could wait until I went dry sump to do all of this, but I am not so sure now.

So again, any quirks to this? Any experience with different racks?

 

BTDT. Got mine from 928 Int'l. Way better quality than the spray-canned rebuild that was on there by the PO.

Cost me $400 + core.

As Thom Ross pointed out to me a while ago, you should be real sure that your rack is the culprit, as sometimes hose leaks/pump leaks can appear as rack leaks.

Replacing it is not a hard task, but is a bit dirty. Only quirks I can think of are (1) the center bolts on the cover plate have nuts on the upper side, not threads in the plate itself, and it's a real bear to hold 'em while you remove the bolts; and (2) the collar that attaches the rack to the steering shaft can be rough to dislodge.

Aside from that, it's no T-belt replacement. There's good write-ups out there @ Nichols' site and others.

 

Yes, Thank you James. I was going to jack it up again and take off the tray (UGH!) to look around for the source. I guess it COULD be my new line that I thought I tightened down well enough 12k ago (during a TB change actually)

So 400 from 928 intl with core? I was aware of a price closer to 700? I think that was from grifiths.

Thanks,

 

Griffiths is expensive but the quality of their rebuilds, I am told, is extraordinary.

That price was for a reman rack, BTW.

 

When comparing the price of steering racks, make sure that you're comparing two that are the same. Some might be "short racks", without tie rods, and others might be "long racks" with new tie rods and outer tie rod ends.

 

James Erdman wrote to this thread:

[quote] Replacing it is not a hard task, but is a bit dirty. Only quirks I can think of are (1) the center bolts on the cover plate have nuts on the upper side, not threads in the plate itself, and it's a real bear to hold 'em while you remove the bolts; and (2) the collar that attaches the rack to the steering shaft can be rough to dislodge.
<hr></blockquote>

Just last weekend, as part of the SoCal928 "Motormount Day" hosted by Eric Munck, we had the rack almost completely out of an '88 car. To the points made by James:

Those middle bolts that hold the center of the bottom cover are T-bolts on the S4 we worked on. The T part sits on top, and prevents the bolt from turning while you remove or install the nut underneath. On this particular car we broke one of the bolts (corrosion devils at work on a former east-coast car) and sub'd in a standard hex-head capscrew. A common screwdriver was wedged between the hex head and the crossmember to hold it while the nut was attached.

Eric popped the shaft connector off in a few seconds, showing us that putting a screwdriver into the pinch slot and spreading the clamp a bit is a simple solution. Clean the splines and the connector before reassembling, add a little Never-Sieze, and it will be easier next time.

We did discover that the tie rod ends take a pretty small fork to remove. We had a common size fork, and a common tie-rod-end press, but both were too big. Make sure you have the right tool before you get all grubby on the garage floor.


Otherwise, it looks like at least the R&R part of the rack swap might only be a Saturday morning job, knowing what I know now.

HTH!

 

Very interesting, Doctor...all my bolts were originally secured with run-of-the-mill hex head nuts; hence the headache.

I wonder if this was changed for the S4s or if the mechanics (used loosely) who replaced the rack before my ownership did a little "modification"?

 

I've got the "T" bolts on my '88 too.

 

[i just gave mine a cursory look]

so do you have to drop the sub-frame? or is the rack on the bottom of it and that's just a cover i'm looking at? unbolt and it drops off?

 

Its just a cover and drops off, don't forget the 17 (or is it 15 ???)mm nut hidden in the recess.

Chris

 

Dave wrote:

[quote]so do you have to drop the sub-frame? or is the rack on the bottom of it and that's just a cover i'm looking at? unbolt and it drops off?<hr></blockquote>

Hi Dave:

The crossmember does not have to come off. That bottom plate is held on with the little cover bolts we've been discussing, and four larger bolts that pass through the rack bushings, sandwiching the rack between the cover and the crossmember. The cover also has a bolt on the end of a large arm that pokes out on the left (driver side on US cars...) end.

If you have a car that's been subjected to winter weather or even spring salt, and you are thinking about working on the underpinnings like this, get in there in advance and douse the bolts with penetrant. I'd kinda forgotten how much fun that rust brings with it to the party. I'm spoiled by the warm, dry SoCal928 area climate.

 

cool, thanks. i've got a pretty good drip from the pass side boot...

 

i don't know if this applies to your model year but you might want to look at tech bulletin #8 in the parts and technical reference catalog regarding replacement racks and different sizes etc.

 

Thanks for all the comments guys - private and public. I have to warm up to doing this, and I was hoping it could wait until I had a garage.
If you don't have to take off the cross-member, thats fine, but does having all this out make it EASIER to get to the crossmember, and therefore the motor mounts?

Also - I have heard to replacing the rack-bushings with a metal, or possibly a much harder plastic. This will stop them from wearing out, obviously. I have heard of no ill-effects from this.

I always like to "incorporate" work, if I will be doing anything serious like this. Such as the Motor mounts, AND the rack, and the bushings. I also have to do the clutch, but the only "related" issue is that the car has to be up. I strictly do not believe in having others work on my car, but I fear that I may have to get over it for this one.

Well, anyway.

 

Brendan wrote:

[quote]If you don't have to take off the cross-member, thats fine, but does having all this out make it EASIER to get to the crossmember, and therefore the motor mounts? <hr></blockquote>

The cover plate has to come out and the rack has to be lowered to get the crossmember out, IF that's the way you are going after the motor mounts. Having the crossmember out also means that you can access the oil sump gasket (maybe a plus) and means you get to renew your alignment when you are done (maybe a minus.)

I probably need to do my motor mounts, and if I choose to raise the motor by the oil sump it will soon need a suump gasket anyway. It's a delayed Catch-22 situation at best, unless you lift the motor from above and leave the crossmember in place to do the mounts. So add in an engine hoist and sling with a crossbar to do the lift, rather than a trans jack or a wood block on your floor jack from underneath.


I just saw a pretty slick little motorcycle/ quad/ jet-ski/ snomobile/ transmission lift at Costco for less than $100. 1500 Lb capacity, and may be able to go high enough to get the gearbox out of the back. It could hold the engine up by the sump during the motor mount change, and may work even better with a couple brackets added to lift/hold the engine up without pushing on the oil sump.


I have tool-purchase-itis, an affliction suffered by many who believe that no job is insurmountable if you already own every possible tool you might ever need for any project on the car. At that point I'm ready to attack an oil change. Takes more tools to do anything bigger after that.

Anybody else have this disease?


And-- how can you live in California and not have a garage? Even confirmed-bachelor Keith W. broke down and is moving to a three-car garage with a pretty nice house (he understands...) attached. <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" />

The "other option" for you is to get in on a SoCal928 Motor Mount Day, and bring the new rack with you. Swap in new mounts, the sump gasket, the rack, for a sack of dog bisquits and afew pizzas. Keep an eye on the SoCal 928 board for the next dates and times. Martin Bishop was our last victim...


HTH!