jmartins

Hi !

I need to change my leaking steering rack seals, but someone charged me about US 800.00 here in Brazil !!!!!! Just because the Porsche brand !

I like to know if you guys know the steering rack kit content specification, or if some other car use the same seals or similar steering rack.

Thank you !

JL

karl ruiter

$800 is probably a rebuilt rack. A seal kit for a rack is avaialble from Roger and is in the range of $50 as I recall. In many cases the seal kit will not work becase the rack itself is untreated steel and subject to corrosion and pitting. Once it is pitted replacing the seals won't work.

jmartins

$500 for the kit and $300 labor ! This is so crazy !

Podguy

Jim,

Look the rack over carefully. Generally the only seal that leaks is the right side seal. I do not remember the part number but it can be easily sourced. The plastic washer under the seal is a different story but could probably be fabricated.

The right seal can be replaced with the rack still in the car.

GlenL

Found this from an old post of mine.

"The rack takes 26x35x7 and those are single lipped."

If there's fluid in the boot then that's the part you need. Available in a variety of materials. Buna-N or NBR will be fine. Get a few as they're cheap and putting them in is tricky. It's gotta go in backwards from the inside instead of being tapped in from the outside like a crank or cam seal is.

Tom in Austin

The right seal can be replaced with rack still in the car? Cool, can anyone describe exactly how one would do that?

RET

IIRC, the outer seals are installed from the inside with the rack disassembled. It has been awhile since I rebuilt mine, but I am pretty sure that none can be replaced without taking everything apart.

Roger at 928sRUs.com has the seal kits as well as rebuilt racks.

The seals are reasonably easy to install if you have the proper tools, to include a correct spanner for the castellated threaded rings that hold the aluminum ends to the central tube - I do not consider a hammer and punch to be proper tools, nor the damage done in using them to be acceptable, even though they seem to be the tools of choice for some rebuilders.

The seal kit, at least when I bought it, did not include some of the plastic bushings and bearings that are wear parts, but they could be made if needed. I believe that ZF does not sell these parts any longer.

A real problem, and one that will cause a new seal to fail, is pitting of the steel ram itself. Some rebuilders polish the shaft until the pitting is gone and hope that the new seals will accommodate the now undersized and perhaps out-of-round shaft. This results in increased radial play of the ram in the assembly; a custom machined plastic bushing might compensate for it.

FWIW, it used to be that a "rebuilt" rack that came directly from ZF in Germany, was actually, or essentially, a new rack. At least it had all new tolerances and no damage from improper tools or scarring from being clamped in a common vise. These were not cheap then, and are probably more now.

You should consider replacing the tie rods and hoses; definitely replace the boots and reservoir and see the posted warnings on alignment.....

Bob

ROG100

PS seal kit $65. Bag of seals with not a lot of information but lots of my overseas customers with RHD racks have rebuild them succesfully.

Podguy

The bottom plate protecting the rack has to be dropped. After that remove the tie rod by removing the inner tie rod joint. Check the ball of play before removing the joint as this is a common wear point.

The right seal in the is inside the right cover. There is a slotted ring that is pinned in place by dual punch marks. Use a hammer and brass punch to turn the ring. Once it is beyond the punch point it should turn out easily. Once the ring is loose the cover just slides off over the rack.

Replacing the seal is a matter of getting the old one out and sliding the new one in. I used a screw driver and hammer to spilt the old seal. But there is a hazard here. If you get too agressive you destroy the plastic bushing that the rack rides on. Fortunately the kit had a new one. In reality since the plastic washer wears it is important to replace it as well.

Assembly is the reverse. I used a socket to seat the new seal. Be sure to pin the ring with a punch. Since you are removing the inner tie rod joint the allignment will remain unchanged. I also found there are double seals. I have not tried one but they are used in high stress hydralic systems.

A good cleaning of the area before you start is a good idea. You do not want to introduce dirt to the interior of the rack.