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I applaud your efforts to restore a steering rack.
FWIW I too have rebuilt a rack, and its still working great.
I think thats due to the fact is was previously rebuilt and the shaft was in the great condition,
it failed due to operator error of holding the wheel at full lock while tuning around every day,
this eventually killed the seals.
From my experience , for the time and effort and tools involved,
its way better to buy a good rebuilt rack.
get new boots and new tie rods and new PS resevoir and curved hose as well.
I applaud your efforts to restore a steering rack.
FWIW I too have rebuilt a rack, and its still working great.
I think thats due to the fact is was previously rebuilt and the shaft was in the great condition,
it failed due to operator error of holding the wheel at full lock while tuning around every day,
this eventually killed the seals.
From my experience , for the time and effort and tools involved,
its way better to buy a good rebuilt rack.
get new boots and new tie rods and new PS resevoir and curved hose as well.
Then plug in your new parts and move on.
Appreciate it Stan. Yeah, even had this rack continued to work great...I had still concluded the time and energy involved make the end sum a debate. Especially if quality rebuilds are out there with a phone call
So Plan B, the morning after rack, is installed and functional.
I used Roger's rebuild source, it looked to be done well, right out of the box.
In total, the project included rebuilt rack, rebuilt PS pump, new PS lines, new reservoir and hose, new tie rods and boots. I had planned on delrin bushings but the stock-style bushings came installed fresh on the new rack. I decided to drive on those awhile until they get tired and then replace.
On the first road drive, it felt pretty spongey, but improved once everything settled. Drives and tracks fine, but maybe a little floaty. I need to see what it does after a good alignment.
It steers with less effort overall, softer to the touch perhaps. Not sure if that is a benefit of the new PS components or not. I kinda miss the grunt involved turning the wheels, it feels more like a luxury vehicle now
Glad this ordeal is over. When you get a proper alignment the steering feel will improve dramatically. I did the same exact work you did (less the self-rebuild) over a year ago and 8K or so miles- everything is perfect.
the longer you drive before the alignment the better the alignment will be .
I find it takes about 200 miles for the car to really settle and find its groove after being worked on.
IE with the wheels off the ground
hi,
I'm looking at a problem. The steering rack has a saddle that is pushed against the steering rack to eleminate play. This is a picture:
I'm trying to get the saddle out. In my rack the piston is simply stuck. Can't get it to move at all. Does anyone have a trick to get it out?
And assemble that screw (86) to the proper torque with red Loctite, having that come loose would be one of the bad things.
It would indeed be bad, but screw #86 should be physically secured by safety washer #85, loctite and torque aren't sufficient in this case. The washer is folded up and peened against the head of bolt #86 to prevent it from moving at all.
01-13-2017, 08:11 AM
