I'm trying to figure out how a steering rack fails.

Is it because of wear between the gears or simply because of leaks?

In my effort to get rid of my dump-truck handling I'm ordering quite a bit of steering and suspension parts. However, I don't want to waste money if my rack is ok and all I need to replace are tie rods and tie rod ends...

If I do need a rack I'm going to go with this kit from Paragon:

http://www.paragon-products.com/Prod...347BX&CartID=3

 

If you need another rack, go to AutoZone..$199 exchange.

 

Autozone has racks for our cars???

 

I'm surprised too, I'd be suspicious of the quality, who knows though...

Anyone pick up a rack at Autozone?

 

I bought a rebuilt one from Allzim.com and it was not that expensive and had very good quality. The rack can have play from simple mechanical wear and if they start to leak, might was well replace it.

 

Usually they get replaced due of leaks long before they get worn.

 

If it doesn't leak it's probably good, but if you want a really nice rebuilt and re-plated rack, Rennlist member Airbop does them.

 

I just finished a rebuild of mine due to leaks... Haven't powered it up yet to make sure it isn't still leaking.... Self rebuild I would say is easier than Ball Joints, but more difficult than Timing belt/Water Pump swap...

 

Would a failing and/or worn out rack have noticeable play at the wheels? I adjusted the wheel bearings thinking the play was due to them and still had the play in the wheels when I rocked them back and forth. This was consistent on either side R or L.

 

Thanks, Kevin.

Here is a couple of pictures...

 

The rebuild was pretty straight forward. I did mine last year. Still holding up. Got the kit from rennbay. Wont trust another shop to do it again. Already bought one from 20th street auto, and is was just a painted rack (sloppily) that hadnt been rebuilt. Put it on the car and leaked like mad.

 

I second that. If you don't want to do the rebuild yourself, Albert (Aribop) has the best rebuilds I have ever seen. He zinc plates all the metal parts, blasts all aluminum parts and does a much better job than most factory ZF rebuilds I have seen.

 

I've experienced two particular types of rack failures. One was on an '84 928S we had. One of the snap rings on the center of the rack itself broke into pieces and the central metal ring (with the groove for the purple seal + black o-ring) got wedged crooked, and caused all kinds of malfunction. The steering would be very unpredictable; sometimes assisted, sometimes unassisted, and sometimes it would stick! The solution: had to get a new rack housing tube (old one scratched to hell by snap-ring bits) and a reseal kit from rennbay.

The second failure was not as critical. It was on my '95 968. An impressive amount of dirt/debris found its way into the rack housing and was messing everything up. I think the most noticeable effect was that by clogging the banjo bolts, I had much reduced power assist. The solution: reseal kit from rennbay. And cleaning!

 

Thanks for the replies.

I'm guessing since my rack isn't leaking, from what everyones' said, it's probably not in bad shape. I've inspected the boots and all of the tie rod rubber and they look to be in great shape. Probably the only other unknown at this time would be the lower control arms.

I'm going to start with some new wheel bearings this week and see what happens. If that doesn't help, I'll either take a good used/rebuilt rack or send mine to aribop.

From the looks of aribop's rebuild however, I would be more likely to frame it and hang it on the wall!

 

If you are worried about play in the gears, pull the driver's side boot back and turn the wheel all the way to the left. You will get a pretty good look at the teeth on the rack this way. Make sure there is a reasonable amount of clean grease on them and you don't see any crazy wear. I make sure to get in there and grease the teeth every couple of oil changes on mine.

And, for anybody who is wondering, I have a rebuilt autozone rack on mine. Its covered about 3000 miles and a bit over a year now with no signs of any trouble at all. They carry a lifetime warranty, but since I had to drive to seattle to pick it up I doubt I'll ever exchange it under warranty. The rebuild is done by a very reputable shop, but they paint the whole thing black, but the paint they use flakes off with your fingers (not even your finger nails... just fingers), so I peeled most of the paint off of mine.