Steering Rack refurbishment?

[Jim Bowen 1]

Finally got my rack off. Was going to bite the bullet and buy a brand new one from VW, but chickened out spending the money after looking at the rack.

 

Can they be refurbed? am sure i saw a thread with some kind of seal kit you could buy.

 

I actually have a spare rack, was told it was a refurbed one and had done 20,000miles, but i can't be sure and a bit unsure about just fitting it and not knowing.

 

Could i use the two rack to make one? Do they wear much inside?

 

Something a bit concerning, was i noticed the length of straight pipe that connects between the two steering rack boots was missing on the one i just took off, meaning all the grease ha spurted out the holes left by it :lol: Feck knows how long thats been missing.

[VR6Pete 0]

I got a refurbbed one a while ago from GSF... lasted about 9 months, i then purchased an original one from VW... so beware.

[Jim Bowen 1]

how much was a VW one? was thinking its about £600

[joebloggsVR69 0]

Yeah I think it about £600, as long as you give them your old rack.

I bought one from VW too, I just don't trust GSF/ECP with anything other than oil and brake pads :lol:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The long tube between the gaiters is to stop them collapsing / inflating when you steer the car.

 

I have the aforementioned VW rebuild kit in my toolbox and a spare rack to try it out on. I'll document it when / if I get round to it. There's quite a few seals in the kit but the most common one to go is the main rack seal on the driver's side. That gaiter always fills up with PAS fluid (why you never see wet patches on the floor), so keep an eye on your fluid level!

 

As said already, steering rack refurbers these days seem to just paint things black, so either get a VW one or rebuild one yourself with the genuine parts.

[Jim Bowen 1]

i am deffo up for having a go at rebuilding one, going to need to do it quite soon.

 

Does the kit have a rebuild number?

 

Fluid level has always been fine, in fact i've taken old rack off now and undone the connection on the pump and also the bar that goes through crossmember and the fluid still isn't draining away??? its still on the minimum on the top up bottle

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I took a picture of the kit and posted it up on here. God knows what thread it's in. The 'dodgy steering' one perhaps?

 

I don't know how to dismantle the rack though. I just hope no special tools are required.

 

What were the symptoms of your rack issues then? Steering heavier in one direction is classic seal failure and vague self centerin / clunking is usually down to worn inner tie rods or the pinion preload needs adjustment (the big hex nut on the back under the pipe unions).

[Jim Bowen 1]

I had some clonking and always had issues with my steering being a bit vague and handling not quite right. But don't know if it was from the rack or the column or maybe my top mounts, figured that since everything else is now new i may as well do something with the original rack thats covered 194k now.

 

Planning to stitch weld the subframe and fit the fixed column mod, then everything else is pretty much new

[Jim Bowen 1]

I'm really not sure what to do, been searching and reading old threads and my rack doesn't leak, i had some knocking but that could of been my top mount error i found the other day.

 

Am wondering whether to just fit the fixed column and then fit the rack i bought off here, or even just fit my old rack and adjust this yoke thing if there's any knocking play?

 

spose i can always change again in the future, i'm not ruling that out. I needed to get my subframe off anyway to sort out the underseal etc

 

Thinking i've saved about £800 by not buying a rack :lol:

[davidwort 0]

Planning to stitch weld the subframe and fit the fixed column mod, then everything else is pretty much new

 

I'm not sure that's such a great idea, they flex a fair amount to absorb vibration, by making it more rigid you could end up with it cracking somewhere, fine for one use race/rally cars but for a long term road car I'm not totally sure.

[Jim Bowen 1]

I won't bother then :lol:

[emu 0]

Any use ??

 

http://www.arz-tuning.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p2372_ZF-Steering-Rack-Seal-Kit---Corrado-Golf-Jetta-Vento.html/MSsid/jmpcbphe83t08ctqvkgtuenffbvu0h3b

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yep, that's the kit.

 

My subframe was seam welded up about 7 years ago. They used to do it to the Vento Cup Challenge cars. I've not suffered any ill effects from doing it at all. I've also had both of the engine mount cups reinforced with extra weld as they're a known weak spot once you start shoving big torque through the drivetrain.

 

I can't say I noticed a huge difference from the seam welding in isolation, but collectively, the bits n bobs like that I've done over the years definitely make my Corrado noticably sharper, keener to turn-in and weightier self centering compared to just about every C I've driven.

 

3 Corsa, don't change the rack unless absolutely necessary. Just try tweaking the preload in a bit. Say, 1/8th turn to start with. In fact, the official VW whitepaper on this suggests jacking both front wheels off the ground and steer the car full lock in both directions, then tweak the adjuster in until the clunking stops.

[Jim Bowen 1]

Think i'm going to do something like that now, got to decide whether to fit my old 194,000mile rack which i know didn't leak, or the 20,000mile one i have that was a recon rack, been dry and sat in garage for a good few years now.

[24V Renshaw 0]

I did years ago buy a seat Toledo rack as it shares the part number with the VR rack.

Think I paid £70 for a brand new genuine one off eBay :)

 

Jay

[Jim Bowen 1]

Well mine is off the car now, just took the rubber boots off and one is bone dry, the track rod joint is all rusty and really stiff. Think this is all to do with that pipe falling off.

 

Track rod is only a few years old, but will get another. Thinking of fitting my original rack back on, getting car on the road, then I will work out the fault if its still there.

 

At least I know how to take it off now. Lol

 

Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

[Erallus 10]

I assume these parts are no longer available from VW? Mine's a mess.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Erallus