Steering Rack Help

[Stevekid1]

Having replaced both track rod ends last week I just went to have the tracking set. As soon as the guy moved the offside rack bellows, atf fluid poored out and has continued to do so all the way home and is now all over the drive. My questions in the hope that someone can point me in the right direction are;

1. Should the bellows be full of fluid or does this mean the inner seals have gone?
2. Why is there still the correct level of fluid in the pump when so much seems to have leaked out?
3. How difficult is it to change the steering rack and where is the best place to get one?

Changing the rack all sounds straight forward in the manuals but I have never done anything like that before and am a bit worried that it will prove beyond my technical ability.

Thanks in anticipation of your help.

Steve

[milothedog]

Having replaced both track rod ends last week I just went to have the tracking set. As soon as the guy moved the offside rack bellows, atf fluid poored out and has continued to do so all the way home and is now all over the drive. My questions in the hope that someone can point me in the right direction are;

1. Should the bellows be full of fluid or does this mean the inner seals have gone?
2. Why is there still the correct level of fluid in the pump when so much seems to have leaked out?
3. How difficult is it to change the steering rack and where is the best place to get one?

Changing the rack all sounds straight forward in the manuals but I have never done anything like that before and am a bit worried that it will prove beyond my technical ability.

Thanks in anticipation of your help.

Steve

1, No, the seals have gone
2, Have you been topping it up over time !
3, Just a bit akward, but there are previous post on here to help. Not sure about suppliers, I bought a spare and rebuilt it with a kit from LD parts.

Ian.

[DJT]

Steve,

If the level hasn't dropped suddenly, then it could have been seeping for a while. I would syphon as much fluid out of the resrvoir as practical and top up with new Power Steering Fluid. There are several on the market (Wynn's, Comma, STP, etc.) that contain an additive that claims to stop leaks. Believe it or not they actually work. It has worked for me in the past and is certainly worth a try. If your seals are too far gone all you have lost is a couple of quid for fluid. If it does work, then you have postponed replacement until a more convenient time.

Dave

[73stagman]

If you have lost lots of fluid your options are to reseal or replace the rack depending on how much you can do yourself.
Resealing is an option if you can do ALL the work if not just do a reconditioned exchange unit. You should be able to get the new one first then get your deposit back once you send your CLEANED AND EMPTIED of oil unit back to your supplier. (Dont send it all oily because they will not refund your full deposit.)
As a hydraulic engineer I dont subscribe to the additive remedies. THEY DO WORK TO FIX SEALS but they also CAN change the quality of the oil and cause damage elsewhere to the pump. (Not likely the rack though!) The proper answer is to fix the leak by replacing the damaged seals. There is a lip seal at each end of the rack cylinder and if one is worn out so will the other one be. The bellows will have been filling up for a while and when the one was moved for adjustment it will have emptied itself. Probably less than 250ml but it makes one hell of a mess. Just pour that much on the floor of the kitchen and see how much noise SWMBO makes!
If you do a search on here there is some good advice on resealing and replacing the rack.

[Stevekid1]

Dave thats interesting because the last time I topped up was last year and I did syphon off fluid and topped up with the required amount of wynns stop leak. I havn't had to touch it since. Even now that everything has cooled down the resevoir still shows the correct level. The bellows have always dripped since a got the car four years ago and I did continually top up the system untill I put the wynns in. I think I will unclip the bellows from the rack side, empty and clean and then get someone to operate the steering while I check for leaks.

I would feel reasonably confident about replacing the rack but not sure about replacing all the seals. Having read a number of previous posts on here I am also dubious about a reconditioned rack and think I will try to find a secondhand rack on ebay to try resealing it before attempting my own one. Anyone got an old MK2 rack?

73stagman, thanks for the heads up on cleaning and emptying my old rack for exchange if I go down that route. Unfortunately, with no job at the moment i am eager to persue the cheapest option. I also dont know who to trust to supply a decent recon rack.

Cheers, Steve

[73stagman]

I would feel reasonably confident about replacing the rack but not sure about replacing all the seals. Having read a number of previous posts on here I am also dubious about a reconditioned rack and think I will try to find a secondhand rack on ebay to try resealing it before attempting my own one. Anyone got an old MK2 rack?

73stagman, thanks for the heads up on cleaning and emptying my old rack for exchange if I go down that route. Unfortunately, with no job at the moment i am eager to persue the cheapest option. I also dont know who to trust to supply a decent recon rack.

Cheers, Steve

Thats why I did my own. the seal kit is crazy cheap as well compared to a recon rack. But I know they can be tricky!

[ChasR]

Some garages have said special tools are required in order to place and withraw the rack seals over the steering gear, otherwise they can be damage. Is there an element of truth in this or can they be replaced with tools available at home?

If the rack can be rebuilt by a home mechanic I would personally reseal it. On a modern a recon rack developed play after 6 months, on the Dolomite of mine 6 years (although the car had only covered 10,000 miles in that time!).

[milothedog]

Some garages have said special tools are required in order to place and withraw the rack seals over the steering gear, otherwise they can be damage. Is there an element of truth in this or can they be replaced with tools available at home?

If the rack can be rebuilt by a home mechanic I would personally reseal it. On a modern a recon rack developed play after 6 months, on the Dolomite of mine 6 years (although the car had only covered 10,000 miles in that time!).

No special tools needed, you just need to keep everything nice and clean and be careful. It's all explained how to do it in the ROM. I think it could be done by any competent home mechanic

Ian

[73stagman]

No special tools needed, you just need to keep everything nice and clean and be careful. It's all explained how to do it in the ROM. I think it could be done by any competent home mechanic

Ian

I agree. Only the seals on the steering spool valve are tricky. The rack seals are VERY easy and straightforward. As Ian says keep it all very clean take a note of the orientation and exact position of each seal and the plastic spacers (save them when you strip it down as you dont get new ones in the seal kit) and make sure you replace them in the same order. the ROM is clear if you read it but I found the PDF file pictures that I have were not very clear (I have a poor copy of photocopied files converted to PDF for pc download!)

[Andrew S]

Hi Steve

Dont take the gamble yourself in doing a re-kit, just buy an exchange with a gurantee

http://www.ldpart.co.uk/shop/shop.php?c=viewproduct&pid=731&cat=6&sid=sid22445d7557481faf47f78fbc4dfb0d2d

[73stagman]

Some garages have said special tools are required in order to place and withraw the rack seals over the steering gear, otherwise they can be damage. Is there an element of truth in this or can they be replaced with tools available at home?

If the rack can be rebuilt by a home mechanic I would personally reseal it. On a modern a recon rack developed play after 6 months, on the Dolomite of mine 6 years (although the car had only covered 10,000 miles in that time!).

No truth to this at all.

The seal does not pass over the rack teeth to re fit it. The piston is removed from the rack cylinder (two circlips) the seal is put into a sleeve which has two orings on the out side. This is then put on to the rack cylinder from the opposite end to the rack teeth over the two circlip grooves. All you have to make sure is that when you remove the two piston circlips you dont mark the cylinder rod at all. If there are any nicks around the circlip grooves you can remove them with a needle file on the corners of the grooves only before the cylinder sleeve with the seal is refitted (make sure it is the right way round). If you accidently mark the cylinder rod with the circlips.... a new rod will be needed so dont mark the rod! Use the right tools for the circlips and you wont have any trouble. You can wrap the rod neatly in masking tape to protect it. Then if you avoid tearing the masking tape you know you wont have marked the rod.

Like I said earlier if this is out of anybody's depth just get an exchange rack... If it leaks you can get a refund or a replacement rack. Reseal only if you are confident you can do the job properly.