Steering Rack Problem?
Discussion
The car is back from the mechanic today, again. Amongst other things he checked the entire steering system. There has been an on going problem since I bought the car, the power steering being softer one way than the other. The suspension has been rebuilt and eliminated, the steering column uni joints have been replaced and eliminated, and the steering pump was replaced with a new one just before I bought the car and the car has been four wheel tracked. That only leaves the steering rack. He says it will have to be removed and sent off for reconditioning on the next booking. He is going to price it up and let me know. Though its drivable and safe, I want the car to be as it should be. Looks like another trip to the garage soon. My Wedge seems to be spending more time in the repair shop than on the road.
Tony. TCB.
Tony. TCB.
Tony, before you shell for the rack to be refurbed have a good look at the top and bottom swivels / ball joints as this was a similar problem I had on my old 400 SE. Get your man to put a good sized pry bar in there and have a root around for potential problems if you cannot do it yourself fella
Chris
Chris
Jack Valiant said:
Tony, before you shell for the rack to be refurbed have a good look at the top and bottom swivels / ball joints as this was a similar problem I had on my old 400 SE. Get your man to put a good sized pry bar in there and have a root around for potential problems if you cannot do it yourself fella
Chris
Forgot to mention, the swivels have also been replaced and still no joy. What now? surely it MUST be the steering rack? No?Chris
Tony. TCB.
Jack Valiant said:
Ok have your guy properly check the steering components including the track rod ends and the anti roll bar bushes and operation. If all is fine and tested then it could be the rack but to be honest they are usually fairly robust
Chris
Track rod ends have been checked. It was one of the first things he did by disconnecting them, though not the anti roll bar bushes. How would that effect the power steering? I'll mention it to him on the next visit. This has been one of the hardest jobs to cure on this car and the most expensive.Chris
Adam. I can understand my left arm being stronger than my right, but the funny thing is, my mechanic suffers from the same symptoms, which is what made me suspicious that there may be something wrong with the steering.
Tony. TCB.
Jack Valiant said:
Tony, before you shell for the rack to be refurbed have a good look at the top and bottom swivels / ball joints as this was a similar problem I had on my old 400 SE. Get your man to put a good sized pry bar in there and have a root around for potential problems if you cannot do it yourself fella
Chris
Chris - I'd be interested to know what you found with the top and botom swivel joints as to how your steering was affected. Chris
Well I had similar problems when going from lock to lock.... The near side upper ball joint had basically collapsed and was metal on metal. It was still the rivited joints so probably original and 18 years old! Clearly the PAS had been masking the problem until it was near to disintegration! 
but I was convinced it was the rack until I had a good root round with a pry bar and found the problem
Chris
but I was convinced it was the rack until I had a good root round with a pry bar and found the problemChris
One thing I did forget to mention is that when on full lock to the right (which is the harder side), there is a loud kicking noise and vibration. Other than the right hand full lock the power steering is fairly silent both ways. This is another reason why we think it must be the rack. Just about everything else has been eliminated. What else can it be? What do you think? Before I get my wallet out again.
Tony. TCB.
Tony. TCB.
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