Power Steering Rack

[simonwedge]

I have an '89 350i with power steering. The rack has a Ford stamp on it. My question is what Ford it is off?I believe it's a late model Cortina Mk5 2.3 - can anyone confirm/deny?

Cheers

[Wedg1e]

Yep, sounds about right, same rack as my car.

[shoggyraminator]

What's the problem with it?

[Wedg1e]

The only issue I've had in 11 years is a weep from the O-ring that seals the rack tube to the pinion housing. Whilst I had the engine and 'box out, I'd stripped and repainted the front end of the chassis in black Smoothrite. Once the paint was dry I refitted the rack and tightened it up. A few weeks later I noticed the rack was leaking; closer investigation revealed that the rack was loose! Even closer investigation revealed that the rack had 'squashed' the new paint, allowing the rack to move sideways against the steering effort. This caused the hydraulic force to push the sections of the rack apart, chafing the O-ring which then dribbled once the rack was pushed back together. I had to do a full stripdown to replace it... it subsequently leaked again a few years later necessitating another stripdown, but at the last check it was still sound.
There's also a tiny weep past the pinion shaft seal but it's done that since I bought the car.