Steering rack reconditioning

Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 8:32 am

With practically half the engine removed from the car I thought it would be the ideal situation to take the steering rack out and take a look at those weeping seals on the hoses and rack. I'm amazed how anyone could remove the rack with the engine in place or even the gearbox in place Mad

. Okay, I've got all but one bolt on the bulkhead removed and need to disconnect the steering joint. The rack has no slack or vibrations just leaking seals from the rubber boot end. I've seen on the Audi parts system that there is a kit of seals available for the rack (note this is not the pump seal kit) part no. 8A1498020. Also there is a company on the net that sells repair kits for our power steering racks......
http://www.autosuppliers.co.uk/pskSearch.asp just type in year/Audi/80 etc. and a list of kits is available Cool

I'm going to see price difference between the dealers parts and this Autosuppliers place. Keep ya'all posted.

Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 9:23 am

how many bent valve did you have ?
lb

Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 2:27 pm

8 or so bent valves from the 12. No marks on the pistons, taking the heads off I could see a crack of daylight between the valve seats and the valves; I could see where the valves had hit the pistons as there was a carbon imprint on the valve faces. The whole cylinder head project has turned into a major project, I'm taking the pistons out, giving them new rings and taking the glaze off the bores which are very smooth with no original cross hatch remaining. The engine bay is getting a complete makeover and the power steering components are getting refurbished with new seals, there's loads of sludge on top of the gearbox Confused

by the way a seal kit from Audi for the steering rack is £21.61+vat.

Posted: Sun May 29, 2005 1:59 pm

Does anyone know how to remove the shaft from the steering rack tube? Confused

Inexperienced Joined: Jun 05, 2004 Posts: 45

I seem to be in the same problem Sad

my steering rack has started to leak by the gaitor end at i fist thought it was gearbox fluid so cleaned away all the muck and left it for a day but can see now that the fluid is from the rack. Does audi do a seal kit for these or do i need to get a recon unit will the repair kit be the same part no: 8A1498020 as you list for my coupe ?

Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 5:51 pm

Yep, the repair kit is a bag of about 15 o-rings and teflon seals. The power steering rack never changed over the 80/90/coupe range for the B3/4 chassis cars (with power steering). Only the S2 with the option of servotronic steering has a different kit.

I was lucky enough to have a fellow Audi fan in the States to send me the Bentley factory repair procedure for the rack, it's very straight forward, you need to improvise a few tools for pulling the old seals out but for £25 it's better than the odd £250 for a rack that has been "reconditioned" in the same way Smile

The only difficult part is removing the rack from behind the engine, the Haynes manual helps, so does having half the engine removed Confused

Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 6:50 pm

one on ebay new look in the ebay section

Inexperienced Joined: Jun 05, 2004 Posts: 45

i've seen the one on eaby will this be ok for my car as need it urgent so will bid if any good and thanks for the info people very helpful.
Fast28 could you send me info on how to carry this removal out haynes is just not up to the job.

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 10:46 pm

I followed the Haynes manual on how to remove the rack, it tells you all you need to know but I can give you my version of events if my memory serves me well....

1. unbolt steering damper bolt from rack bracket.
2. unbolt the 2 nuts on the bracket by the rubber boot, then unscrew the bolts underneath the bracket, this will release the steering arms from the rack.
3. There are 2 bolts and nuts holding the flange of the rack to the offside inner wing. Jack the car up on the driver's side and you will see the 2 bolt heads. You will need to hold the nuts while you unscrew the boltsfrom above the tyre - it would help to remove the wheel here. Smile

4. There are two nuts to remove on the rack flange that bolts to the bulkhead, these can be tricky to get to but a 17mm deep socket ring spanner is good here.
5. unscrew the banjo bolt from power steering feed line and also the banjo bolt on the pinion gear casing. It may be the case that you will lose power steering fluid here. I drained the system by unscrewing the reservoir and removing the supply hose and letting the fluid drain into a container.
6. Crawl into the cabin and remove the panel below the steering wheel. While in the engine bay knock the rubber boot around the steering shaft through to the cabin. Remove the nut and bolt on the retainer that holds the steering shaft to the pinion shaft of the rack.
7. Using a drift while in the engine bay knock the steering shaft away from the pinion housing on the rack, it'll take a few whacks before it releases. Smile

8. You can now pull the rack out through the tangle of power steering lines and water hoses. I found it best to remove as much of the clutter as possible to give yourself the room to operate!

Inexperienced Joined: Jul 31, 2004 Posts: 47

Hey,

My rack has been leaking for about a year - but seems to have got exceptionally worse the past week - making a lovely mess of my driveway . Is it possible to do this without removing the engine?? What do you recommend - buying the seal kit (as above) or buying a recon rack?

Cheers,

Rich

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 12:23 pm

Carthy, all depends on how much room you have to access the rack, there is no mention of removing the engine for this procedure, I could of removed the rack with my full V6 in the engine bay albeit with grazed knuckles and clever articulation Confused

Your best bet is always a recon rack that has some kind of warranty but just depends if you feel up to the challenge! no special tools are needed just a good socket set and some care in locating the new seals if you go for a self-recon approach. There is also the savings in doing the job yourself but give yourself a good weekend to do the job! Smile

Inexperienced Joined: Jul 31, 2004 Posts: 47

Thanks for that - gonna get my hands on that seal kit and give it a blast I think. I got an 80 sport B4 ABK - and there seems hardly any room to work in - so I will try an get extra help - Smile

a mate of mine changed the gaiter for me last year and he had some difficulty doing that. I'll follow your instructions and see how I get on.

Rich

Inexperienced Joined: Jun 05, 2004 Posts: 45

Thanks

Fast28 with the help i'll go with the recon unit dont think i could go through all that again if the seals dont fit correct after replacing them and the things leaks.