Steering rack refurbishment

[Anders Dinsen]

Realising that the rh steering gaiter has failed quite miserably within the last couple of months, I wanted to fit a new one - without success however, as I couldn't get the track rod released from the upright  



However, in the process I realised that there's a bit of play in the steering rack on the right side - not on the left. I suppose the control bush/bearing has failed and needs to be replaced. This probably means a complete refurbishment of the rack. Has anyone done it before and can share experiences with me? I seem to recall it's been discussed here, but can't find it. I have of course read the workshop manual on the subject.

/Anders

[Oskar]

I think you have to bend a few secure sheet metal in the washer that holds the rod. I had the same problem on a peugeot. hope it helps. or it is the famous rustcompetitor 

[Oetker]

The condition of my rack was also not the best.

I desided to revive a few things including track rods and track rod ends.
The 4 bolts that hold the rack can be rusted and very tight.
They broke all 4 and costed me about a day to get them out of the rack.

When you get the rack out make shure the distance plates between rack and chassis are mounted at the same spot.
They are for steering rack adjustments.

I bought some trackrods and ends from a Simca 1100 cheap on E-bay, but they don't have the end plate.

I replaced them with the mounting washers from the shockabsorbers.

If you do that you have 2-3 cm more movement in the steering rack making the turn circle a bit smaller.

The bush of the right side didn't have any play but was a bit rusted making steering havy.
With som sandpaper I cleaned it.


This bronze bush is still available as far as I know.
For the rest you need to try if everything runs smooth in the rack and lubricate, and to adjust the wormwheel/gearslider as described in the manual.
You can also use a Simca 1100 rack and put worm and slider in there.
They are the same, but steering wheel has 45 degree more play because of other slider and worm..
You have to remove the rubber, but it fits straight away.

2 pics from the car of a clubmember where I fitted the simca rack.
It works well.


If you do everything well it looks like this.


Control this part to.
If any play is there, replace it.

[Anders Dinsen]

Thanks a lot for info and photos! I know there's a rubber bush on the exterior, but you're saying there's a bronze bush too?

This is the rubber bush in Simon's catalogue (p/n 11086)


The bronze bush must be press fitted and probably needs a good deal of heat to get it out of the aluminium housing

/Anders

[Oetker]

I have a rack  but need to disamble to look gain, but as far as I know it was bronze.
Wil post my findings later.

[Anders Dinsen]

I have a rack  but need to disamble to look gain, but as far as I know it was bronze.
Wil post my findings later.

Thanks!

[Oetker]

This will say all I think.
Doesn't look to difficult to remove.

[Anders Dinsen]

This will say all I think.
Doesn't look to difficult to remove.

Indeed no!

It all makes sense now. The workshop manual also describes this. Mine is in German and the drawings not nearly as detailed as your photo, so it was a bit difficult to sort out. Thanks!

I found a new Simca 1100 rack quite cheaply, and was thinking whether I should buy it and move parts over from the old one (to keep everything the same), but this looks like a very simple operation - and Simon seems to have all the parts.

http://www.teilehaber.de/qh-lenkgetriebe-id2218445.html

Cheers,
Anders

[Oetker]

O.k, don't forget.....LHD

[Anders Dinsen]

O.k, don't forget.....LHD

Haha no I won't... Well you can always fit the rack upside down, can't you?

Anyway that won't be a problem since the rack I listed wasn't available anyway, and even before I got a reply from the seller, I had ordered the parts from Simon and is going to do the refurb as soon as I get the parts. When I was looking at the job the other day, I had a hell of a time trying to get the track rod end off, so I bought these two - I'm sure they can do the job:



/Anders

[Oetker]

This kind of tool make it easy to disamble.
I have something simulair to do the job.
Good luck

[suffolkpete]

I had a hell of a time trying to get the track rod end off, so I bought these two - I'm sure they can do the job:

I've owned both those for a number of years and I can report that the top one is by far the better.  Essential for every home mechanic's toolbox, along with a set of coil spring compressors and a set of three-legged pullers

[Anders Dinsen]

Simon e-mailed me yesterday, that he had been unable to find the bearing shells and the outer circlip. The circlip is probably ok, but it's a pity he could not track down the shells. The rubber bush is in stock. However, I'm going to try to see if I can save the shell, though I'm thinking that with the knocking and rod play, it's probably not looking that good

/Anders

[Anders Dinsen]

Almost done  

The steering rack came off on Monday, and the biggest problem was three of the four bolts used to attach it to the chasses snapped. I had soaked them well in WD40, but they were completely stuck in the rack. In hindsight I should have worked a bit more on them, but I guess I was a bit anxious to get the rack off. The track rod ends came off easily with the tool I bought, so getting the rack out was easy once the bolts were off.

I then stripped the rack and found the failing bush. Interestingly, it showed no obvious signs of wear, but putting my finger in it, and pushing it back and forth, revealed the play it had. I think the rubber has just detoriated/softened up over time and wear. The bronze bush inside was without signs of wear. For some reason I thought both sides of the rack contained this bush (even though the drawing didn't show), but there's only one. The other side is fixed by the spindle.

The first photo, where I'm pushing the bush on one side, shows the narrow gap between rack wall and bush.

Another thing I didn't realise, was that the new bushes which I got from Simon, are complete with inner sheell and rubber, but molded in plastic in one piece. Oetker sent me a used bush with metal inner shell which was without play, but I decided to use the new bush anyway since I think this (newer) construction is as good or better than the old one made of solid rubber, vulcanised on the shell.

With the rack completely stripped, I needed to attend to the still-stuck bolts. With the help of fellow Murena owner Jan and good amounts of heat, I got the remains out. One bolt was a little tricky, but once it was out by a little, the top of it could be cut off with an angle grinder and it could be pushed out.

Unfortunately, while beating the bolts with the rack suspended in the vice after heating, the aluminum broke in two places. This was quite unfortunate, but not critical at all. But if you go the same route as I, take care to suspend the rack in such a way that the aluminum is not torn.

Reassembling the rack was easy with grease applied liberally. One note has to be made regarding the rack tensioning system, which is adjusted by the bottom nut.

The workshop manual says to adjust it so there's no knocking sound when turning. My experience is that with no weight on the rack, you won't hear any knocking, so there's no way to make the adjustment with the rack off the car, or even with the wheels lifted off the ground. Fortunately, the nut and bolt is accessible from the front compartment, if you lean your body well down and reaches under the rack. Have a helper (e.g. a son!) turn the steering wheel for you, and adjust it until there's no knocking. Then give it 15 degrees more. Lock it with the lock nut. Take care not to turn it to the bottom, as the tensioner will then be locked on the rack with the spring not able to "give" it the play it requires. If you feel it reaches the bottom, loosen it until it starts knocking again, then start tightening again.

I left the original tie rods on the rack (I only removed the LH side to get the rack off), but the RH tie rod end had a slight amount of play, so that is being replaced. Unfortunately, finding them here in Denmark, isn't that easy, but a local shop managed to find one in sock somewhere in Aarhus, and it's now with the a mechanic who's fitting it and adjusting the toe in.

By the way - when the rack has been disassembled, the steering wheel will no longer be pointing straight. The steering takes a full 3 1/4 turns lock-to-lock, so the way to set the steering wheel right is to turn go to the full stop, then turn 1 5/8 turns back. Take the steering wheel off the column, and refit it pointing correctly. Then adjust toe-in to make the car go straight.

My initial feeling is that the handling is improved, but I'll let you know when I get it back from the mechanic.

The last picture shows the rack installed. Note that I've fitted the four bolts upside down compared to the factory. It's easier this way, and if the new bolts get stuck, it won't matter. The top right one, however, has been fitted from the underside. And yes, I did fit the distance plates correctly under the rack - this is an important point as I know of no way to adjust the rack to sit horizontally.

[Jon Weywadt]

Hi Anders.
 Who does your alignment work, toe-in etc. ?