VR steering rack safety issue ?

[Nick4812]

Hi ... I was checking out my wifes VR and noticed when the car is stationary if I move the steering wheel from side to side I can hear a kind of knocking noise, I also have noticed a noise when backing out of the carport when the steering hits near full lock and is pulled back the on the other lock. I had the tie rod ends replaced recently so I know they are ok and the wheel bearing are ok and set right. I jacked the car up (both front wheels of the ground) and the only thing I could find was when I wiggled the drivers side wheel there seemed to be a bit of play in the tie rod end where it meets the steering rack. So I'm thinking there is wear in the steering rack and maybe should be replaced at some stage.

My main concern is in the mean time is the Car Safe To Drive as it seems to steer quite normally. Can wear in the steering rack be dangerous.

Any advice from a member that knows VR front ends and steering would be appreciated.

Thanks ... Nick

[jetboy]

Hey Nick , your problem is a rack end , easy to replace and not very expensive . Depending on how bad it is , should be ok to drive , they hafto be pretty stuffed before they cause a drama . But for the sake of about $50 ( if u can chuck it on urself ) I highly reccomend you do that

[Nick4812]

Thanks jetboy ... I did the tie rod ends myself so if it's no harder than that, I should be ok. Do you know where I can get instructions on replacing rack ends as although I have the Gregory's service and repair manual for the vr series and it does cover replacing tie rod ends and tie rods it doesn't mention rack ends.

[maginoodle]

easy to replace- not gona describe everything but basically remove the rack boot, knock the stay washer back straight undo rack end, you can work the rest out


cheers shane

[Brett_jjj]

I have the Gregory's service and repair manual for the vr series and it does cover replacing tie rod ends and tie rods it doesn't mention rack ends.

The gregorys manuals call the rack ends tie rods.After removing the rubber boot ,theres a lock washer that has tabs that have to be straightened up before the tie rod will unscrew..It just unscrews from the rack, just be sure to hold the exposed part of the rack with a spanner whilst unscrewing the tie rod from the rack..

[Nick4812]

Thanks every body for the help ... This may seem like a stupid question but can somebody explain how replacing the rack ends (tie rods) takes the slack and knocking noise out when it is essentially a rod with a treaded section on each end, where does the wear occur that a new one fixes. A new rack end is still a rod with a tread on each end.

[jetboy]

No its a ball an knuckle they wear causing movement , just be sure to count how many turns it takes toget the tierod off and replace it with the same amount of turns then take it for a wheel alingment ( note some after market rack ends are slightly longer , dont get caught ) . oh an ull need a good sized spanner too ull see the two flat bits thats where the washer is flattened over , it'll take a good wack

[jetboy]

Thats inside the rubberr boot , the ball an knuckle , u cant see it till u remove the boot

[VK SL 3800]

If you arent sure dont do it, its your steering- a vital component you dont want it to fall apart cause you didnt put in a clip properly or something. Take it to a mechanic or replace the whole rack with a recon one.
And knock when you wiggle the steering wheel is completely normal when your stationary, pretty much all older commodores do it, it is the rack and pinion gears with a bit of play in them. Are you sure when you wiggle one wheel for movement the whole rack isn't just moving then catching on the steering lock or something?

[jetboy]

If you arent sure dont do it, its your steering- a vital component you dont want it to fall apart cause you didnt put in a clip properly or something. Take it to a mechanic or replace the whole rack with a recon one.
And knock when you wiggle the steering wheel is completely normal when your stationary, pretty much all older commodores do it, it is the rack and pinion gears with a bit of play in them. Are you sure when you wiggle one wheel for movement the whole rack isn't just moving then catching on the steering lock or something?

Your on fire tonight arnt you sambo , an runnin too much oil in your tranny so it blows a seal an spews oil allover the road so sum poor f@#ker behind loses control in it an slams into a tree is SAFE !!!
Nick if u can change a tierod end you've the talent to do a rack end , get stuck into it .
No knock whtsoever is normal in the steering .

[Nick4812]

Thanks Brett_jjj, jetboy and others ... I get now where the wear is, the ball joint on the end of the tie rod (rack end). I'm not a mechanic and I sure can be a bit thick at times. I do most of my own mechanical repairs to save a dollar but wont touch anything unless I'm 100% sure that I can do it properly. I wish I had realized this when I did the tie rod ends, bugger, now I've got to take them off again.

[brinz96VS]

just thought id ask here instead of a new thread, my LH tie rod end had about 3-4mm of play in it and clunks about a bit. the RH side seems tight though.
so does this mean the ball joint is worn and should i replace them? steering seems to pull to the left firmly aswell despite an alignment a few months back.
thanks in advance.

[jetboy]

just thought id ask here instead of a new thread, my LH tie rod end had about 3-4mm of play in it and clunks about a bit. the RH side seems tight though.
so does this mean the ball joint is worn and should i replace them? steering seems to pull to the left firmly aswell despite an alignment a few months back.
thanks in advance.

Shit man replace that for sure , nothing in your front end should have any play whtsoever

[brinz96VS]

thanks jetboy, in that case i will invest in some new ones.

[VK SL 3800]

Your on fire tonight arnt you sambo , an runnin too much oil in your tranny so it blows a seal an spews oil allover the road so sum poor f@#ker behind loses control in it an slams into a tree is SAFE !!!
Nick if u can change a tierod end you've the talent to do a rack end , get stuck into it .
No knock whtsoever is normal in the steering .

Almost any commodore will have a minor knock when you wiggle the steering wheel when it not running its just play between the rack and pinion. Every single commodore we have ever owned has done it, in fact every car we have with rack and pinion does it to some degree when they rack up a few k's. Its completely normal, i bet half the people here will go out and wiggle the steering and hear it.

Sorry folks, thread dig