Replacing rack ends - Can I do it myself?

[SweetWagon]

Wagon recently developed a bad knocking in the front suspension/steering, I knew one ball joint was shagged (thinking that was causing the knock) and a few other things needed doing so I replaced

Control arm bushes
Lower ball joints
Wheel bearings
Swaybar links
Tie rod ends
Strut tops
Shocks

Took the car for a drive and im still getting a bad knocking sound, When the car is stationary and I move the steering wheel from side to side quickly the sound can be heard. Im thinking Steering rack ends? My question is are they hard to replace myself? I replaced everthing else so thats all I can think of

Cheers

[Morton]

I can't see how the rack ends would be causing a knock. I think you have to look elsewhere. Here's a simple test:

Knock out both your tie rod end ball joints, and grab the sleeve of the rack end in a spanner. Twist and turn and pull. If you can't make the rack ends shift about, then they're fine. They're screwed tightly into place and held in by lock washers, so I find it hard to imagine how they could ever come loose when the balls in the end of them turn freely

But if you have to change them, you will need:

Cable ties
New boots (worth doing for $10)
Rack ends
Lock washers
HUGE + NARROW shifter
Stillson wrench

[SweetWagon]

I can't see how the rack ends would be causing a knock. I think you have to look elsewhere. Here's a simple test:

Knock out both your tie rod end ball joints, and grab the sleeve of the rack end in a spanner. Twist and turn and pull. If you can't make the rack ends shift about, then they're fine. They're screwed tightly into place and held in by lock washers, so I find it hard to imagine how they could ever come loose when the balls in the end of them turn freely

But if you have to change them, you will need:

Cable ties
New boots (worth doing for $10)
Rack ends
Lock washers
HUGE + NARROW shifter
Stillson wrench

Thanks Morton, I knocked out the tie rod end and pulled back the boot, when i pull on arm there is a little play in the ball joint, which makes a knocking noise similar to what i've been experiencing, so hopefully I have found the problem. I have ordered a pair of brand new rack ends which should be here in the next few days.
Will the new rack ends come with new lock washers? and is it as simple as bending back the lock washer and unscrewing the rack end with a shifter? I already have new boots on there so dont have to worry about replacing those.

Cheers

[SweetWagon]

Hmmm well i left the culprit rack end disconnected (other side is fine) and jiggled the steering wheel again and I am still getting a knocking sound coming from the rack itself it seems, but i don't see how that would cause the knocking sound going in a straight line like it was so I will still wait till i replace the rack end and see if the problem persists. Hoping I am not up for a new steering rack, although would be a good opportunity to go manual steering

[rob drag racer]

i had this issue it turned out to be a lose wheel bearing on the passenger side front just gos to show just because someone calls them self a mechanic dont meen that they do there job properly (i ended up fixing it my self )

[faroogoo]

Maybe check the joint between the column & the rack.

[rob drag racer]

Maybe check the joint between the column & the rack.

that's possible to mine was worn on the race car and would clunk every time i put any movement to the wheels but the hole straight line issues sounds like a wheel bearing

[SweetWagon]

Thanks for the input, nah not wheel bearings they are brand new, and adjusted correctly. I checked the uni joint going to the rack, all seems fine there, and since it is only a straight line problem im leaning towards the rack end, it had enough play to cause the knock and I dont think the rack itself or uni joint would cause the knock driving straight. Has anyone changed one before? im a bit unsure about the lock washer, do i just bend it out and can I reuse it?

Cheers

[rob drag racer]

are the bolts in the rack tight ? they can become lose

[SweetWagon]

are the bolts in the rack tight ? they can become lose

which bolts would they be?

[azkwazere]

which bolts would they be?

Two bolts which run through the rack and K-Frame.

aZk.

[rob drag racer]

there the ones even if they seem tight if there worn it will cause movement

[SweetWagon]

Yep they are nice and tight

[rob drag racer]

and your sure that its not worn ive seen the have to be shimmed before

[SweetWagon]

and your sure that its not worn ive seen the have to be shimmed before

The rack itself, who knows its probably the original one on its way out but still it shouldn't cause noises driving straight, pretty certain the new rack end will fix the knocking issue. If not.. well ill worry about that

[Morton]

Just pull everything out and wiggle it all

[SweetWagon]

Just pull everything out and wiggle it all

haha trust me it has crossed my mind. Even if the new rack ends fix the problem ill be looking into a manual steering rack in future. Just unsure what do do with the P/S pump, cant run the belt without it. Do you know what to do with those lock washers Morton?

[vn calais manual]

haha trust me it has crossed my mind. Even if the new rack ends fix the problem ill be looking into a manual steering rack in future. Just unsure what do do with the P/S pump, cant run the belt without it. Do you know what to do with those lock washers Morton?

just make a bracket to accept the ps pump pulley as another idler.

[SweetWagon]

just make a bracket to accept the ps pump pulley as another idler.

I was thinkin something along those lines or gutting the pump and just running the pulley. Would prefer to have no pulley but looks a bit difficult to get around that

[Morton]

haha trust me it has crossed my mind. Even if the new rack ends fix the problem ill be looking into a manual steering rack in future. Just unsure what do do with the P/S pump, cant run the belt without it. Do you know what to do with those lock washers Morton?

Pretty sure you have to run a dummy idler without power steering on the old buick.

The lock washers you can grab from any steering specialist, my bloke gave me a handfull for free. Take note of how they sit on your current rack ends. The new ones will be flat. Once they're in there (they lock into the rack end), and the rack end is tightened up to about 80nm (or just as tight as you can bloody well get them), then smash the ends of the washers down with a small hammer, so they "lock" around the flat parts of the rack

And you're done!

Keep in mind you have to pry back the old lock washers before you can remove the rack ends

[SweetWagon]

Pretty sure you have to run a dummy idler without power steering on the old buick.

The lock washers you can grab from any steering specialist, my bloke gave me a handfull for free. Take note of how they sit on your current rack ends. The new ones will be flat. Once they're in there (they lock into the rack end), and the rack end is tightened up to about 80nm (or just as tight as you can bloody well get them), then smash the ends of the washers down with a small hammer, so they "lock" around the flat parts of the rack

And you're done!

Keep in mind you have to pry back the old lock washers before you can remove the rack ends

Thanks morton, I take it would be a bad idea to reuse the washers. I will get some new ones then Dad seems to think the rack needs to be re-shimmed, so looks like ill be pulling it out afterall.

Cheers

[Morton]

I can't see any problem with reusing the old ones, so long as you don't totally molest them on the way out. They're not a brittle metal, so they won't fail straight away.

I still wouldn't do it, though. Steering and brakes are the two things you don't **** with

[Calaber]

I reckon you could be suffering from what is called "rack rattle", caused by the bearing supporting the rack wearing out and allowing the rack to move up and down, or forwards and backwards within the rack housing. The bearings on the old Commies were only hard plastic and they wore out pretty frequently.

I've had a look at the manual but it only shows the bearing sitting on the rack bar after removal, so I don't know if it's still prone to wearing out, but if your steering has lots of k's on it, and you've tried everything else, it's certainly worth a try.

[Morton]

Speaking of racks, how hard is it to source actual racks with different ratios? I'm not talking about entire steering racks, but literally the rack inside the housing.

And, are power steering and manual steering racks interchangable? I know power steering cars have a tighter ratio, while manual racks have more lock-to-lock turns.

I'm interested in changing my ratio rack for a power ratio rack, while mantaining manual steering. Anyone know anything about this?

[Calaber]

Speaking of racks, how hard is it to source actual racks with different ratios? I'm not talking about entire steering racks, but literally the rack inside the housing.

And, are power steering and manual steering racks interchangable? I know power steering cars have a tighter ratio, while manual racks have more lock-to-lock turns.

I'm interested in changing my ratio rack for a power ratio rack, while mantaining manual steering. Anyone know anything about this?

Hi Morton

There was definitely a manual steering rack available for early VN's - I imagine there's a
pretty fair chance it would have been a carry over part from VL's like so many other parts were.

If that's the case, then comparing a VL manual rack to a VN power rack would let you know how interchangeability went, but it might be simpler just to seal the power rack to prevent fluid loss and remove all pump hoses and pump etc.