rebuild rack and pinion DIY?

[friedchicken]

hey guys

just wondering if its possible to rebuild a vn rack and pinion? i got told that it needs special tools, but that was from a rather unreliable source.

i think most of the movement in mine is in the joint in the rubber cover thingo on the drivers side. can this be replaced without rebuilding the whole thing?

thanks

[defa]

i wondered the same thing and am going to pull one apart one day and see if ya can or not..

[Boonz]

you can do it, just need an instruction manual and some basic tools and a feeler gauge.
i overhauled one at trade school last week and its pretty easy if the pinion isnt damaged.
parts would probably cost the earth tho being genuine and all

[cruzncommo]

you DONT need an instruction manual, you DONT need special tools, you DONT need anything. just rip the rack off and if the pinion and whatnot are all good, you just need to replace the seals and whatnot, then bingo.

[Boonz]

and what about the shims for the yoke???? what about the torque specs for the pinion preload??? you need some form of a guide you know....you can wreck bearings and seals when you dont use the correct torque settings,

[cruzncommo]

and what about the shims for the yoke???? what about the torque specs for the pinion preload??? you need some form of a guide you know....you can wreck bearings and seals when you dont use the correct torque settings,

i just took mine out pulled it to bits (cuz it was leaking like a fords fueltank) replaced everything, put it back in and bingo, didnt even need to think.

[Boonz]

im just saying to do it properly you need to use these tools and guides....but his has movement so it needs to be overhauled or just have the ball joints replaced

[friedchicken]

Thanks for the replys guys

peanuts: do you have a copy of these instructions? you think i can get the parts at say repco or sprints etc?

The reason i want to pull it to bits it because theres movement in it. It leaks something rotten, but ive stopped caring as of a few months ago

ive got access to most common tools, drills/bearing press all that stuff, are there any job specific tools needed? can said tools be made with a welder etc?

thanks again

edit:
oh and i had a look at an old vl (i think) rack i had around, and noticed its got little pins that i assume hold the ball joints on the main shaft. I tried to drill them out, but i think they were harder than the shaft, so the bit kept slipping off. Is the vn the same? if so how do you get them out? cheers

[Boonz]

spanners, pin punches, hammer, and a bigish multigrips for the inner ball joints...nah i dont ahve a copy of them. try a gregories manual or something and i think most parts should be available at repco

[308vkcalais]

I've dun 2 racks.No special tools needed.

[friedchicken]

I conviently have a gregory's manual on my desk atm

Doesnt tell you how to do dismantle the power steering rack, but does tell you how to do the manual steering rack. I guess the process may be pretty similar, but they did use some weird lookin tools.

However it looks like the tie rod/ball joint simply unscrew from the main shaft, so i should be ok to replace them.

cheers guys

[308vkcalais]

The Rack ends are really the only diffrence between the ps or conventional steering.Rack ends are about $60 a pr from memory.

[friedchicken]

where abouts you get the rack ends from?

surely theres some significant differences in the main unit for power/non power... what about the valves and stuff (i guess theres gotta be something like that for the power steering...)??? what are the parts worth to reco the seals and the like?

cheers

[cit51]

Hey guys,

I am in the process of doing the job and I would like to have a little advise.
How do I get the rack out of the housing?
I think you have to open up the side with the arrow, but not to sure how to do that.
I allready wrecked a bearing so I want to be careful.
Do you unscrew the end cap (with 4 holes) or do you need to do something else?

Thanks

[crewzincool]

Hey guys,

I am in the process of doing the job and I would like to have a little advise.
How do I get the rack out of the housing?
I think you have to open up the side with the arrow, but not to sure how to do that.
I allready wrecked a bearing so I want to be careful.
Do you unscrew the end cap (with 4 holes) or do you need to do something else?

Thanks

man you really need a gregory's manual ...i did one about 12 months ago.. got a seal kit from local auto transmision place like $50 bucks or something..you need a torque wrench for this for sure..and that end cap does need to come out...thats were you will need to make a tool to get in to those holes

[cit51]

I do have this seal kit from powersteering australia, costed me 35 AUD.
And yes I probably have to get me a gregory manual, to keep me from damaging any more
Does this endcap screw out?

Cheers

[crewzincool]

I do have this seal kit from powersteering australia, costed me 35 AUD.
And yes I probably have to get me a gregory manual, to keep me from damaging any more
Does this endcap screw out?

Cheers

yes it does come out

[cit51]

Well, I did make a special tool, thanks to my garage.







If people are interested I can post up a little manual how to do (and not to do) this job.

[14secvp]

nice tool man should sell it on ebay just dont put up a pic of it someone will buy it lol good to see you got it done by yourself

[Emackulation]

Yeah, good thinking mate, good to see the job didn't scare you away.

[markovr]

heres a exploded view of the various parts of the power rack looking at factory book that tool above to unscrew retaining nut is the only specialised tool needed to do job....there are some torque specifications and special holding tools but nothing that you cant improvise if you have a basic and patient understanding of how it all goes together.

[cit51]

Ha, now that is a file I actually liked to have before I started the job hehe.
The only thing I can see I forgot is the little o ring at the top of the pinion.
I did not take the pinion apart.
Hopefully this is not neccesay, because I am just finished putting everything back together and am too lazy to open it up again.

[cit51]

Just finished putting the rack back under the car.
Fired up the engine and checked all the connections.
Seems nothing is leaking, at least from the steering rack.
The engine and gearbox are leaking so I have to replace those gaskets, that will be the next project. Alltough I think I let the garage do that messy job.

[Dayvo]

are these racks the same as the VX power steering ones , mines got a leak too