Steering rack diffrences? VN-VS?

[PaRaDoX]

yooooooooooooooo

soooo i took mai car in for a wheel alignment yesterday, they take a look at it and tell me wheel alignemtn cant be done (sure it can they just want more money)

anywho they tell me the rack end is stuffed and it needs replacing (fair enough) $172 to fix + labor, anywho... all money i dont have right now (some delusional ugmo wants to milk me for $$ but thats another story)

anyway, i ripped the wheel off and i see what they mean, it has about 1mm of movement in the balljoint at the end of the steering rack,my wheel alignment is royally ****ed, to the point where i blew a tyre out from rubbing

its drivable but who knows how long till i pop another set of tyres.. it only gets me to work and back now, dosnt get a work out like she used to


anyway my plan is to replace the entire rack for around $60 (2nd hander) hopefully find one thats been done recently, my question is are the steering racks the same from the VP/ VR/S?

i know the VL is the same just a bit better...

id rather stick a newer rack in if i could...

[jas98]

as far as i was aware the vn one was different from the vp vr and vs

as for replacing the rack why? if its only the tie rod or tie rod end then replace tha as it will be allot cheaper and less stuffing around

[Boonz]

VN/VP have a splined input shaft which is a bastard to line up.... the VR onwards ones have a rectangle input shaft and are a piece of **** to line up

[PaRaDoX]

how do you replace the tie rods? from the looks of it someone had a go at it already and failed... its definiatly the balljoint on the tie rod.. is there a special tool you need to undo the tie rod or any special way your supposed to do it?

[PaRaDoX]

Peanuts, correct me if im wrong but cant you just unbolt the input shaft?

[jas98]

two spanners ....it can be a prick to do but is very doable as i have done it heaps of times....thast to get it of the tie rod only to get it off the strut tower you need to undo it and bash it out lol

[Boonz]

no the input shaft in what has the pinion gear on the end of it.... the intermediate shaft is the one with the uni joints that connects the steering shaft to the input shaft on the rack

[Rhino Racing]

The trick to remove them if you dont have a tie rod puller is to undo the nut about 5 turns. Place a prybar or crowbar above the steering rack rod and under the bottom of either the strut or the bracket that is welded near the bottom of it.
While pulling down on the bar hit the lug that the tierod end is bolted to. (Hit it side on with a sharp whack.) Some people think that they have to hit down on top of the tierod end where the thread is when you remove the nut.... if you do this it will mushroom and make it very hard to get out.
Make sure you do not load the shaft down onto the steering rack body.... it will cause bush or seal failures.
As peanuts has stated the input shaft end is different for later models.
But most importantly if you were needing to replace a rack is make sure that the rack is compatible. The earlier modles (Vn-Vp) measure approx 16 1/2 inches between the mounting bolt holes. Later models are about 1/2 inch longer between the holes.
Good luck getting the tierod off.

[friedchicken]

I bought another rack from a swapmeet a while ago with 'VN' written on the side of it. Turns out it wasnt a vn rack as it has the later input shaft and it appears to be about an inch longer between the tie rod ends. I assume the wider front track is the reason for that. (or i cant use a tape measure...)

Can a vl rack be used on a vn?

[vnv8driver]

i just read the whole post paradox and haven't seen one bit of good advice (sorry guys)

ok the steering arm- undo the tie rod nut and remove it from the strut assembly ,if the arms rootd it will pull straight out... if it does. put a dob of liquid nails on the end and push it back in and hold pressure on it until it sets. might sound dodgy but is a guaranteed repair that should last quite a while. or until you get it fixed properly


vn-vs steering racks are different, but with the rack ends and input shaft swapped over will work

tie rod end removal and refitting, all you need is 2 spanners, 17mm by memory, ok undo the tie rod end, count the amount of turns it takes for it to fall off, as soon as it falls off mae a marking on both the tierod end and the rack end. refitting is opposite of removal, put the marking of the old tierod on the new one and do it up the same amount of turns it took to remove it.


and im guessing on the highway your steering wheel pulls you everywhere?? thats the rack end doing that

[PaRaDoX]

i was talking to a mate whose a mechanic and he reckons a pipe wrench is the right tool to get the tie rod cap off

ive heard $30 ish for a tierod? i can live with that, the issue was i didnt know what to undo it with or how to undo it

now i know should be a peice of cake...mm cake

yeh id rather replace the tierod than the rack..

[Kruza]

you would be better of to get a new tie-rod {get 2 to be sure} or a 2nd hand rack out of a vn-vp...its about $20-40 each depends where from.
the vr > up is totally different as well as the vl..ive tried both on my ol vn and vp unless you do a vs rack, hubs, and strut conversion which im doin in the near future. {you get better wheel-alignment movement and readings as well as a newer model upgrade}....

[PaRaDoX]

yeah, i ordered a rack end today

$32, ill get me a pipe wrench this week and change it on the weekend....