New to Commodores !

[Barry k]

Hi,new in the country and ive just bought a 1996 vs Wagon,car is in good order,gave it a good engine/underbody wash yesterday as i have to get the roadworthy for change of ownership,every thing looks good except the rubber bellows./ gaitors or whatever you call them here ! on each end of the steering rack,they are pretty shot,is this a fail on the roadworthy ?? Also i noticed when the motor was running ,every time the air con compressor kicked in the cooling fan started is this correct operation ??
Thanks in adavnce

BK

[sweefu]

Tie Rod Ends it sounds like? That will be a fail for roady mate.

Welcome to JC forums too! Glad to see you are from canberra. Are you north or south side?

[moff_man]

a/c operation sounds normal and welcome

[Barry k]

Southside,Griffith. Tie rod ends ? we call them track rod ends they connect the steering rack to the front wheel, they are fine,its the protective rubber boot/gaitor further up the shafts that are broken . It would be a fail in the UK ,dont know about here though,trying to get info from rta as to what exactly they test but cant find anything !!

[python_hunter1]

welcome mate, there is standard for rwc, but every tester is different. some may let things go , while others will be very picky. it all depends on where you go. try to talk to a few people in your area and get an idea as to who is the easiest place for rwc.. the boots your refering to are called tie rod end boots.

[VS_Pete_1]

Goodday Baz

[moff_man]

Southside,Griffith. Tie rod ends ? we call them track rod ends they connect the steering rack to the front wheel, they are fine,its the protective rubber boot/gaitor further up the shafts that are broken . It would be a fail in the UK ,dont know about here though,trying to get info from rta as to what exactly they test but cant find anything !!

rack boots, and yes it should be a fail for this, i do nsw safty checks (pink slips)

[Barry k]

Thanks for the reply, have you ever changed them? can you get them on without taking the tie rod off the steering rack ? i know you will have to remove tie rod from wheel,but is there enough stretch in the rubber boot to get over the tie rod ???

[hako]

You must remove the tierod end to slip the bellows over ....there is no easy way. Centre punch a mark on the tierod, then measure accurately the distance from the punch mark to a similar punch mark you also make on the tierod end, then remove the tierod end. After installing the boot, screw end on till distance between punch marks is same as before removal. This way you will not need a wheel alignment. Busted boots usually will ruin your rack once dust gets in and stuffs the seals up.

[Barry k]

You must remove the tierod end to slip the bellows over ....there is no easy way. Centre punch a mark on the tierod, then measure accurately the distance from the punch mark to a similar punch mark you also make on the tierod end, then remove the tierod end. After installing the boot, screw end on till distance between punch marks is same as before removal. This way you will not need a wheel alignment. Busted boots usually will ruin your rack once dust gets in and stuffs the seals up.

Thanks hako for the info,a job for the weekend !!! Another problem i have found is an oil leak from the front of gearbox( auto) oil is red so i assume it is atf, i cleaned engine/gearbox last week and looking at the box there seems to be a weep of oil at the base of the filler tube, its is not coming from top and running down, how likely is it that the tube oil seal is leaking ?? are they easy to replace ? any other common problems ?? Many thanks.