big nut thing on steering rack??

[jas98]

hey i have been haveing a horrible knock in the left side of the car (front) for ages now and changed everything except the rack, but today i decided to check teh rack and it seemed fine but i decided to tighten the big nut looking thing on it near the steering shaft (not the pinion nut the other one thaqt looks complicatied) and it stoped the noise and tighned up me steering (i didnt do it tight as then the steering wheel was very hard to turn)

wondering what this does and how do i adjust it correctly?

cheers

[soop]

Without pictures im guessing it was the variable ratio valve.

[Brett_jjj]

It could be the adjustment for the rack to pinion pre load and clearances.If you stuff around with these settings, without knowing exactly what you are doing,the clearances between the rack and the pinion will be set wrong. The steering wheel being harder to turn when this nut is adjusted up,could be the pinion binding with the rack or vice versa,which will wear the rack and pinion out in no time.

[jas98]

this is the bolt, if u can see

[Teletran1]

Like what Brett_jjj was saying, its the rack buffer pad. Adjusting it is fine due to wear, to take up a bit of play in the rack. Dont overdo it, only enough to take the slop out. Is a good indication if you have to adjust it a bit its nearly time for a recon/replacement rack.

[wortus]

If it's the large diameter nut with an "in hex socket" and lock ring around it then it's the steering rack mesh adjustment. It pre loads the rack to the pinion as Brett said.
To adjust it you need a torque wrench and I think it's called a degree wheel? The correct procedure is to do this adjustment up to a certain torque and then turn the nut a certain amount of degrees. Too tight or too loose and you will damage the rack.

I once took my VN to Pedders and they did this up so tight the steering would not self centre so I ended up doing it myself.

[jas98]

chees guys, yeh i did it up tight then backed off a bitt to were it felt non sloppy and yeh it hadles the corners soooooooooooo much better, im not saying its adjusted corectly though which im concerned about but i was thinking of a new rack anyway, but would anyone know the torque settings and dial wheelsettings to adjust this?

cheers all helpis mch appreciated

[vr1uz-fe]

omg you tightend the mesh adjuster on a modern powersteering rack you never touch it omg new rack coming up

[jas98]

lol well it handles a hell of allot better, doesnt have 5 cm ply in the steering wheel any more it actually goes into the direction that i tyurn the steering wheel lmao

oh well if i need a new rack ill get one but in the mean time i just need the correct adjustment lol

cheers

[wortus]

chees guys, yeh i did it up tight then backed off a bitt to were it felt non sloppy and yeh it hadles the corners soooooooooooo much better, im not saying its adjusted corectly though which im concerned about but i was thinking of a new rack anyway, but would anyone know the torque settings and dial wheelsettings to adjust this?

cheers all helpis mch appreciated

For a VN with power steering the torque setting is 10 to 12 Nm and then you turn it back (undo it) 25 to 30 degrees. I'd assume the VR/VS settings are the same?