Power Steering Adjustments

[Sara Pax]

Does anyone know how to ajdust the Power Steering Rack to remove the slight bit of Slop
I have had this do on my VR at GMH in the past

 

[hako]

You need to find exactly where the play is - it may be the tie-rod ends, rack ends or wear in the actual rack and pinion. Best to put the car on stands and have a look underneath whilst someone wobbles the steering wheel back and forth. The actual rack and pinion is not something the home mechanic can fix but the rack ends and tierods are reasonably easy to change. I dont think there is anything you can adjust....its all remove and replace.

 

[Sara Pax]

Its a Reco Rack and just needs a little adjustment between the Rack and Pinion

 

[96VS]

rack and pinion = gears... if there is play in it it means the teeth are not meshing and are ruined. you would need to do a complete overhaul of the assembly...more likely it is the tie rods like hako suggested. Also the steering column might be loose/worn.

 

[Sara Pax]

Gee:whistling
Gears can be adjusted to obtain the correct mesh
As in Rack and Pinion, Helical, Hypoid, Bevel, Herringbone, Spur, etc
What do you think they do when setting up Diff Gears
I appreciate your efforts in replying
But if you dont have the correct answer its a waste of time
The answer i wanted was from a GMH Mechanic etc that knows how it is done
I havent got a spare Rack to pull apart to play with
I am in the engineering trade
:bang:

 

[hako]

You won't find many GMH mechanics here...only Commodore enthusiasts who try and help each other out with friendly advice. Adjusting the mesh on a rack and pinion steering assembly is precision work and not normally carried out by trade or home mechanics who do not have access to the specialised equipment required to perform such adjustments. Such adjustments generally must be made on the bench with the assembly removed from the vehicle.

 

[Sara Pax]

So do you know who to rebuild Steering Racks
If you do please tell me how they remove the play between the Pinion and Rack
Thats all i was asking

 

[Cheap6]

If you want to adjust the preload on the steering rack you can do so. If the play in the steering is between the rack and pinion, it's probably just masking another problem such as worn rack bushes or gears, or even the pinion bearings, so might be seen as 'bodgy'. Even with a reco rack (it depends on what was replaced in the 'reco').

If it's just that the adjustment wasn't carried out properly:

On the rack housing is an adjustment screw (bolt?) with an internal hex head - about 19mm. You will need a tool to hold/move the internal hex. I made one from an old wheel nut and a bolt so I can use a spanner to turn the adjusting screw/bolt. The adj. screw/bolt is held in place with locking nut. The locking nut is large; I use a big pair of multigrips (whatever works ) to undo them but it's not really ideal. Hold the screw with the 'special' tool and undo the lock nut, adjust away, and redo the lock nut back up.

It's probably a good idea to mark the current position of teh adj. screw so you can get back to where you started from if you want to.

 

[pete30nz]

Nice write up cheap6, I've been curious about if this was possible for the commodore.
As I know other cars can have there's done.

Cheers Pete