Power steering rack rebuild

[Commy_fan]

I have been rebuilding the rack for a couple of weeks now. When I try to wind the steel wire into the groove of the end bearing, A couple of lugs have broken. Before this operation, I have noticed some lugs have already been broken. Is the force excessive? I cannot see any other ways to do it. Now I have a problem with the broken end bearing. Can I find a replacement end bearing or I need to get a whole rack?

 

[Commy_fan]

I think the problem is caused by the tool I have made. The bearing has 8 lugs for the tool to be inserted and twisted. The tool I have made only has 4 round bars. Therefore, there are only 4 lugs to share the torque which results in too much force applied to those engaged lugs and leads to their failure. I will remake the same tool but with 8 bars and give it a go. In the mean time, I need to find a replacement for the broken bearing.

 

[Commy_fan]

Further to my last comments, I have noticed apart from the groove on the end bearing, there is one inside the housing and in the middle of the slot. When I first put in the bearing and lined up the groove within the slot. However, I did not realise it should also line up the one inside the housing. The idea is to allow the steel wire sit between these two grooves and stop the end bearing from moving. That is reason why it is so hard to wind the wire in. As the end bearing is a couple of mm short to line up the grooves, I might have to modify the end bearing a little bit to move a couple of mm into the housing and line up the two grooves. Although half of the lugs are damaged, the bearing is still able to turn with the remains lugs. Once the grooves are lined up, the wire should be easily to be winded in.

 

[Commy_fan]

I am so glad I have overcome the hurtle with the broken rack end bearing and finished rebuilding the whole rack. I reckon there are two tools required to complete the rebuilding. One is for the rack end bearing and one for the gear guide adjusting screw. The latter is easy where you just cut a piece of 3/5 mm steel flat bar to fit the recess and using it to turn the adjusting screw. The former is more complicated but not too many hardship. I like to upload a photo but the system says it is too large. The rack I am rebuilding is the stock one. The one on the car was purchased in last March 2022 and now is leaking. I just don’t want to spend another $450 for a remanufactured one with one year warranty. What will I do if it leaks after one year?

 

[krusing]

Depending on the condition/wear of the original rack,
Possibly cheaper to get one from a Wrecker.

 

[Commy_fan]

The stock one is actually quite reliable for all these years since 1998. If the remanufactured rack cannot endure a year, what you can expect its reliability from the one sold by wrecker? The used power steering racks on eBay are about $200. If they will leak, I prefer to rebuilding them by myself and see what will happen.