VK Power steering issue, Nylon bushing on bottom of rack/inspection hole?

[BlackCaprice]

Got a bit of a power steering issue/query if anyone knows?

Recently we took the brother's VK over the pits and got our list of things to do/fix. One of the issues was the power steering rack and/or power steering pump was leaking very slightly, mainly from the in/out hoses to the pump/reservoir and what seemed to be from that little diamond shaped inspection cover on the bottom of the steering rack.

So took the pump off, replaced the o ring in the flow control valve and refitted and it all seems fine with no leaks.

Now onto that inspection plate on the bottom of the rack. Took that off and there was a white nylon bushing type thing in the hole that seemed to be keeping the inner rack in place (if you know what I mean?). It had a bunch of really thin gaskets between the rack and plate that bolts on, so I I assumed that these were causing the leak. Got rid of them and just used silicon to seal, bolted it back up and it's all good with no leaks.

Now comes the issue - today I drove it for the first time since then and the steering feels like it's binding a bit, feels a bit heavy and worst of all not self centering.

The only thing I can think of is that now those gaskets aren't between the cover plate and rack body, it's caused that nylon bushing thing to be pressed up harder against the actual rack when I bolted it back up? Is it possible that just that small amount of gasket thickness is needed to keep the bushing loose enough to allow free rack play - or am I missing something else?

Sorry for the long winded question but anyone who's seen the bit I'm talking about will probably know what i mean.

Hoping to rectify it this weekend so any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers!

 

[ari666]

not to sound like a twat, but you checked the fluid was topped up after changing everything.. right? is there a chance of water in the fluid? does it make that horrible "NAWWW-BUZZZZ-NAWWW" kinda noise?

when you say "drove it today for the first time" was there a chance that it had the steering issue before you went ahead and did the work? "not self centering" is more of a wheel alignment issue really. also the camber adjusters on the top of the struts can make it 'tram track' really badly and make it more difficult to turn if they have been moved to the wrong position.

 

[BlackCaprice]

nah it definitely has fluid in it, it was all running sweet last week when we took it over the pits, it's just that I've obviously done something to it when I took that bottom plate off and got rid of the gasket (well I'm assuming I have). Nothing has been touched except for removing and replacing the pump/reservoir and that that plate and bushing (I think it's called a 'rack pad'? in the VLmanual) on the bottom of the rack. cheers

 

[BlackCaprice]

actually I may have worked it out..

When I took off that plate with two bolts on the bottom of the rack, I think from memory some oil came out.

As I'm not full bottle on power steering racks I just assumed that when I filled the power steering pump back up, the whole rack would fill again. However after doing some searches on steering racks it would seem that the rack with the teeth on it that I can see through that bottom plate hole, needs it's own fluid put in there? ie: it's separate from the the areas the actual power steering fluid travels through?

Can anyone confirm if they can understand what I mean?
Basically do I need to fill that area of the rack (the bar with the teeth on it - work drive?) with oil?

Cheers

 

[BlackCaprice]

OR

is filling the tube with oil, just for manual racks?

 

[VK_3800]

It had a bunch of really thin gaskets between the rack and plate that bolts on, so I I assumed that these were causing the leak. Got rid of them

You need to put those shims back, they are a key part of setting up the rack to operate correctly, bearing preload and damper clearance. If you've lost them or don't know which ones went where you'll need to measure the clearances again (full procedure can be found in a workshop manual)

 

[BlackCaprice]

Thanks very much mate. I did keep those shims as I thought it was a bit unusual having so many metal type gaskets shoved in there. So I should be able to just undi the plate put the shims back in and I'm good to go? Do you suggest anything for sealing (obviously I can't silicon between every shim!)

Should it even need sealing?

As I said it the pits picked general leaks here and there so I saw a drop at the bottom of that plate, but now I'm wondering if it wasn't coming from the hose/pipe connections above that area.

Anyway, thanks again, just what I wanted to know re: those shims

 

[VK_3800]

If its clean it should seal up OK as they act like gaskets (one may even be slightly different material, can't remember?), you don't want to use anything that will alter the thickness in any way. Can't say I've ever seen one leaking from there, you're probably right about the fluid travelling down from somewhere else.

 

[BlackCaprice]

Yeah they were all metal except for one which was like a traditional gasket material. WIll refit them all (without sealer) tonight and see how we go. Thanks again

 

[BlackCaprice]

did the trick, thanks VK_3800