Possible steering rack leak ...

[White Lightning]

I had a few hours spare this afternoon so I decided to replace my near side steering rack gaitor. I had a spare left over from when I bought a pair when the other one split and I thought it would be a good idea to change it given that the car is going in for the full wheel alignment on Saturday.

Anyway, I was quite shocked to find that when I removed the old gaitor there appeared to be some power steering fluid inside. Not a lot but enough for me to be a little concerned. I took the photo below to show what it's like and there was quite a bit on the inside the gaitor too. From my experience with replacing the steering rack on the Ka I am guessing this means one of the seals in the rack is going/gone.

Has anyone seen this on a VR-4 before? I have not heard it mentioned ...

Is this likely to be terminal and require strip down and rebuild??

:inquisiti

[Ryan]

I had a leaking steering rack on my car, it was repaired by MMC - I never got to see what it looked like but it was repaired in 4 days and $800 later.

Ryan

[Physician]

Wayne .......... have a look at following for parts schematic which I needed ages ago.

I'm not the best technically but that doesn't look too bad to me although it may well be indicative of failure in due course. Parts ain't cheap so get it sorted.


http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9917


Rich

[GalantOnly]

Hope is not a power steering fluid...:toilet:
Ohh no...

[Subaru ETA]

wheres the p/s fluid?? all i see is grease!

but yeah, mine was leaking end of last year. cost about $600 for a full rebuild of seals etc

[White Lightning]

The darker coloured stuff is definately power steering fluid you could tell because it was dripping on the floor. It is mixed in with the grease. Perhaps I should have taken a photo of the inside of the boot which was covered. I would say there was at least a teaspoon full of fluid in there.

[White Lightning]

Wayne .......... have a look at following for parts schematic which I needed ages ago.

I'm not the best technically but that doesn't look too bad to me although it may well be indicative of failure in due course. Parts ain't cheap so get it sorted.


http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9917


Rich

Great link, thanks Rich :thumbsup:

So do we think this is repairable by replacing a seal?
i.e. remove the rack and send it away for refurb?

I can't afford a new rack ... :speechles

[White Lightning]

Just popped out and checked the level in the reservoir and it is slightly above MAX which I am sure is where it has been since we replaced the engine at the back end of 2006 (we lost some of the PS fluid when disconnected pipes etc to swap the engine). So, it's clearer not losing much at the moment ...

[Eurospec]

Its a slight leak in the rack end seal by the look of it. I wouldnt go racing to change that until it actually manifests as a proper leak. Yes there is some wear in the seal, but if you were gonna do it, you probably get the whole rack reconned, which i dont think would be justified for that at the moment.

Cheers,

Ben.

[Subaru ETA]

yeah, alittle bit of fluid is ok. just wait till it starts pissing out and you fail a MOT

[Gly]

mine had fuild in it when i had to change the rack end,
fuild levels been the same over the last year in my car so it cant be terminal yet..... most likely just a weapy seal.

[White Lightning]

Cool, thanks guys. Sounds like I don't need to panic just yet. That said, I have just noticed that Marcus has a low mileage rack available in his garage clearout so if that does not cost too much I may buy it and keep it on standby just in case.

Ben - any ideas how much it would cost to have a VR-4 rack reconned? Have you got a place that you use?

[Subaru ETA]

dont know how things work in your neck of the woods but i was offered a exchange on, for quite abit cheaper. but i still just got mine recoed

[Eurospec]

Ben - any ideas how much it would cost to have a VR-4 rack reconned? Have you got a place that you use?

Never needed one done on a VR4. On the GTO, anywhere from £280 to £380 for the rack work.

Cheers,

Ben.