[TheOtherLeft]

Hi guys,

I just had my pink slip inspection by a local mechanic and was told my steering rack is fuked. With one wheel jacked up there is some side-to-side play but the bearings are fine (replaced about 2 yrs ago). Is the steering rack a wear and tear item? I thought side-to-side play was tie rods?

I have OME suspension which was installed in 2005. The mechanic said the front shocks were cactus as well. They pass the vertical bounce test but he said they are too stiff.

He took me for a test drive and did the swerve test and thinks it's dangerous to drive. He did complain about excess forward/rearward pitching but I assume this is normal in a SWB. He's not a 4WD expert just a general mechanic.

I was quoted $645 for a replacement steering rack itself. Plus there's fluid, labour, new shocks, wheel alignment with the total being $1500

Does this sound like a ripoff quote?

It's a 2002 SWB GV with OME suspension and done 170,000km.

FWIW I'm in Sydney.

[Matthew]

PM lbzook, I gave him a GV steering rack. I believe he wants to sell it.

Edit- for sale thread

[TheOtherLeft]

Thanks for that. Courier fees to Sydney would be exxy wouldn't it.

Could the mechanic be lying to me? I thought tie rods would go before the entire steering rack assemby.

[tanshi]

depends where the side play is, get some one to turn the wheel while you watch the steering do its thing.

if the wheel turns a bit before any of the steering arms move then its slack in the rack.

if the looseness is in the rods you will see it

[TheOtherLeft]

tanshi wrote:

depends where the side play is, get some one to turn the wheel while you watch the steering do its thing.

if the wheel turns a bit before any of the steering arms move then its slack in the rack.

if the looseness is in the rods you will see it

I can wriggle the steering wheel about 10degrees side to side (steering play) before the tyre turns. Is this a sign of slack in the rack?

When my wife drove it she thought looseness in the steering wheel was an attribute of 4WDs.

[tanshi]

no, as i said it depends where exactly the slack is.

read my instructions. you will need two people

[TheOtherLeft]

OK. I had a look with someone turning the steering wheel. I can't see/hear any problems with the tie rods and there's a creaking sound coming from the steering rack.

I can't however see any slack in the rack itself and turning the wheel seems to correspond to turning of the tyres.

This is with the engine off.

[tanshi]

so when you turned the wheel the rods started moving instantly?

or you turned the wheel and 10 degrees later the rods starded moving?

[TheOtherLeft]

tanshi wrote:

so when you turned the wheel the rods started moving instantly?

or you turned the wheel and 10 degrees later the rods starded moving?

Had the wife take up the slack in the steering wheel (the 10 degrees) and then turned the wheel and could see the rods then move.

[tanshi]

yep, so its not in the rods, its in the rack.

[TheOtherLeft]

OK cool.

The mechanic thinks it's cheaper to buy a new steering rack compared to rebuilding my current one due to labour costs. Is this correct?

[tanshi]

wouldnt know costs of that sort of thing

[missmyljdaze]

TheOtherLeft wrote:

OK cool.

The mechanic thinks it's cheaper to buy a new steering rack compared to rebuilding my current one due to labour costs. Is this correct?

Went through this excercise recently with a mates Magna, after spending heaps of time and fuel chasing second hand racks that turned out to be no good- he found a mob that do exchange rebuilds that come with guarantees / warrantees for not much more than the second hand half knackered stuff from wreckers.

The Magna rack came via the local "AUTO ONE", so I imagine you can get them locally wherever you are.

stephen

edit:

I would be tempted to pick up an exchange rack, bolt it in, do a rough wheel alignment, then take it to a suspension mob for a proper wheel alignment.
When you call them to make a booking- make sure they have the gear to test a shockies performance.

Last time I had a shockie test done, they set each wheel on a disk that would bounce around at different rates and heights, and the print out told you if the shockies were within spec, how fast they were fading as they heated up, or if they were just plain old knackered.

Pretty fair chance the test will be thrown in as either a freebee- or for a token price since they are doing your wheel alignment.
Much cheaper than buying a set of shocks you might not need.

stephen

[fordem]

I'd say go back and check thoroughly - and I will admit being too lazy to read through all the posts.

The rack is a machined rod with replaceable "rack ends" (aka tie rods) and "rod ends" (aka steering ends) - the wheel attaches to a pinion gear in mesh with teeth machined into the rod - it's possible but unusual for wear to occur at this toothed interface and there is usually an adjustment to compensate.

It's not too difficult to detect worn rod ends - they're in the open where you can "eyeball" them - detecting worn rack ends is a little more difficult.

Jack the front wheels off the ground, turn the steering all the way to one side and then reach in and grab the rack boot about an inch or so from where it attaches to the rack - squeeze it and you can feel the rack itself - now have someone else rock the road wheel (the same side your on) - if there is play in the rack end you'll feel it - repeat for the other side.

Genuine Suzuki rack ends go for about USD$65/ea, make sure you get the lock washers at the same time.

Quote:

Had the wife take up the slack in the steering wheel (the 10 degrees) and then turned the wheel and could see the rods then move

Make sure that 10 degrees is not in the column UJs - or a loose (or missing) pinch bolt.

[Built4thrashing]

You wont be able to feel the play in the rack ends. You will ned to undo the rubber boot and eyeball it .

[fordem]

Built4thrashing wrote:

You wont be able to feel the play in the rack ends. You will ned to undo the rubber boot and eyeball it .

Speak for yourself - I have done this personally, and I have seen it done by more than one alignment tech, which is actually where I learned that it could be done - if there is enough movement to be felt by rocking the wheel, there is enough movement to be felt through the boot.

Now that I've had a bit more time and actually read some of the posts...

TheOtherLeft wrote:

With one wheel jacked up there is some side-to-side play

If by that you mean that you can shake the wheel that's off the ground side-to-side, in my opinion, that is either the rack end or the rod end - like I said before, what you have linking the two wheels is a machined steel rod with a rack end and a rod end on either side - there can be no side play in a piece of steel rod, so it's either in the rack end or the rod end.

[Built4thrashing]

fordem wrote:

Built4thrashing wrote:

You wont be able to feel the play in the rack ends. You will ned to undo the rubber boot and eyeball it .

Speak for yourself - I have done this personally, and I have seen it done by more than one alignment tech, which is actually where I learned that it could be done - if there is enough movement to be felt by rocking the wheel, there is enough movement to be felt through the boot.

My GV was tram tracking. and kept pulling to either side... Random left or right. so I took it into an alignment place.
Alignment place couldn't find it. I watched then do as you said and was told the rack was rooted. I called BS

So I bought it home and slid the boot back and there was play. Could see it in the inner rack end ball joint. Couldn't see it by rocking a wheel. Tyres had to be on the ground with someone turning the steering wheel. Was about 1mm play in each side.

Only cost me $44 for both sides and even did my own Alignment. (Had it checked of course) and it was pretty close to spot on.

[got_bar_work]

I'm wrecking a sq420 And have a steering rack
$50 it's yours

[fordem]

Built4thrashing wrote:

Alignment place couldn't find it.

So your alignment shop didn't know their stuff...

You don't seem to realize that your symptoms were different - in TheOtherLeft's case, the play is visible at the wheel, in yours it wasn't - what's similar is that you've both been told the rack is shot, you called BS in your case, and I'm calling BS in his.

As I've said, I've done it personally, and in both cases (one of which was my GV), the play was easily detectable by feel, long before it was detectable through the steering wheel.

With the GV, I bought the rack ends and had them on a shelf for over a year before I actually needed to change them, and on my Pajero, I haven't even bothered to order the rack ends yet.

[TheOtherLeft]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I ended up taking it to one of my old previous mechanics (he was closed last week for holidays and had also moved to a bigger premises further away) who passed the inspection. He knows the mechanic from last week and thinks he's a but nuts.

So it confirmed last weeks mechanic was just trying to fleece me.