

| Subject: | Steering rack Blues |
| From: | Martin Wolf |
| Date: | Thu, 18 Feb 1999 11:36:48 EST |
How about that nice rebuild kit from ZF available from Bus depot. I bought it for 95.00 and it had all the goodies in it. It is interesting to note that most failures seem to be at rack ends and not at the steering u joint end. I rebuilt mine at least a year ago and it still works. The job wasnt too bad. The worst part is pulling the rack off. After that it is a bench job. Pressure wash the rack before dismantling to keep the dirt to a minimum. To remove the threaded retainers on the ends I used a drift and hammer to loosen and voila they came right out. Record positions of parts during dissassembly for posterity and later reference. The Bentley actually marks all the replacement seals etc. with an asterisk indicating that rebuild is a service operation. For most other racks, it is a replacement issue not rebuild. This really made my day as it indicates the Vanagon rack is designed for rebuild. All the wear surfaces are inside nylon bushings so the rack itself should be spared from wear. Mine was nice and shiny with no wear perceptible. Having never been into a hydraulic system before, it was interesting and a fun challenge which can be done in the basement. The sense of accomplishment looking at the rebuilt rack prior to installation was great and the absence of hydraulic fluid on the garage floor was even better. Martin Wolf 85 GL
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