steering rack failure questions

jham

Original poster
Member
Nov 20, 2011
1,334
I have a feeling that that rack and pinion is failing. I can see a slight leak from it and have a death wobble above 50mph
I am looking to see what other symptoms other have had when there's failed. I have all new inner and out tie-rods, ball joints. Wheel have been balanced multiple times so the rack is my last thing I can think of. Thanks in advance on a side note the wobble didn't start till I got my new rims on
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
jham said:
I have a feeling that that rack and pinion is failing. I can see a slight leak from it and have a death wobble above 50mph
I am looking to see what other symptoms other have had when there's failed. I have all new inner and out tie-rods, ball joints. Wheel have been balanced multiple times so the rack is my last thing I can think of. Thanks in advance on a side note the wobble didn't start till I got my new rims on

Have you had alignment?

Change the rims and see if change occurs..may have the issue right there
 

jham

Original poster
Member
Nov 20, 2011
1,334
HARDTRAILZ said:
Have you had alignment?

Change the rims and see if change occurs..may have the issue right there

yes to the alignment. Going to change the time and see. I only asked about the rack because Matt ( regulator) suggested it
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
jham said:
I have a feeling that that rack and pinion is failing. I can see a slight leak from it and have a death wobble above 50mph
Thanks in advance on a side note the wobble didn't start till I got my new rims on

Where is the leak coming from? How much fluid is it going through?

I would say the wobble has nothing to do with the rack and everything to do with the rims. Have you have RoadForce balance? Have you had different places balance or just going back to same place? Any bulges in tires or dings in the rims?
 

jham

Original poster
Member
Nov 20, 2011
1,334
HARDTRAILZ said:
Where is the leak coming from? How much fluid is it going through?

I would say the wobble has nothing to do with the rack and everything to do with the rims. Have you have RoadForce balance? Have you had different places balance or just going back to same place? Any bulges in tires or dings in the rims?

I can't find a place with road force to balance them. I have had 3 different shops balance them. No bulges on the tires and no dents on the rims. The leak is minor but enough that I can see it so a class 1 leak
 

Brian@work

Member
Dec 5, 2011
14
Have you tried doing a tire rotation to see if the vibration moves to the back of the vehicle and less from the steering?
 

Brian@work

Member
Dec 5, 2011
14
Just grasping at straws but did you get new tires with the new rims? Have you checked to see if anything is out of round by jacking it up and making sure you have the same contact area for a full rotation?
 

JerryIrons

Member
Dec 20, 2011
434
When my rack failed I had a small leak that over time got worse. It was especially noticable when I would jack up the opposite side of the car, to rotate tires or change brake pads, etc. I think I had a bad boot as well, so it allowed the power steering fluid to run out with gravity pretty easily. If I remember right I had some shuddering in my steering at the extremes of turning, not exactly the right wording but it definitely felt weird.

Changing out the rack wasn't all that bad. But you probably will end up changing out the lines as well like I did, and that was a pain because they sit under a lot of stuff. At least in my model.

-Jerry
 

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