Rack issues, fml

[LJRuddy]

So for the past several weeks, I have been slowly losing P/S fluid. It wasnt enough to worry about until last Wednesday. In the past 8 days, I have ran through 2 and a half quarts of tranny fluid for my power steering. Just crawled under to see where the leak is coming from and theres a heavy drip (1 drip every second or 2) coming from the driver's side of the rack where the boot meets the housing.

Napa sells reman'd racks for 500 bucks and I cannot afford that. Is there anyway I can re seal the rack? They sell a seal and boot kit for 50 bucks. How hard is it to do? I assume I will have to pull the rack out which means dropping the subframe, right? FWIW, the rack makes no noises and it does not bind up at all... until I run out of fluid anyway.

 

[luigisho]

I haven't done it but you can reseal a rack. I think only a few on here have done it. Sounds like a real PITA. How about finding a good used one and keep the spare to reseal whenever?

 

[93rev2sev]

All the local parts houses sell remanned racks for about a hundred bucks.

 

[LJRuddy]

All the local parts houses sell remanned racks for about a hundred bucks.

For a Gen 1/2 SHO yes.

 

[93rev2sev]

Sorry. Forgot how to read for a second there.

 

[LJRuddy]

Maybe I could do a gen 2 subframe swap and save me some money.

 

[E1 v2]

Napa sells reman'd racks for 500 bucks and I cannot afford that.

I just bought a reman with a lifetime warranty from AutoZone.

Part # 8998 Price $198.99

Core was $130.00

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Try www.car-part.com for recycled racks. Kirk or James may have a used one.

I've only seen one other ZF rack fail, and it was the same thing a leaking end seal. Very rare indeed.

 

[SHOZ123]

I would think you could pop in a new seal while the rack is still in the car?

 

[LJRuddy]

Thanks for the help guys... But as usual, the STL d00ds have saved the day. Dave is sending me a rack tomorrow morning. I cant remember how many times they have helped me out with parts, deals on cars and other shit that got me out of a bind. They have been by far the best group of car guys I have ever met.



I have never heard of these racks going out either... What do you think would cause a ZF rack to fail? I am sure this isnt the case but I removed my SARC fuse about 2 months ago and this being the cause of the failure did cross my mind. I dont really hot rod my cars anymore so I am clueless as to what caused it to leak. Maybe someone was hung over at the ZF plant that day.

 

[SHOZ123]

Beware them two big bolts. They are the tightest on the whole car......

 

[NebraskaSHO]

Wouldn't replacing it like that Paul be like replacing a Main Seal? Just remove the old seal, and slowly tap the new seal in.

When I replaced my main seal on the V6 Liberty, I tapped a drywall screw into the old seal and then pulled on that with vise grips.

 

[LJRuddy]

Wouldn't replacing it like that Paul be like replacing a Main Seal? Just remove the old seal, and slowly tap the new seal in.

When I replaced my main seal on the V6 Liberty, I tapped a drywall screw into the old seal and then pulled on that with vise grips.

I honestly have no idea... I have been extremely fortunate with this car. In the nearly 2 years since I bought it, I have only had to replace a CV shaft. Besides that, nothing has broken. Its kind of a ***** though as having a reliable car makes me a little bit unknowledgeable when it comes to work on it. I suppose when I go to swap the rack, I will see if it is even possible to swap out the end seals while its still in the car. After all, it all has to come out anyway, right?

 

[St Louis SHO]

If the rack seal is leaking, the bushing the shaft rides on is worn out. Hence the seal leak...

 

[newshofan]

As far as the sarc fuse causing an issue with the rack I doubt it. I've had mine pulled for about five months or so and never had an issue I had new struts put on the front and put the fuse back in to see how it rode but I like the tighter steering I think all the fuse does is control the variable assit steering. If anyone else has thoughts on the fuse causing issues please chime in I'm curious too see if it is possible.

 

[SHOZ123]

SARC fuse just kills the variable adjust steering assist and the struts go into hard mode all the time. You can disconnect the strut connectors and leave the fuse in. That way you still have the VAPS and hard struts. Good for worn out struts.

 

[newshofan]

But does pulling the fuse affect the life of the rack at all?

 

[stephen newberg]

No, IIRC, it does not.

pax, smn

 

[newshofan]

I didn't think it did I just didn't know if anyone had done any sort testing on it. Any update on the fix yet?

 

[LJRuddy]

I didn't think it did I just didn't know if anyone had done any sort testing on it. Any update on the fix yet?

I received a replacement rack yesterday and I will be tossing it into the car Friday after work if I have time. I forgot that I had plans Saturday so Im in a bit of a time crunch. It will be done before next weekend as I have a 400 mile round trip drive to make.