Power Steering rack differences
 

Hi
I have removed my rack from my 86 944 Luxe and have started to strip it to rplace the seals. I have been using the Pelican Parts guide along with the Clarks Garage guide to do this. I have found that the removable housing that conatains the control spool housing is different on my rack to the one shown in either of the two guides. The one shown in the guides has 3 6mm bolts holding down the top cover which when removed allows the pinion spool to be removed leaving the surrounding housing as a part of the rack. On my rack there are just 2 cap screws at the base of the pinion housing which when removed allows the whole of the housing to be removed leaving the pinion assembly open but still located in the remainder of the rack. Also the pinion assembly shown in the Pelican guide is significantly different to my assembly. Could this mean there is a difference in the repair kits for the racks as there are distinct differences in the design of this part of the rack
I'm concerned that the repair kit I have may be the wrong one although it was ordered correctly and I was unaware of any rack difference.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1743030420.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1743030420.png

Pelican Pinion example
 

that was my pinion and here is the Pelican parts examplehttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1743030669.png

Here's the Pelican Image
 

Sorry wrong file format before here's the imagehttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1743031060.jpg

As you can clearly see ther is significant difference between the two pinion assemblies and housings

the unit shown on the Pelican diagram is the left-hand-drive rack, you have a right-hand drive rack which has an external housing that is significantly different than the LHD. the RHD crossmember is very different from the LHD as well. I suspect but cannot confirm that the internal parts/seals/guts of the rack will be the same, though.

It sounds like you’ve run into a variation in the steering rack design, which isn't uncommon on older cars like the '86 944. The difference you're seeing in the pinion assembly and the housing setup could indicate a revision in the design over the years, which could explain the mismatch with the repair kits.

Thanks guys, I think I'll have to strip it down and check the nternals and compare them to the kit. The seals on the pinion are definitely different, but hopefully the main seals will be the same and that's where tge fluid leaks are