Rebuilt or rebuild Steering Rack?

[mhariush]

finally getting around to sorting my cars out. I parked my 87 S because I had a leaking power steering rack and I wanted to do a few other things.

what's the latest on these racks? I see Pelican sells a Maval Reman rebuilt rack for $400 and the rebuild kit is around $80.

Anyone have any experience with this or other rebuilt racks?

https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/93255M.htm?pn=93255M-INT

[djnolan]

I would buy the rebuilt. And focus your efforts on replacing the lines and reservoir and rebuilding the pump.

[walfreyydo]

Depends on your comfort level, I would personally opt to rebuild the existing rack and see how it goes. But thats because Im cheap and like to fix things.

[djnolan]

i have heard they are very complicated and one little mistake such as an incorrect o-ring and it will leak and you have to pull it back out, etc.

[djnolan]

Also I am cheap and like to avoid messy jobs. So I had a leaking rack on my 87S. I used White Shepherd oil stop leak in it double/triple strength, and it sealed to my amazement. I then flushed it out, replaced all of the lines and reservoir, resealed the pump, used synthetic atf, and wala it is still going strong.

[OK-944]

I've rebuilt two of these racks (plus to ps pumps)...one from an 85.5, the second from my current '87NA. Not rocket science by any means...but there are some tricky parts - like re-installing the inner helical of the rack tower correctly, and using a well-padded vise to help remove the inner tie rods. Removing the inner seal from that tower is a bit of a trick also, and I used a pilot bearing puller for this...again being very careful not to scratch or otherwise mar important (for sealing) surfaces.

Also be careful that new o-rings, gaskets, and crush washers are properly seated - otherwise you just may see a large quantity of ATF on your garage floor (as happened to me).

The "traveling" part of the rack should look smooth and shiny. Very slight scratches might be OK, but anything more than this, and/or any hints of corrosion (at least inside the margins which are otherwise protected by the rubber accordion boots), needs to be very carefully polished (and kept round) - and there are limits to just how much you can do this polishing before the part becomes useless.

Take your time, and take pictures as you disassemble the rack, make reference marks where appropriate but be careful not to scribe any critical (sealing/sliding) surfaces, and look online for further info. I seem to remember Clark's Garage as being a good resource, as well as some other videos and forum postings.

[Monkey Wrench]

if you need work like polishing and chroming, the shops that rebuild hydraulic cylinders can do that. Often , like with Bearings the seals have identification numbers and the automakers don't manufacture seals.

they commonly apply an industrial chrome to build up for wear or erase scratches and then can polish back to size.

I have a local shop that specializes only in seals so I'll often just take the seals there and let them match them up. likewise there are bearing retailers that specialize only in bearings. Its a bit rare to find ones that are specific to any one maker.
the spool valves used for hydraulic controls have tolerances as close as one ten thousanth of an inch with no rubber seal,, so hydraulic shops that work on cylinders and controls can help with fitting within specified tolerances. A little job like a steering rack makes you the small fish but if you walk in and talk nicely in person with parts in hand they may be ok helping. I often farm stuff like that out if it's above my expertise and equipment capabilities.

most cities have a few places , they mainly service a lot of industrial applications, tractor repairs etc. If you ask at a tractor dealer or a farmer, they will probably have some local references to try.