Steering rack input shaft seal. Am I crazy?

Post by **DonnVa** » 22 Apr 2021, 15:22

Okay, me and my hair brained ideas to try and avoid dropping the subframe which I’m really not set up to do....

My rack leaks, only at the input shaft. Bellows are dry. I picked up a pinion cap and gear at the junk yard today off a ZF rack like mine just to see if it came apart and what’s it all about. I disconnected the fluid lines, the steering gear, two bolts and it slid right out. I’m thinking I can just swap that out after I get the seal replaced. I called the rack doctor and he said he can replace the seal and send it back. I know I can do the arm yoga, I’ve replaced the oil line seals and such. What am I not thinking of? Will the lower steering arm raise up enough through the firewall after disconnecting it from the rack and upper steering shaft to clear the top of the rack shaft? I know to lock my steering wheel and I’ll already have my wheels straight. I’ll be able to do it with the left side off the ground only, right tire will be straight and touching the floor. It can’t be this easy can it???

Thanks,
Donn

Post by **oragex** » 23 Apr 2021, 05:57

Are you sure it's the seal that is leaking ? Sometime we try lubricating the steering coupler just above and it leaks on the input shaft. What you may try for the seal, is disconnect inside the car the wing screw - it has a specific important torque 22 ft.lb and need be placed correctly with the head at top back in place and keep the steering locked so it doesn't rotate while it's disconnected. Remove the floor boot and then see if you can pull everything inside the car . Clean REALLY well all threads and hose inserts so it doesn't leak,

Post by **DonnVa** » 23 Apr 2021, 06:46

Thanks, I saw that video last night and I’m going to use that information. I did consider grease from the joint heating up and sliding down. What dispelled that was when I flushed and switched to Pentosin the leakage was green. The seals from the crossover lines and fluid lines are good and sealed. The fluid is coming from the top of the cap at the input shaft and runs down. I originally thought it was the crossover tube seals, but my wishful thinking was exactly that.

Playing with this junkyard cap assembly while cleaning it up the shaft moves up and down about 1/4”. Bearing at the bottom, bearing at the top under the top seal. When you slide it up the bottom bearing rests against the bottom seal and the top rests against the top seal respectively. When I say it moves, it’s more like it pops down and up. Anyway, I’m going to mark all the steering attachments and take it apart if it allows.

Post by **DonnVa** » 24 Apr 2021, 15:59

Well, I spent all day on it. Removal took about 2 hours of arm yoga. Not bad. I decided to install the pinion assembly I bought at the junk yard for $13 and change. It showed no signs of ever leaking and I figured it would be good to at least see if everything will go back together the way I imagined. Everything went back together fine. I took extra time making sure every movement I did did not change my wheel position. I buttoned everything up and filled the system with 202 b/c I had a ton of Lucas PS stop leak in it. I’m saving my 11s as I will flush again later. So at this point of running it, turning the wheels L-R to prime the rack I would have had fluid running down the side of the pinion cap. Right now, no leaks!! I’m still going to send my cap off and get the seal replaced just because. Anyway, I’m pretty stoked my crazy idea worked... at least for now.

Edit- Sorry for the pic orientation, they displayed fine on my phone. Also, I made some modifications to make the install easier that I’ll add later. My girlfriends gonna be mad if I don’t get my butt moving..

Post by **oragex** » 25 Apr 2021, 08:24

You are quite skilled. I already tried to remove the lines at the rack box at the junkyard, these get completely stuck in there.

Post by **DonnVa** » 25 Apr 2021, 13:22

I don’t know about that, maybe just persistent. Lol. I just got a long flat head and pried them out a little to create a gap in the securing plate then wedged in there and pried them the rest of the way out.

So about this task. If you happen to have a leak at your input shaft and everything else is good, this can be done in an afternoon without dropping your subframe. A couple things I did anticipating the install or having to go in again was to change out all the T30 screws to 10mm bolts. It makes it so much easier to deal with when your using swivels and your less likely to strip them. When I’m at a junk yard even if I don’t come away with any parts I always pick up any bolts, screws and clips laying around from someone else. The two pinion cap mounts and the rack crossover oil pipe securing plate are torx. When I got everything loose and detached from the pinion cap I pulled it out through the firewall by the lower steering coupling which was still attached. I put it back in that way as well. It’s easier to deal with the coupling connection with it all out of the car. After I disconnected that, I cleaned it up real good making sure it slid on without coaxing all the way to the bolt passage. You do not want to fight that on the car. I made marks on my right tire, the floor and all the connection places. When I slid the other pinion cap in I did so referencing my marks from before. It will slide into the rack gear but so far. At that point I moved my left rotor back and forth a little to see if it moved with it. The pinion cap assembly will not slide into position by pushing it because the bearing needs to be coaxed into the seat in the base. I put the two securing bolts in and tightened them 3-4 treads each at a time. That guides the bearing into the seat, once seated tighten them fully and its done. Reinstall everything else and fill your system. There is ALOT of what I call arm yoga. You’re going to be putting your arms through the left wheel well, below behind the sub frame and in front by the transmission and a combination of them.

I drove the car last night and today, still no leaks. With this being done my car is finally leak free. I had a worst case scenario PCV with the passage through the block and oil pan passage clogged solid with carbon, a gift from the previous owner. I did the PCV, cleaned that stuff out, cam & crank seals, now this. All the fluid has been changed and is in the car, not on the floor.

Post by **br0dy519** » 10 Dec 2021, 19:57

Thanks for the great tips here DonnVa. I’m going to try and tackle this myself. Curious what you were quoted for that seal replacement ?

Post by **DonnVa** » 11 Dec 2021, 07:57

br0dy519 wrote: ↑10 Dec 2021, 19:57 Thanks for the great tips here DonnVa. I’m going to try and tackle this myself. Curious what did the Rack Doctor quote you for that seal replacement ?

Sent you a PM. I can probably dig up some extra pics I used to make sure I installed the donor correctly and oriented properly if you need to see them. Of course just reach out if you have any other questions. BTW, it’s still leak free.

Post by **br0dy519** » 13 Dec 2021, 07:49

Thanks for the reply! Sorry for both PMing and posting here, it looked like the PM i sent was stuck in "outbox" and wouldn't send. Good to know it works. But I think it's best if I post back here so that other people may learn (I'm sure we're not the only 2 people who have experienced this particular failure!)

Now regarding the job at hand. I'm going through it in my head picturing how you did it. On paper it sounds simple: lock steering wheel, disconnect lower steering shaft near the gas pedal, remove two torx bolts on pinion, disconnect pressure/return lines, and remove pinion by pulling through through footwell.

What I'm having trouble understanding is how the pinion actually goes into the rack (I've never worked on one of these before) and how that all gets aligned. Does it sort of "thread in" there? Also, you mentioned you made markings on the wheel/floor/etc. what was the purpose in doing that? Sorry for the very basic questions but I've never worked on this particular part of any car before.

Post by **DonnVa** » 13 Dec 2021, 15:08

Got your other PM, let me know if you decide to try one from a pick a part. But basically, I made white marks on anything and everything to make sure nothing moved out of place when I finished installing the pinion as there was no procedure to be found on what I was attempting. I figured that they had to take those things apart to rebuild them, so it has to come apart somehow, go back together and still work. That’s why I went to the junk yard first. I found one with the subframe already dropped so I disconnected the linkage, unscrewed the two pinion cap screws and the cap/gear assembly just slid right out of the rack.