2002 S60, steering issues after rack replacement

[Yaworski]

2002 S60, about 175k on the clock. Last year, it was spewing power steering fluid and my mechanic said that the seals in the rack had gone bad and I needed a new rack. The rack was replaced and the leak went away.

The problem now is how the steering feels. The car always had very light steering. Right off the bat, I noticed that the steering was much heavier. Then it got lighter and then heavier again. On another forum, someone suggested that I turn the steering wheel from lock to lock about fifty times to get any residual air out of the system. I did that and nothing has changed.

Observations I've made over the past few months:

When turning the wheel past 90° in either direction, there is a sharp increase in resistance around 90° which vanishes until you hit 180°. That same resistance is felt when going back to neutral.

Also while turning, the force required to move the wheel can change suddenly. I'll be changing lanes and in the midst of a lane change, the force required to move the wheel will suddenly from heavy to light. Sometimes steering will be light to the left and heavy to the right, other times it is the opposite.

I'd like to have some idea of what's going on before I go back to my mechanic.

Thanks.

[firstv70volvo]

Based on the symptoms you've described this sure sounds like a problem with the steering rack to me, especially because of what you mentioned about the increase in resistance at 90 degrees in both directions. This sounds like a problem with the pinion gear shaft or spool valve in the steering rack. If there was a problem with the pump pressure the increase and decrease in resistance wouldn't occur at a specific location like you've described, in my opinion. If there was mechanical binding anywhere in the steering components I wouldn't expect this to occur at 90 degrees in both direction of the steering wheel unless it was the steering rack pinion gear shaft or possibly the steering column universal joint but that's not what I think is the problem. It also sounds like the problem was very noticeable right after the rack replacement.
Has the problem gotten worse since the steering rack install or have the problems been pretty consistent since replacement? Was it a remanufactured rack that was installed, what brand? Based on my experience with aftermarket parts I'm always suspect of the quality of the part and in recent years the quality of aftermarket parts seems to have gotten even worse, if that's possible, even some OEM parts.

[Yaworski]

No, the problems haven't gotten worse. I'm not sure if it was a reman. rack or not.

Thanks for the answers.

I know what the pinion gear is, what is the "spool valve"?

[Oly850]

+1 on this being a rebuilt rack that needs a new one. It’s somewhat possible that it’s not bolted in tight but the bolts go into straight holes so it’s not possible that the rack is installed at the wrong angle, etc. The action (when jacked up) should be smooth and silent until you get to either end.

[vtl]

I've got a factory rebuilt Bosch-ZF rack. It is more stiff than the old one was, but the resistance is uniform.

Biting at 90 degrees is a U-joint, I think. Steering shafts, both upper and lower, have a U-joint. Inspect them. If the installer didn't put a new lower shaft and reused an old rusty one, it could be causing your problems.

[abscate]

I learned this trick last fall. Pack the Ujoint with grease then warm it with a torch and let the grease melt into then bearings. See if that helps

[br0dy519]

I learned this trick last fall. Pack the Ukoimt with grease then warm it with a torch and let the grease melt into then bearings. See if that helps

Good Idea. I would wrap lower joint with wet rag to avoid heat transfer to the pinion seal.

[famfeld]

I replaced with used racks that each lasted inly a year, but found a cheap reman one from Indianapolis rack and axle.
inrackandaxle.com/
I have 15k on that one and its been great. Was like $200. I was skeptical, but its been good.

Feld

[Yaworski]

My guy is going to look at it on Monday. I'll report back.

[abscate]

In the P80 forum, there is a large thread outlining rack vendor choices and experiences.

viewtopic.php?t=99317&hilit=Power+steering+rack+vendor