2003 XC70 steering rack concern

carboncow · Post by **carboncow** » 06 Jul 2015, 09:33

I've been told my steering rack is bad...to much play. Had larger tires on the car for years...prob to blame.

Didn't get a final answer from the tech who didn't seem interested in dealing with it...so I took car home. Is the failure most likely in the rack's worm gear or is there an intermediate u-joint or such in the steering column to look at?

Post by **xHeart** » 06 Jul 2015, 10:02

Too much play?

Is it like "Wheel does not steer between 12 O'clock to 10 O'clock, and then 12 O'clock to 2 O'clock"?
That is to say no response from wheel between positions 10 – 2.

carboncow · Post by **carboncow** » 06 Jul 2015, 10:37

I understand what you are asking and I would say no. The tech claimed he could tell as he was turning the wheel with no input but that is not my experience. I would think play between 10-2 would feel pretty scary or like driving an old truck!

It steers well, has slop at the rim when you test for tie rods...and doesn't return to center very well when I turn. I had read this can be caused by to much toe in or such from alignment issues due to the tie rods. Steering wheel is a bit off to as I suspect when something is out of whack.

billr99 · Post by **billr99** » 07 Jul 2015, 09:52

I just replaced the lower steering shaft on my '02 XC which has 375K kms on it and it took out all the play I had in the steering. Our roads here are probably worse than you have there in NC Ohio (I lived in Granville and worked in Mansfield for Sprint 20 years ago) but a few good hits on potholes whilst running short springs and/or wider tires will do a trick on that U-joint in the lower shaft. Its mostly made of aluminum so no real surprise if you put major miles on it.

Cheers,

Bill

carboncow · Post by **carboncow** » 07 Jul 2015, 09:56

billr99 wrote:I just replaced the lower steering shaft on my '02 XC which has 375K kms on it and it took out all the play I had in the steering. Our roads here are probably worse than you have there in NC Ohio (I lived in Granville and worked in Mansfield for Sprint 20 years ago) but a few good hits on potholes whilst running short springs and/or wider tires will do a trick on that U-joint in the lower shaft. Its mostly made of aluminum so no real surprise if you put major miles on it.

Cheers,

Bill

Thanks Bill. I'm starting to think the rack is unlikely the cause since it's not leaking. My one buddy said usually you can pull on the u-joint and see if it has play...was that your experience?

How was the pain in the butt factor of this replace? I'm not seeing any write ups yet.

Post by **xHeart** » 07 Jul 2015, 12:06

It is much simple to service u-joint from inside the car.
You can twist the rubber boot CCW to pull off and then access the u-joint.

For reference

.

More here https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=54721

carboncow · Post by **carboncow** » 07 Jul 2015, 12:31

thanks...skimmed the link.

How does one know the u-joint is bad vs. steering rack worm gears? Is it pretty obvious when you pull the boot out or do you have to wiggle something to figure it out?

Post by **oragex** » 07 Jul 2015, 15:00

To check the u-joint, you will need to remove a 14mm bolt from the steering column, under the dash (easy to do). Then you can remove the rubber boot (it has a large retaining clip at the base), and the u-joint will be free to rotate by hand, it should be easy to rotate in all ways. While there, also check the small bearing inside the rubber boot for smooth operation

carboncow · Post by **carboncow** » 07 Jul 2015, 16:23

oragex wrote:To check the u-joint, you will need to remove a 14mm bolt from the steering column, under the dash (easy to do). Then you can remove the rubber boot (it has a large retaining clip at the base), and the u-joint will be free to rotate by hand, it should be easy to rotate in all ways. While there, also check the small bearing inside the rubber boot for smooth operation

Thanks. Should the front end be up or wheels off to facilitate turning things by hand?

Post by **oragex** » 07 Jul 2015, 18:21

No need