Steering Rack & Gear

Separate the two by where the movement is. With the car raised and safely supported, have somebody rock the steering wheel gently while you hold each tie rod end and inner joint in turn: play you can feel at a joint is that joint. Play you can see at the rack itself, with the rods moving as a unit, is internal wear or a loose mounting. Also check the mounting brackets and bushes, since a rack that shifts under load feels exactly like one that is worn.

Because the inner joints are part of the rack and setting them is a factory operation. The inner ball joints thread onto the rack ends and are torqued and staked, the rod lengths are set as a matched pair, and the gaiters seal over them. Supplying the assembly complete removes the risk of transferring worn joints onto a new rack or disturbing the staking, and it means the geometry you start the alignment from is correct. It also makes the job considerably quicker.

Always, without exception. Removing the rack changes the toe setting because the tie rods have to be disconnected and the new assembly will not sit identically, and driving on incorrect toe destroys front tyres in a few hundred miles. Book a full alignment as part of the job rather than as a follow up, and expect a steering angle calibration afterwards so the stability and driver assistance systems know where straight ahead now is.

On older hydraulic gears, sometimes, and it is rarely good value once labour is counted, because the rack has to come out either way and a seal kit will not restore a bore that has scored. On electric racks it is not a realistic option, since the assembly is sealed and contains electronics as well as the mechanism. Where grease is escaping from a gaiter on an electric rack, the gaiter has usually torn and let grit in, which means the damage is already done.

It might be, and check the cheaper possibilities first. A kerb impact commonly bends a tie rod, moves a mounting bracket or distorts a steering arm before it damages the rack itself, and all of those show as an off centre wheel with the car tracking straight. Have the geometry measured on an alignment rig, which reports individual toe at each wheel and will show whether the fault sits on one side. Only if the rack itself is damaged does it need replacing.

No, and the difference goes far beyond the motor. Mounting patterns, tie rod lengths, ratios and the steering shaft interface all differ, and an electric rack expects a control unit, a supply capable of carrying substantial current and a software configuration that the vehicle can talk to. A manual gear on a car designed for assistance leaves steering effort that most drivers would find unacceptable at parking speeds. Order according to what your vehicle was built with, matched by OE number.

Mounting brackets sit at the bottom of the category. Manual steering gears are moderate. Electric power steering racks sit at the top, since each contains a motor, a torque sensor and control electronics alongside the mechanism, and they are among the higher value chassis components on a vehicle. The live minimum and maximum are shown in the band at the top of this page. Budget for alignment and calibration in addition to the part and the fitting time.

Yes on nearly all current vehicles. The unit arrives without the vehicle's configuration and without a learned centre position, so it needs coding to the platform, its software level checked against the rest of the network, and a steering angle calibration performed. Some vehicles require a short calibration drive as well. Confirm your workshop has the diagnostic access before the part is ordered, because an uncoded rack leaves the car with warning lamps and unpredictable assistance.

The mechanical work is achievable with proper support, though it is heavier and more awkward than it looks, usually requiring the subframe to be lowered or the rack to be manoeuvred out through a wheel arch. What makes it a workshop job for most people is what follows: torque figures throughout, a full alignment on a rig, and on electric racks a coding and calibration session. A sensible split is to order the part and have a workshop fit, align and calibrate it.

It means the rack teeth are cut with a changing pitch along their length, so the steering is calmer around the straight ahead and quicker as you approach full lock. It is machined into the rack bar and cannot be identified from outside. Because of that, two racks that look identical can behave completely differently, and fitting the wrong one gives a car that steers oddly without any fault code to explain it. Match the OE number rather than the appearance.

Not necessarily, and it depends how long it has been torn. The gaiter retains lubricant and keeps grit off the rack teeth and the inner joint, so a tear caught quickly can be repaired by cleaning, regreasing and fitting a new gaiter where one is available separately. A gaiter that has been split for months has usually let enough grit in to wear the teeth and the inner joint, at which point the assembly is the honest answer. Inspect the rack surface before deciding.

Yes. Racks are heavy, they are handed by steering side and the electric versions carry control units that differ by software, so an enquiry is the usual route and the reply covers carriage too. Send the number and the vehicle identification number. Ask what the rack includes before you order. Some arrive complete with inner tie rods and gaiters fitted, others are bare, and the difference changes both the price and the parts list for the job. Whatever you buy, budget for an alignment afterwards, because a rack cannot be swapped without disturbing the toe setting.