[TPR] Baby needs a new....

[Asa Jay Laughton]

... Steering Rack.

Sam and I headed into the garage tonight to pull the steering rack.  The
job at hand was to inspect the rack and pinion, and replace the tie-rod
ends.  It took the usual amount of time to pull the rack, and Sam was
pretty good at finding the right wrenches tonight.

Once out, I decided to put grease fittings in the new rod ends.  This
was an easy job.  Once I had the hole in the cap it was easy to see the
lightweight grease (and hardly any of it) that was used on the balls.  I
wouldn't complain except I like a bit more grease.  These were sourced
from The Maserati Guy and I think they are top notch.  Once I added the
zerk, I pumped in a bit more grease.

Then it was on to the rack.  Moving the pinion by hand, I felt a
distinct "notch" kind of feeling at steering center.  Now, for those who
have been following the soap opera (and only very few have), you'll
remember I had complained about a very slight jerk left or jerk right
with just a touch of pressure in the opposite direction as the cars
present bearing.  In other words, if I was holding slight pressure to
the left, keeping the car going straight, and then backed off slightly
and began to put a little pressure to the right, the steering would jerk
suddenly in that direction; not much, not uncontrollable, but it was
-very -annoying.

Well, that "notch" I was feeling by turning the pinion by hand was
probably what I had been feeling in the car.  I noted at what position
it would be on the rack, about four inches in from the last gear groove
in the rack.  I then removed the pinion.

Aha.  I need a new pinion gear for starters.  Note the attached photos. 
The gear is very worn and is showing signs of deterioration.  There is a
small spot on the left on the side of one tooth that is worn below the
surface, the gear is beginning to destroy itself.

Once I had the rack out, I noted which gear teeth were at the four inch
mark.  Aha.  I need a new rack too.  The gear teeth here are also -very-
worn and you can see from the photos there are changes in elevation
where the wear pattern is present.

Note the rack and pinion appeared to be well greased in the housing. 
For the photos I cleaned them up with a shop rag, thus they still look a
bit dusty from the rag.

Ladies and gentlemen, I need a new steering rack.  At the very least, I
need a new rack and a new pinion.  The rest of the parts I have are in
fine condition.  The bushing was replaced some years ago and the boots
were sourced new about four years ago and are still in fine shape, as is
the rack housing.

A new rack from Pantera Performance Center (copied on this email) was
quoted at $1,500 last November (prices may have gone up).  I'm not
certain what a rebuilt rack would entail, but I certainly do NOT want a
rack and a pinion that look like what I currently have.

Advice?  I've got less that two months to get this handled.
Thanks,
Asa

PS.  I'll post larger photos in the TPR gallery later, I'm currently
have trouble getting them uploaded.

-- 
Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
& Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************     
http://www.racingagainstautism.com
http://www.teampanteraracing.com
http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism



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