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I am slowly working through all the issues on my 85 wagon. It was steering terribly when I got it and I found problems with the rack clamp bushes and the steering column bearings, which I have attended to.

I then found I still had quite a lot of movement in the rack tie rod on the drivers side,, and so suspected that the inner tie rod was shot. When I pulled the boot back however, I found that it was movement in the rack itself. The pasenger side is firm, but the divers side is moving around a lot in the housing.

This is a manual rack, so no fluid leak isues, and I am suspecting that there will be some sort of bush that is the problem. The rack and pinion themselves seem ok.

Can anyone tell me if this is fixable before I pull the rack? If the answer is no I will use this as an ooportunity to upgrade to power steering, but if it a simple matter of replacing an inner bush, then I will obviously do that.

Any info welcomed.

Cheers

I dont know weather the MY steering rack has a bush in the ends of them, but as a rule excessive movement in the rack rod means the rod itself is stuffed anyway. In which case another rack needs to be used.

I saw a new/reco brumby rack on the net somewhere, probably Ebay not long ago. Might be the way to go.

Just to clarify, I am talking about an L series.

subybrumby wrote:I saw a new/reco brumby rack on the net somewhere, probably Ebay not long ago. Might be the way to go.

OK - I have decided to do a power steering conversion, and have aquired what appears to be a very good condition power rack, lines, pump and mounting bracket.

In looking underneath my car prior to starting to put in the new rack, I am worried that I am going to need to get a cross member from a PS car as it seems that passenger side mounting point for the rack has a different shape to what I need.

Can anyone confirm if I need to change the cross member?

Cheers

I'm pretty sure that either cross member will mount either rack - one of the mounting brackets (driver side, I think) is definitely different. I have done a power steer to non-power steer swap due to necessity / lack of time & parts onto a turbo L series cross member and the non-power rack fitted up fine.

Craigus wrote:I'm pretty sure that either cross member will mount either rack - one of the mounting brackets (driver side, I think) is definitely different. I have done a power steer to non-power steer swap due to necessity / lack of time & parts onto a turbo L series cross member and the non-power rack fitted up fine.

Yeah the crossmembers are the same but the brackets are different. New rack is in with no problems. A very easy and worthwhile conversion. Has a dramatic positive affect on the way the car feels and drives.