Steering rack seals replacement (on car ?)

[Hendrik]

Impreza 1993 , AWD , 1800 auto-transmission;

 

The boot at the passenger side leaks fluid , other then replacing this ,

is it possible to replace the relevant o-rings and seals without taking out the rack ?

 

I have seen some pictures on Nasioc , but it was taken out of the car.

Any hint or former experience from a real case ?

 

The driver side is perfect..............

[Gnuman]

Impreza 1993 , AWD , 1800 auto-transmission;

 

The boot at the passenger side leaks fluid , other then replacing this ,

is it possible to replace the relevant o-rings and seals without taking out the rack ?

 

I have seen some pictures on Nasioc , but it was taken out of the car.

Any hint or former experience from a real case ?

 

The driver side is perfect..............

 

You say that the boot/bellows on the pasenger side is leaking Power Steering Fluid (which should be Dextron II ATF, by the way)?

 

If this is the case, and you are not actually leaking grease from this area, then you need to completely rebuild or replace the steering rack. ATF/PS Fluid should never reach this area. You have blown O-rings at the very least. Yes, the driver's side looks perfect, but it hurts a lot less to be sure than it can if you take chances.

 

Two things that you do not gamble with: steering and brakes.

[idosubaru]

is there not a seal inside that boot that can be replaced? remove the inner tie rod and shouldn't there be a seal in there? don't have my FSM's with me.

[Hendrik]

is there not a seal inside that boot that can be replaced? remove the inner tie rod and shouldn't there be a seal in there? don't have my FSM's with me.

 

At the picture you can see the seals (could not upload e better resolution , sorry)

even 2 packages for replacements seems to be available at Subaru.

 

Replacing will not be such a problem for me , just that if it not necessary to take the rack from the car , it makes things easier...

Replacing the whole rack is nearly impossible , I am just one of the 100 in this country with such a car. Parts are not available , the seals can be shipped easily via the post.....

 

Thanks for advice.

[idosubaru]

i've never done it, but i have pulled a few racks and it seems like there's usually room down there to work. not much, but the boot is completely accessible so i can imagine whatever is underneath of it may be as well.

 

to gain clearance you could try removing the two metal hangers that hold the rack to the underside of the car. then loosen the bolt on the ujoint for the steering wheel. that's only 5 bolts and would allow the rack to move a little bit if you need extra room. and you'd avoid the more annoying items, you wouldn't have to remove the fluid lines, loose fluid, bleed the system or remove the tie rod end and screw with the aligntment.

 

it's worth a shot. if you remove the tie rods and find you can't complete the job, it's not that hard to remove the rack and you didn't really do any extra work trying since the tie rod end has to come off anyway.

 

let us know what you find out. i will post my results here as well, though i suspect it'll be a few months before i get to mine as it's not leaking that bad and i probably won't be driving that one much.

[nipper]

Rebuilding a rack is not for the faint of heart, unless you have done many many of them yourself. Unlike engines, there are a lot of tolerences that need to be checked, and its hard to find parts. It takes many hours, and lets face it, if you screw it up, it can be deadly.You cant just replace the leaky seal, you need to do a complete rebuild (you wouldnt just replace one piston ring).

It's far easier and safer to buy a used rack or rebuilt rack.

 

It's about the only system on a car that i don't condone rebuilding yourself. I am not the only one that says it, as every other repair site says the same thing. Its not like the old recirculating ball type where there were fairly large tolerances and not many things to go wrong.

 

http://www.forparts.com/ICpowersteeringleakt5.05.htm

 

nipper

[idosubaru]

what makes it internal (like a piston ring) to the point that it has to be completely torn down, unlike an external cam seal that's easily replaced individually? that seal isn't accessible from the side, where just removing the tie rod and boot gives you access? this question might be beneficial to the original poster anyway since he can't source new or used racks.

 

that link was interesting but it's only argument against replacing those seals was corrossion and mileage. i don't necessarily have either of those. i would rather have a reasonably priced new rack, but that's not going to happen on this older gen stuff.

 

i'm not one for additives, but if you're considering replacing the rack due to a minor leak anyway, it's low milage and has no other issues, are "stop leaks" worth a shot?

 

i can't wait until i have all of my extra parts with me so i can look at this stuff and see it.

[idosubaru]

actually i have a couple spare racks anyway, so there's really nothing against using the stop leak stuff in this one before i take it off and trash it right? unless it could affect the pump?

 

i've shipped parts to New Zealand, Germany, Holland, Australia, Canada...and other odd places, international shipping isn't too bad unless you need it super fast.

[Gnuman]

In my opinion, puttng stop leak in a steering rack is like a suicide attempt. There are just too many places it could clog up a needed passageway, impeding your ability to steer the car. You would, of course, find this out at high speeds. . .

 

Well, I have all my spare parts (at least for the work I'm going to be doing) and will be replacing the parts that are worn on my rack (boots, inner and outer tie rods, I'm also putting new rack bushings in as the old ones are torn). I'll report what I find when I get in there. The total job also includes both ball joints and one wheel berring. C'mon! it has 230,000 miles on it fer goshsakes! Oh, and I almost forgot, the ECU temp sender. Not all of the parts are for certain gone, but I'm taking no chances.

[Gnuman]

At the picture you can see the seals (could not upload e better resolution , sorry)

even 2 packages for replacements seems to be available at Subaru.

 

 

Say, could you email me the "better resolution" version that you have? Might come in handy for the work I'm doing. It would be of interest in any case. My email is available through my profile (click on my name).

[Hendrik]

Say, could you email me the "better resolution" version that you have? Might come in handy for the work I'm doing. It would be of interest in any case. My email is available through my profile (click on my name).

 

Thanks for all the good hints from you all , in fact it can wait a bit , i got the car after it has been used fot years in Sao Paulo. Just cornering every 200 yards. And yes , the boot was full of nice red fluid and had a leak.

 

Now , 2 months later and 3000 Km without much corners it does not leak

anymore , the boot is closed again with a rubber band , as it does not turn , little or no dust will enter. The level in the oil pump reservoir does not lower

 

But some time it will be done........

Have to enquire the parts outside the country.

 

Will be pleased to send the picturere(s) , but clicking on your name does not give the mailaddress directly...

Send me a private message with your address ,and I will send those pictures.