Rack and Pinion leaking

[Srgould41]

I have a '96 GL. All this time I thought I had an engine oil leak... I have traced my leak problem to the pasanger side of the steering rack. I think.

Before I spend the effort pulling the boot off that side to verify a leak I want to know if the end seal can be replaced...

Does anyone know? Do I need to replace the entire rack and pinion assy.?

Thanks for your input.

Steve

 

[striker2]

the end seal can be replaced but, IIRC, you pretty much have to pull the rack to do so. check to make sure that its not one of the hard lines on the rack. i had one of them spring a leak on my 97 and was able to just replace that line, without removing the rack. it was a lot cheaper than a new rack to at about $12.

 

[gorman]

i asked about this in the dealership the other day. They suggested checking/replacing the little white teflon o ring seal that goes on the pipe fittings. I'll be trying this myself while swapping in my new tranny. Hopefully it will be easy with the subframe out of the way. G.

 

[Srgould41]

So if I end up having to pull the rack do I really need to drop the front clip? It looks like there is enough room to get at the whole rack from underneath, but not having done so before...

I plan to have that whole area steam cleaned so I can try to pin point the leak source. The whole area is wet, but the bottom of the bellows is dripping.

I also have a new steering pump on order. I have a chirping sound coming from one of the pullys. I took off the belt, but could not find any issues in idlers, etc. Except for the power steering pump. It had a huge amount of end play, so I figured I better replace it before it goes out. I could not spot any leaks around the pump, though. I wish it were all that easy.

 

[mcgarvey]

I'm pretty sure you have to at least lower the rear of the subframe to get the rack the clear the mounting ears. It's a tight fit back there.

 

[BrApple]

you will have to at least lower the rear of the subframe. the rack is captured inside of the subframe. there is a bracket on top that retains it along with some bolts to the rach itself.

 

[Srgould41]

I attempted to change the pump this weekend. I was unable to remove the pully wheel and only ended up bending it. I thought about taking a torch to it to heat it, but I didn't want to do that inside the engine compartment and didn't want to burn off the paint. Plus the pump isn't bad anyway. I was just heading off a future failure.

My chirping is gone after replacing the idler pully and tensioner.