Idly looking through the forum discussions I revisited my article on reconditioning rack and pinion units…..The following clarification to that article may be helpful. Yes the pinion (and it is not a cog) on the bottom of the steering column can and must be replaced when reconditioning, and several parts of the rack unit should also be replaced.
The question implicit in my article was and still stands; if a steering column has been cut in half (more or less) for a power steering conversion, that column becomes unique to that installation. Therefore the owner either does the extraction and reconditioning himself or he sends it away for someone to do and then has it returned. This raises several questions:
(a) Having extracted from the car the rack and pinion unit including the lower part of the steering column, how many people do you know to whom you could send your unit for reconditioning, how much will it cost and how long will it take ? Are they any good?
(b) If you can’t get the rack and pinion unit out yourself, who can and who would do the reconditioning of the rack and pinion unit?
(b) If you acquired a reconditioned rack with a full length column you would need to retain the old assembly in order to to copy the reduced column length – rack to gearbox . You would require 2x new connections to the EPS gearbox and would need to weld them in. Can you buy those two connections in their own right ? Would you you do all this or do you know someone who can ?
In short, when a power steering conversion becomes worn and slack, the owner is presented with several imponderables any of which complicate the customary practice of simply presenting money and a worn out unit in exchange for a reconditioned one.
MdeL
Anonymous
Martin de Little