Topic

While trying to free off the siezed front offside caliper yesterday I noticed what could be a little play in the tie rod at the steering rack end . Does anyone have a picture or know if the tie rod end play is adjustable at the rack end after pulling back the rack boot? Part of the reason for buying the car was it had a years MOTto give me 5ime to look over it at my leisure while still usingbthe car on the road. It would now seem that the car was MOT'D by Stevie Wonder ! Thanks in advance...

Used rack from MGFnTFbitz is about 25 quid, and takes about 2 hours to change, expensive bit is getting the tracking done after, so its not really an issue.
Really easy to swap, have a look at the forum how to's.
If the rack is worn, may be a good idea to replace thr TRE's too.

Sundance

2nd hand rack may be the way to go but if I could tighten up the tie rod at the rack end it would be a quicker/cheaper option.Has anyone ever removed the rack boot to see how the tie rods are connected ? Play is only slight and if held by a nut/ locknut it should be easy to take up the slack. Cheers....

I've not had the rack off so cannot say with 100% certainty but looking at the Rave manual, there does not appear to be any adjustment at the inner end of the steering arm.

I would not think that the racks are viable to repair as they are reasonably cheap anyhow. don't forget the gears may be worn in the shafts, or the bushes in the rack centre shaft may be worn. The racks are quite easy to remove, just may need a second pair of hand while you are bolting the new one in.
Also a good chance to clean the rack, paint the mounting brackets, replace rusty bolts etc.
I think I changed mine in about a hour, just a bit fiddly to withdraw it out from between the body and subframe. Oh and remember to centre the steering wheel and the front wheels as best you can. Try not to lose the centre position of the steering wheel because of the rotating electrical connector for the horn and Airbag need to be centralised when putting it all back together.

Sundance

kaspian wrote: wrote:

Part of the reason for buying the car was it had a years MOTto give me 5ime to look over it at my leisure while still usingbthe car on the road. It would now seem that the car was MOT'D by Stevie Wonder ! Thanks in advance...