Steering rack going ‘clunk’

[Phil Bishop]

Hit a few deep drain covers on the way home from Huntingdon the other day (like a clot) and when I got back noticed a distinct clunk from the steering – both audible and strongly felt through the steering wheel – as I straightened up from left lock. Today, I traced it to the inboard end of the n/side track rod, which feels slightly loose where it joins the steering rack. I can feel it moving and rattling through the rubber sleeve, but I haven’t attempted to peel back the rubber and look. The o/side track rod is tight at both ends, as are all column joints, so I’m sure the problem is where the n/side rod enters the rack. The steering rack/track rod assembly comes complete in the kit, so I have no idea what’s underneath. Any ideas about what I should do?

[Bare]

Well you gotten at least halfway there by diagnosing/realising what the problem is.

Remove the Rubber boot , slide it all thw ay over to the tie rod end. Look closely at the revealed inner balljoint for damage os simply 'looseness' .. it's greasy so a wipeup helps immensely.

IF merely loose then a retighten (after opening the locking tab) is in order.

IF damaged then you should purchase and install a new inner ball joint replacement

 

This is overall a nuisance but certainly not an insurmountable problem.. just go ahead and fix it ;-)

[Richard Price]

"IF merely loose then a retighten (after opening the locking tab) is in order. "

 

If it's one of the later racks, There are no locking tabs to open. You will need to drill out a locking pin (about 3mm) that should be punched in place.

[Jason Plato]

What if its not the ball joint but the bar that enters the actual rack thats moving ?

 

dave

[Phil Bishop]

Dave, it is. I had a look at it again this morning, and even without peeling back the rubber - just by feeling through the sleeve - the movement is on the inboard side of the ball joint, and I can feel the connecting arm moving relative to the casing of the rack. The problem must be within the rack itself. As a first time builder with relatively little experience, I don't feel much like dismantling a unit that comes complete in the kit, so it looks like a trip to Dartford for me, doesn't it? I need to go there sometime anyway to get a chipped screen replaced. Do you think whatever is loose inside can be tightened up, or are we talking a new rack here? Thanks for your help on this, everybody.

[Graham Perry]

Phil, Is it a Caterham quik rack ie ali case with Caterham written on it. If it is there is no real adjustment for play on the nearside short of a new bush, which is not a small engineering task. How many miles has the rack done ?

[Bare]

Wow.. you must have Really Smacked it! The rack shaft is centered/retained/kept from moving about at the Pinion end by both the Pinion itself and the Spring loaded bush/tensioner that presses against it. Any damage to the toothed side of the shaft or the pinion itself,, simply feels too horrific at the steering wheel to be ambiguous. It may be possible that you damaged the spring loaded bush.. Some Impact !.

Perhaps a replacement rack is the simplest solution seeing as you seem to have little desire to probe deeper... I've always found signing for repairs far more elegant ;-)

[Phil Bishop]

Yup, a Caterham rack and 4000 miles on it since construction. Gonna be a bugger getting it out of there now the plumbing's all in, I suppose.

[stevefoster]

My rack had a little play in it just as you describe. Not through a hard impact but wear and there is little or no lube at that end of the rack.

I eliminated this by filling the rack with grease. Some of this was possible by pumping grease down the

rack adjustment bung hole (36mm nut and 7/16" allen key). But I never got an lube to the nearside

rack end. So, I took the gaitor off and with it still tightly tiewrapped to rod end filled it with grease.

Then I popped the gaitor on the rack, tiewrapped it tightly on and used the gaitor as a grease bellows to force grease into the rack. I did this a few times. You can hear it sloping and sucking air etc.

It worked and I now have no play in that track rod end on the waggle the rod test.

 

 

 

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Edited by - stevefoster on 4 Apr 2003 09:42:26

[Bare]

Racks normally require V little grease.. some only a spray coating... certainly a teaspoon full on the sliding shaft at the 'plain' end would have been generous.. hope it causes no side effects.

[Phil Bishop]

Fixed it!

 

Wasn't the rack after all. I went down to Dartford yesterday for an opinion, and the engineer walked out to the car with the sockets already in his hand to do the steering column telescope joint up. While I was down at the front end tugging pathetically on the tracking rod he was busy (with a little grin on his face) undoing and then retightening the telescope joint. Problem fixed!

 

I actually had inspected the telescope joint - in fact it was the first thing I looked at myself - but I couldn't feel any play in it. Perhaps it's just me, but my thoughts were magnetically attracted to the most expensive thing I could have damaged. The mechanic simply went for the weakest link in the chain. The play I discovered in the steering rack probably was there all along, it's just that I noticed it for the first time only after I 'it the 'ole.

 

Thanks for the answers anyway - hopefully future problems will be as easily (and cheaply!) solved.

[wonkey eyed barmaid]

can you tell me where this 'telescope joint' is please - what does it look like, and how should it be adjusted...?

 

i may be suffering from a similar 'clonk' myself, although quite quiet at this point Iam concerned it will degenerate into something more serious if left unattended.

 

thanks. (car is '99 classic, with caterham 8% quick rack, and standard no-QR column.)

[Lawrence_Z]

Grant

 

It's immediately below the master cylinder......

 

Lawrence