I have some noticeable play in the left side( passenger) of my steering rack. Q's: what are some sources for racks-new and rebuilt? Approx cost? I have read that there is a bushing in the left side that wears quicker than the right side. Is there a source for this bushing? Or would it be wiser to just rebuild/ replace the entire rack?
The hard part is removing and installing--this job is really a long one. TRutlands has units for sale but before buing a new one I would take yours apars and see if it can be fixed
I also suffered from steering rack play on my F355. It has just been replaced last week. In my case, I have no clue what could have caused this issue? Did you managed to identify the cause of the problem on your 308 car? I'm wondering if warped front brake discs could dammage the steering rack. Have you had any warped discs problem on you car? Regards, Christophe.
No, the discs are fine. The worn passenger side rack bushing is not all that uncommon for 308's, so I'm told. How much of a job is it to remove/ replace the rack on a 308? I'm half- tempted to do it myself. Are there any tricks to use or pitfalls to watch out for ?
Doc, Search the archives, a year or so ago one of the members posted a lot of photos of his steering rack removal & rebuild. It isn't a bad job at all if you're a pretty good mechanic. There are some more threads in the Old FerrariChat archives accessable from the home page.
I can't tell you how long it takes on a 308. But in case it may help you, on a 355, Ferrari count 9.5 hours of labor. Plus 2 hours for the geometry. Since both care are quite similar (rear engine, front boot, same overall conception), I would suspect it will take approximatively the same amount of time. To be confirmed ... Pictures of your project will be more than welcome. Good luck. Bye for now, Christophe.
Not so bad on a 308/328....I had the rack replaced on my 328, I was charged around 2.5 hours (included replacing the mounting bushings)...plus the time to perform the alignment.
So ... it seams that the 308 and the 355 cars are not as similar as I have expected. Or you are a very fast guy. Or Ferrari is charging more than needed! Guess which is the right one? May be all the three ... By the way, did you get access the steering rack from inside the front lid? Or did you unmount it from underside the car? I'm just a bit curious. Bye, Christophe
THanks, as usual, for all of your input , guys. I decided to buya rebuilt unit from T Rutland. Get this, new racks have been discontinued and are no longer available. What timing--just when the older cars are finally getting some milage on them and the racks begin to wear! So, it seems that rebuilding is presently the omly alternative. It would be nice if another car's rack could fit a 308--I'd bet something could fit w some modification.
I agree. They are Cam Gears LTD racks and MGs and other british cars used these racks. I know the tie rod ends fit another car but I am not sure which one. Anyone remember????
It is a very small (less than 1/2 inch), lightweight bushing. It wears. Cost me $300 - 350 to get a rack stripped, new bushing (2 - 3 inches!) pressed in. You'll also want to add rod ends, gators, mounting bits and pieces when you replace or rebuild. Philip
It's a TRW rack....has anyone pinged Ferrari UK? That is where I got my new 328 rack. $800 delivered, came with new gators, new tie rod ends, etc.
Dave--Ferrari UK, Super Performance, and every place I called no longer carries new racks. They've been discontinued--what a ***** !
I replaced the steering rack in my TR this week. Parts were almost $1,200 and labor was about $500 including an alignment. The car really does handle much better now. The bushings were replaced about a year ago so everything is nice and tight again. No more "bumps" in the steering wheel when I pull out of my drive way now. The most noticable improvement is from bringing up the air pressure in the front tires again. This makes the steering at slow speeds in parking lots much easier. No power steering in the beast.
Every 308 rack I have seen has been a Cam Gears LTD. Even the one Dave jones posted on the other site was a Cam Gears LTD rack. Why did you get a TRW rack? I haven't seen one on a 308. Even my 85' has a cam gears ltd.
I may have jumped to conclusions on that....the 328 rack is a TRW....and it was posted previously that the 328 and 308 racks were the same brand, just slightly different in certain specs...my apologies if this is incorrect.
Came up in a thread a while ago, Think it was claimed a Mini-Cooper used the same rack. Have sort of been figuring on seeing if an 2nd gen. Rx-7 rack could be adapted if my rack ever went on me. Nice rugged racks with a large base to keep parts available.
That's true, Bill. I decided to have all my original suspension bushings changed on my 1976 GTB this spring. My steering rack also had a bit of play on the passenger side. I had the rack rebuild done (both sides) for $450. I can't comment on hours of labor as the entire suspension was done along with alignment. Classic Coach, here in New Jersey, did the service. You'll find an improvement after the rebuild, as I did. Barry
Dave, Cam Gears Ltd was a division of TRW later known as TRW Cam Gears. It is now TRW Steering Systems LTD. So the change is just in the company name, not the racks themselves. Interesting note: I discovered this is the exact same steering rack as in my Pantera. For years, the Pantera community has been rebuilding these racks themselves. Very common tech session item. About $50 in parts if you don't do the boots, another $60 or so if you do the boots too. Easy Saturday morning project. I'm in the process of rebuilding mine right now. I'll post pictures if there is any interest by the "do it yourselfers" Rick
About 10 yrs ago my 308 had a similar rack problem. There are shops which rebuild these with bronze bushings I believe instead of the original plastic ones.The cost for it was about $ 200. The instalation if memory serves me correct was about 3 Hrs. Nothing too complex.
Just a bit of feedback--I got a rack from T Rutland and it's been fine. There was some talk about rebuilt racks been iffy. This one was OK.
Superformance offer std and quick rack and pinions to put into your own racks. The bearings and seals are available from most outlets, and I get bronze bushes made at a local machine shop from a simple sketch I have. Takes about 8 hours to remove your rack, replace the seals, boots and bearings and fit new bronze bush and rebuild it, then fit it and set the toe. The bush part is slightly fiddly, as you need to drill out 3 rivets and pull the end off the housing to access the area. Then remove the little grub screw and use a slide hammer to extract the old bush....Which is a steel tube with plastic lining and usually breaks up. If the inner tie rod ball sockets are damaged or excessively worn, then you're into problems, but they are adjustable to a small degree. The Right hand drive 308 rack is exactly the same as a left hand drive Austin Allegro if that means anything to anyone!! But a Mini one is fine too except the tie rods are too short...again Left Hand drive though, not a UK Right hand drive...that'll make the steering go the wrong way which would be fun. I'm not sure if a Right hand drive Mini/Allegro rack will fit a LHD 308, but probably.
Reaper, I've not yet completed the restore/rebuild of the rack. There are two ways it can be done... In the car where you just add the new bronze bushing or out of the car where you rebuild the rack and replace the seals. If you just add the new bushing that takes about 2-3 hours. I'm doing the latter and I'm waiting on a response from a gent in England who used to work for Cam Gears Ltd before I progress any further. If you'd like to follow the progress, look for the "Steering - Ferrari" album at: http://photos.yahoo.com/[email protected] Rick
