Steering Rack Rebuild 308

Ok so mine is a bit different. X marks the spot. It appears there is a pin of sorts and not just a crimp holding my inner tie rod cup on. Anybody come across this? Ideas of how do correctly remove and replace it?
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Yes, my GT4 rack looked just like that. I used a Dremel cut off wheel and rode it back and forth gently over the stakes to eliminate the interference while removing as little material as possible. From there I think the pin unscrewed. I can't find my pictures right now, but I bet I posted some here when I did it.

 

I drilled the pin out down to the threads then used a pin wrench to in screw the half ends. I will re tap the hole.

There are nylon cups on the inner ends. Any sources ???

Also the brass insert for the rack bushing is very tight and will need to be pressed in, is this normal or the wrong bushing? Looks like there's room to just press it in without removing the old bushing.

There are 2 bearings on the pinion shaft SKF 633126. While pressing the inner one out it came apart and in lost 2 steel balls. I can buy them local 5.5mm so no big deal.

 

Mine was exactly the same. In the end I had to carefully drill it out. I was looking into replacing those parts with the ones from Superformance if they are compatible. I didn't want to use the drilled out originals.

 

Pressed in the brass bushing. The bushing hole now requires a hone to open it up a bit. The fit was a bit loose before pressing. I left the old bushing in place plenty of room to fit the rack end inside. No need to drill and pin as it would require a puller to remove now.

The pinion seal is 14x22x4mm I ordered a double lip for $6.95 delivered.

Waiting for he seal and 5.5mm ball bearings to rebuild the inner pinion bearing.

 

Ok, I have searched 308 steering racks on the site and read this entire thread and I am still a little lost with direction and answers for myself...

My local Ferrari shop tech has reccomended that I replace my steering rack in my '84 308 due to there being so much play in my steering wheel. I am not a DIY type so rebuilding myself is not of interest or skill level to me.

He has quoted me $1340 TOTAL to install a rebuilt steering rack (Labor $495.00, parts $595.00, alignment $250.00)

Questions...

1. Is this a common problem and needed repair/rebuild/replacement on the 308QV?

2. Is this my best option/route for addressing and correcting this issue?

3. Is this pricing fair and in-line with what others have recently experienced and paid?

Thanks guys.

 

Hi aenglish87,

I'm not an expert and I don't know if this helps, however I recently completed a complete suspension rebuild including the rack. I purchased a new rack from AAE steering. It was about $500.00 inc shipping. They can rebuild yours as well. Mine was too beat up to rebuild so I bought a new one with uprated bushes. Before I did my rebuild I got a quote from Tim Stanford a few years ago (quite possibly the best 308 mechanic in Florida) to replace the rack. If memory serves me right the quote was about $1100.00 for the labor, rebuilt rack from T Rutlands, alignment and misc parts. I do believe that after 30 years its common to replace / rebuild your rack.

 

Yes, all 308's have a crappy bushing that deteriorates and makes for sloppy steering and front-end wandering. If that's your car now then this will be an amazing transformation.

Based on your description of your desires, yes.

Sounds fair to me. I did the rack myself but I paid $250 for an alignment from a specialty alignment shop.

 

I am very confused as to how you can leave the old bushing in? This past spring I replaced the bushing on my '79 with a bronze olite one as the old one was beaten to pieces.

The bushing is held in place by a screw. Is the screw holding the new busing in place?

As for pinning the tie rod end to the rack, I believe it needs to be pinned in order to prevent it from loosening as there is no pressure on it when secured. I would be worried it would loosen without the pin. It is also easy to pin, drill a new hole of know size with a drill press and drive the new pin in. I will admit I was a little worried about this but it turned out to be pretty easy.

One note, it is recommended to drill the hole for the set screw in the bushing after installation and to drill it all the way through. It is important to drill it the proper size and I agree on drilling it through. The problem is the screw exerts enough pressure to slightly deform the bushing which results in it becoming tighter on the rack.

 

The rack uses a plastic bushing on the passenger side and it fails. The symptom will be slop on the passenger side. You may hear it bump/rattle as well.

You can rebuild or replace it. The replace is likely faster as the old part is removed and the new installed. To replace the bushing and rebuild the old rack is pretty simple and would likely be the same price or less than a new rack.

One note, have the rubber mounting bushings checked and likely replaced. Some using nylon replacements and others rubber. The nylon will be a little harsher and some people believe you need the cushioning of the rubber to mitigate damage to the rack.

The price seem reasonable but I question $250 for an alignment. If you know a good shop with computer/lazer alignment equipment they can likely do a fine job for $90.

 

My alignment was about $200 but it included corner weighting and realigning all 4 corners after rebuilding my whole suspension back to the frame mounts. I do think you can get a reasonable alignment for $100 or so but doing the whole kit and caboodle can double the price but that's due to doing more work... or at least that's how it should be. If you are just getting an alignment as regular maintenance you dont need to go all out.... but if you are tearing it all apart... get it all done.

 

Reassembling the pinion assembly with new bearings I noticed that using the original shims
was binding the pinion assembly. If I use only one shim the assembly rotates smoothly without any play in the pinion. I wonder if this is correct process for shiming this cover on top of the pinion assembly. I did use the original shims for the plunger spring assembly and the rack moves with some resistance which appears normal. Thanks for any help.
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What does a $250 alignment include? That is a handsome fee.