Steering rack leaking

[MarkyD]

Fluid pours out one of the gaiters so presuming the rack is goosed. Can you say why this should happen? Is it just general wear? Spoke to a garage today and they suggested there must be a reason and suggested pump fault resulting in overpressure and suggested I replace the pump at the same time. Does this sound likely?

Checked Partsbase.org as I haven't got Etka up and running and the part number for Steering gear r.h.d. 4x4 PR-1N1 (which mine is) is 1J2422061AJ. TWR on line parts catalogue gives JRP8165 as their replacement. Trouble is I can only find one supplier with one in stock and they are Scotland so slight delay getting shipped. Any suggestions or other decent makes? I would prefer not to have to send my one away to a company for reconditioning due to time having the vehicle out of use as its my only vehicle.

Any advice appreciated.

In many ways the vehicle is ideal so looking round for a good well sorted one preferably stage 1 or 2 as a second car while I get mine sorted. Would also consider VRS but really would like in estate version.

M

Edited 9 September, 2015 by MarkyD

[devonutopia]

I have a decent rack in Devon if you wanted?  Still attached to the car at the moment, but that's soon fixed.  

[BrownBarge]

Failed racks are a common problem.

[MarkyD]

Thanks Devonutopia I will consider that as an option.

BrownBarge. Why do the racks fail?

  Contacted a supplier and received this back:-   I have called TRW this morning and explained the situation and they have told me that there are two racks that correspond to the O.E number 1J242201AJ and they are as follows

JRP8164 - 1300mm overall length
JRP8165 - 1260mm overall length

Now it looks like the O.E number is the same body for both these racks however the overall length is different due to rack ends being of different lengths, so unfortunately we will need the overall length of the rack before I can tell which is the correct rack for your vehicle.

 

On the TWR site

 

JPR8164 to chassis number 1U-W-061000

 

JPR8165 from chassis number 1U-W-061001

 

I have the sticker in wheel well with all info including VIN and option codes but not sure how to interpret it.

 

Best option I suppose is get under the car and measure the existing rack. I would prefer to have a new rack sourced to go on before taking the old one off.

M

Edited 10 September, 2015 by MarkyD

[devonutopia]

That difference in width could most likely be soaked up in the length of the tie rods when fitted.

[whitep]

I had a failed rack on an old Octavia, it leaked slightly but that very soon turned into a torrent.

[MarkyD]

Yes looks like different length tie rods available if necessary. The input shaft height is slightly different between these 2 rack part numbers also. Weird!

Car went rapidly from leak to flooding out.

[MarkyD]

So will the chassis number be stamped/ printed anywhere on my car or alternatively is the chassis number contained in the VIN? Tried on line decoder but no useful info.

[kentphil1]

The racks leak due to eventual failure of the internal seals due to plain old wear and tear.

 

As stated above things will go quite quickly from a small leak to an imitation of the exon valdiz oil slick, mine became almost undriveable due to the weight of the steering as it failed on the way to the garage.

 

The VIN number is the chassis number, VIN means Vehicle Identification Number.

 

The difference in racks could be down to different manufacturers parts used on the line, but I would have thought they would be built to a standard spec, but it appears not.

 

The sticker in the boot should be your best source of info, there used to be a translator for those codes on here, I'll try to find it and post it later unless someone has it near to hand alreadty.

[MarkyD]

I have checked a couple of VIN translators.

From other research I know how to interpret my VIN ie which characters represent platform, accuracy check,model year, assembly plant. Not really sure of the meaning of the  12th-17th being "sequence of the vehicle for production as it rolled off the manufacturer's assembly line"

 

What I really want to know is the meaning of 1U-W-061000

Looking at http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5485486-How-to-read-VIN-range-in-ETKA

 

and http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3641945-Reading-VIN-separated-part-numbers-from-ETKA

 

1U is platform

W is model year (from above links VW M=91, N=92, P=93) so am I right in W=99?

061000 Does this relate to the last 6 characters of my VIN?

 

M

[VAGner]

So will the chassis number be stamped/ printed anywhere on my car or alternatively is the chassis number contained in the VIN? Tried on line decoder but no useful info.

Can you try to check here:

 

http://etka.cc