removing rack & pinion

[Slow2.8A4]

well the time has come again and i snapped my 2nd rack & pinion but the first time we had a family mech. do it but im savin some money and doing it my self, i know what i have to take off and everything im just curious if anyone would have any tips or pointers to make it little more smooth while removing and installin.

[Slow2.8A4]

bump... anyone?

[Reich]

Look,s like a pain job. But how did you kill 2 steering gears?

[Slow2.8A4]

the first time i think the guy who got the part dicked me and got one out of a junk yard....

[Lensch09]

Find a kid and let him get the "bitch bolts"....trust me
-Dan

[S4-Casa]

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/misc-40.shtml -

i will be doing mine in the next couple of weeks... let me know how yours goes...

[zippysedan]

Audi books that job at 8.5 hours. Shine Racing has had one hell of a time on my car, they had to take out the DP's and it took over a day to get the rack out. Do yourself a favor and get a new one at a dealer. $740 without a discount, my cost is $600 or so. Takes forever, I think they make it when you place the order.

If you pull the motor I guess it's pretty easy, so maybe you have a good excuse to put in a new set of turbos.

jb

[aussie_s4]

My local Audi tuner replaced the steering rack without pulling the motor--he may have dropped it a little, I don't know.

While he was there he replaced the timing belt, water pump, etc.

Total 5 hours labor.

[aussie_s4]

My steering rack died after the Audi dealer worked on the front suspension, used a blow torch to loosen the tie rods, and damaged the steering rack boots. I didn't know that until 6 months later, after water got into the steering rack and rusted the entire rack and damaged the rest of the seals, so it wouldn't hold any PS fluid.

Of course, I went back to the dealer and the service manager laughed at me and said I couldn't prove anything.

[Poopie]

the rack is just a bitch to slide out. It should be very similar to an a4 since it sits right over the bell housing.

[Reich]

Is steering gear a common issue on this car?

[zippysedan]

If by a common issue you mean up there with control arms, valve cover gasket, cam cap seals, cam chain tensioner seals, timing belt, after run coolant pump, and changinig the oil, then yes, it is. Oh yeah, forgot wiper blades. You need to change them too.

[The_Jerbel]

Poor zippy, lol. Seems like you've had a bit of an issue with the steering gear?

[Slow2.8A4]

had it in and out under 6 hours done by myself, wasnt to bad really just needed a few beers put to the side for it, and yes i went with a new rack & pinon with a warranty! the bottom bolts really wernt all that bad.

[SoSlow]

where did you get the new rack?

[accord96]

i am also looking at the diy for this and was wondering if there was a way to determine the rack you needed prior to removing yours, as there is the 1 piece and 2 piece steering racks

i have seen the rebuilt racks and pinions for sale on ebay for 183.xx which is a lot less than dealers

[AAAA]

If by a common issue you mean up there with control arms, valve cover gasket, cam cap seals, cam chain tensioner seals, timing belt, after run coolant pump, and changinig the oil, then yes, it is. Oh yeah, forgot wiper blades. You need to change them too.

is there a diy or write up on what's involved with the cam chain tensioner seals leaking? just picked up my car last week and they are leaking already

[S4-Casa]

Finally got around to doing the Rack and Pinion.
There is a tech article on AW but its for an A4 no S4.
The only difference is that you have to take off the drivers side downpipe. Otherwise completely the same.
Now be ready the banjo bolts are a pain in the rear especially since I have big hands its tuff to get in there.
I got my rack from Jorgens Automotive in Ann Arbor MI. They ARE the cheapest out there and gaurantee the rack for the life of the vehicle.

It took me about 10-12 hours to do this job even though I have never done it to an audi.
Sorry I dont have a write up since I was swearing all the time...

[black_bi-turbo]

Just did mine about 2 weeks ago and it took about 3 hours total. Thought the write up on audiworld was very helpfull. I have an s4 and didn't have to mess with the downpipe. I think i did disconnect the upper control arms to help with clearance of removal and install. As far as the rack itself goes, believe i ordered through worldpak.

[S4-Casa]

Black Bi-Turbo how did you get to the lower drivers side bolt? 10mm 12 point but how did you get up there? swivel head and socketalone? I almost stripped mine out that way and decided it would be best to take it all off before its rounded out... my heat shield was totally in the way... tell me because I think it was way over what it should have taken me... and I have enough tools the in the shed to do anything but the stripping part scared me enough to take the downpipe off and do it the hard way..

[black_bi-turbo]

super long extension, from underneath the car (if we are thinking of the same bolt)

[S4-Casa]

black bi-turbo - Yes underneath bolt above the downpipes.... I tried that and almost started to strip the heck out of that bolt...
let alone getting it back into the same spot... ok - at least I know next time that is totally doable... Thanks !

[black_bi-turbo]

No worries!

[zippysedan]

is there a diy or write up on what's involved with the cam chain tensioner seals leaking? just picked up my car last week and they are leaking already

The valve cover gaskets, cam chain seals, and cam chain tensioner seals should all be done at the same time. There is some kind of Audi specific goo you put on the corners of each gasket/seal so it does not leak, and it seems every mechanic has a different preference as to what should be used. They are all wrong. You need to use the Audi goo unless you like the smell of oil burning and checking your level frequently.

[mike's machine]

Little help here.
I can't even see the bolt from the bottom.
I dropped down the motor a little to get more space to remove the down pipe, but now I can not get to the bolt on the top.
And I just read this, and tried to find the bolt from the bottom but where is it???
That down pipe is on the way...or am I missing something???

[zippysedan]

You will not be able to see it. You need to unbolt the engine cradle and move it side to side to get at it, extract it, put the new one in, and remove the bolts.

You should hire your audi guy to come do it in your driveway.

[noclutch]

Just wanted to update this instead of starting a new thread.

I got my rack out without pulling the downpipe, an extension and a swivel and I got to the bottom bolt. The banjo bolts aren't bad at all either. After the rack was unbolted I wiggled it forward/out some to get to the banjos, maybe bent the lines very carefully just a bit. It was kind of a pain to get the banjo bolts back on, still only about 1/2hr of wrestling with them. All in all this isn't a very difficult job.

The only other thing I'd add to the above write-up is to pull the column boot out from inside the car after unbolting the column to give you some more wiggle room.

[DannyDeez]

I just want to bump this incase anyone has, or can add anymore experience or tips to this thread. I think my steering rack may be on its way out.

[judeisnotobscur]

I did it to a tip and needed to use a dental mirror and swivel head socket for the lower driver's side bolt. Took hours and hours to figure it out. PITA! but better than $1000 bucks in labor charges. If you look at the new rack to find the space for the bolt holes it's easier to line up where the bolt is in relation to the serial number plate. That's how I found it.

[complacentsee]

I paid someone $200 to install mine. (It was going to cost me that much in fuel to pick up my tools)

[DannyDeez]

Where are you guys getting your new racks from? I was thinking of going with http://www.carsteering.com/ Anyone have experience with them?

[complacentsee]

That's who I went with. It was a remanufactured ZF rack.


EDIT: I replaced July second of last year, and have put on about 12k miles since then. Still great.

[quickglx]

I had a spare used rack from my parts car, and instead of replacing the entire rack, I just changed the leaky seal with one from the good rack. So far so good- been about 6 mos and no leaks yet. I'd like to find a new replacement seal for the other side before it starts leaking(or the same side). This seems a much better alternative since the entire repair takes less than an hour and no alignment is needed afterward...