steering rack dilemma

[boy412]

This is only fitting I guess. I finally got around to doing my steering rack swap and everything went pretty smoothly...up until the point where I pulled the old rack out and compared it to the "new" one I bought.

Old one:



...and the new one I got from Rack Doctor:



They ain't the same! There's an extra port on the ZF branded one (under that red plastic plug), presumably for Servotronic? I honestly have no idea...as I was under the assumption that ALL NA A4's had Servotronic. None of the DIY's mention anything about this "extra" port. This is especially annoying as I had TWO different shops tell me my car had the ZF rack (using my VIN). Alas...my car has the Koyo part. So if anyone is considering doing this make damn sure you're ordering the right part! This is probably pretty hard to do without actually taking the old one out first.

F my life. Oh well...as long as the front end is in pieces I may as well do my control arms!

[Staz]

so youre the one who bought the servotronic one the same day i placed my order for one - nothing came in the mail within a week so i gave him a call..

after speaking with rich he did some research and assured me that NA a4's didnt have servotronic (unless it was a custom order) .. ontop of that .. 2 different dealers near me told me i had servo .. (WRONG)

Rich told me that if i were to take a magnet to the rack and it stuck, itd be a koyo, if it didnt.. it was a ZF .. so i did that and i had a ZF rack

im pretty sure if you dont install it and call him on monday you can probably work something out .. order a koyo, i know he had a couple left in stock. see if hell allow you to ship both of them (new and old) together in the same box so u dont have to pay for shipping again later down the road .. and also try to work out something so you dont have to pay the restocking fee since its new and youre placing another order

[boy412]

Actually just spoke with Rich. He's going to ship out a non-Servo rack on Monday and is waiving the re-stocking fee. Apparently the ZF racks WITH servitronic are pretty hard to find!

[Staz]

win win !

[boy412]

Yeah. Super nice guy...called ME on a Saturday! The rack I got looks great. They do a nice job with the remanufacturing. Certainly can't complain about the price...less than 1/3 of what other people were quoting me.

This servotronic thing (or lack thereof) needs to find its way into the FAQ's or something. I'm a bit irked that I wasted a bunch of time (and $) by buying the wrong part.

How did you make out with your rack replacement?

[Staz]

made out great. had called him a week after placing my order since i got nothing - he said that someone had placed the order for a servo the same day. he told me to do the thing with the magnet to see if it was a zf or koyo rack. he told me that if i didnt have the time to check he would send me a zf as thats what he thought was oem on my car .. and if it wasnt he would waive the restocking fee and send me a koyo (or vise versa) all i would have to do is cover the shipping

was on the phone with him for a while talking about different rack stuff and he is very knowledgeable about cars in general ..

when i did my rack i ended up changing out my whole front end as well .. s4 control arms from fcp, new axles, stern motor and tranny mounts and a apikol rear diff mount .. car feels better than ever .. and neverrrrrr handled as good as it does now

[boy412]

S4 control arms eh? I didn't know that was even an option! Crawling around under there makes me want to replace all of that other stuff as well. Motor mounts and rear diff mount have been on the list for a while, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

How are you liking the Stern motor mounts? I hear mixed reviews...some seem to find the ride quality a bit harsh, even with their "soft" version. I love that they are serviceable but not sure if I want to make the ride any stiffer.

[evo_ski]

Hey guys, just looking to see how that ended up for you. Is everything working well for you on the new racks? I am going to place an order for a new rack this week and am debating between rackdoctor and carsteering.com. Carsteering would be around $45 or so more, but it sounds like you guys had a good experience with rackdoctor so I am going to try to get it through them if possible.

Thanks!

[Elliott]

Just make sure you use your VIN to order. There are several different variations to the B6 rack.

[Staz]

had a good experience with rack doctor however now that i think about it he never issued my core refund .. hmmmm im gonna give him a call tomorrow

[boy412]

RackDoctor was great to deal with. I'd certainly recommend them to others! Way cheaper than other re-man'd steering gears. Use the money you saved to buy more tools (or beer).

[boy412]

Just make sure you use your VIN to order. There are several different variations to the B6 rack.

We both had issues with using our VIN to find out which rack to order. I wish I had known about that magnet trick.

[Young SS]

Just changed my rack for a 3.0 less than 2 hours ago from rackdoctor.com. Went flawless. [B]DO the magnet test b4 you place your order.[B] My VIN said I had a ZF w/ servo and I clearly did not. I had a Koyo non-servo.

[boy412]

So that's three of us. Magnet test FTW!

[evo_ski]

Awesome thanks for all the help everyone. Did you just use a long extendable magnet? I am assuming just past the rack boot is where i need to test it.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

[boy412]

You will probably need to climb under the car to find a good spot to test.

[evo_ski]

Awesome, I very much appreciate everyones responses, definitely eases my mind about buying something like that over the web. Thanks again!

[evo_ski]

Alright guys, I ordered the part and got it a week or so ago and am trying to source the banjo bolts and crush washers to replace them. Using vagcat I think I have found the proper part numbers for them, but was wondering if there is anything else I need other than the banjo bolts and washers.

I am going to be replacing #'s 16, 17, 18, and 19. Thanks

[boy412]

The bolts are probably fine to re-use. Those are the same part numbers I used to order replacement crush washers...although they showed up as a Porsche part in GAP's catalog and took a few extra days to arrive.

I replaced the fluid reservoir as well since the filter inside looked a little grungy.

You will probably want a 19mm swivel socket for this job. Reaching those banjo bolts can be a real pain. I had some trouble re-attaching the lines while the rack was unbolted and ended up needing to attack the smaller of the two from the wheel well. Good luck!

[Dwaller]

May I ask how much you pd for the rack?

[evo_ski]

Boy412, thank you very much again for the quick response. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I am taking it to my roommates buddy to do it next weekend, but he offered me a good price to do it and I would have had to buy some tools to do it anyway. I know I could have done it myself since I have done a full suspension and control arm swap, but I am pretty limited on time during ski season, so I need it done quickly.

After the core charge on the rack I will probably be just under $200 on the new rack.

[boy412]

May I ask how much you pd for the rack?

Depending on what year A4 you have, and whether it has servotronic or not, you're looking at @ $150-$250 for a reman'd rack from Rack Doctor.

Let us know how it works out evo_ski. The rack I got is working out nicely.

[Trev]

Will be doing this come spring time. Anyone have a good source for the pump? Mines leaking like a sieve...

My rack had a small leak ever since i bought the car (4 years ago). Decided to flush and refill the fluid last spring with a bit of power steering stop leak. Well the rack stopped leaking and now the pump is pissing out fluid....

Still works like a champ though

[n7plus1]

good to hear man. arent b7's servotronic?

[Charles.waite]

good to hear man. arent b7's servotronic?

I think they all are but I'm not sure. I personally like it, but I know some people hate it. My b7 w/ servo steers much more confidently than my b6. Could be something to do with the age and my control arms/tie rods being older/slightly more worn on the B6 though. One of these days I'll pull the trigger on a CA/tie rod revamp....

[boy412]

Anyone have a good source for the pump?

I got a new one from ECS. $250 and no core deposit. I also have my old one (1.8T) if you'd like to try it. Its not leaking or anything. PM me if you're interested.

good to hear man. arent b7's servotronic?

I honestly have no idea! I know the steering is different on those so maybe.

[boy412]

One of these days I'll pull the trigger on a CA/tie rod revamp....

Do it! Then report back and let us know if you still prefer the B7.

[Charles.waite]

Do it! Then report back and let us know if you still prefer the B7.

Haha I know! My list of things to fix/mod on my car is WAY too long as it is:



Add to that a new DV and fuel filter which are in the mail now....

[boy412]

LMFAO...I have a list that looks JUST like that. For what its worth the CA and OTRE refresh made the car handle like new. I hadn't realized how sloppy it had gotten over the years!

[Charles.waite]

Luckily I've only owned my b6 for 6 months, so I don't really know what I'm missing, yet...