Rack steering ford focus 1 do-it-yourself repair

In detail: steering rack ford focus 1 do-it-yourself repair from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

When repairing Ford Focus steering racks with your own hands of 1, 2 or 3 generations, it’s better to watch a video that tells about the main stages of repairing the steering rack on the Focus. So you can familiarize yourself with the correct sequence of actions and get rid of unnecessary difficulties.

According to any Focus car steering rack repair manual, one of the most common causes of problems is the need for tightening and increased wear on the seals. If you are doing work for the first time, it will not be superfluous to study the vehicle suspension device in order to avoid typical difficulties.

Carrying out repairs, the removed steering rack is repaired by hand on the Ford Focus for one hour. The essence of the repair is to perform the following series of procedures:

removal, in fact, of the rail on the lift;
unscrewing and removing the steering shaft;
unscrewing high pressure pipes;
complete removal of the mechanism with accessories;
removal of the rack rod with surface restoration (the part is usually covered with rust);
rod restoration and installation of a repair kit;
installation of the mechanism assembly on the vehicle;
performance check.

If the Ford Focus rail is worn out, the repair itself will have to start by checking the condition of the components. We strongly recommend replacing them. If the requirement is not met, the owner of the Ford will have to lift the car again, remove the assembly, repair and put it back. You have to spend a lot of extra time.

When repairing the steering rack, our video will tell you what tools you will have to acquire to disassemble, maintain and assemble this part on Focuses. Also here you can learn in detail all the subtleties of the procedure. There is also a step-by-step instruction with a detailed explanation of the actions. This material will certainly come in handy for owners who carry out repairs on their own for the first time.

Video (click to play).

Loosen the tie rod end locknut.

Using side cutters, we cut the plastic clamp for attaching the cover.

Pliers remove the metal clamp of the cover.

Remove the cover from the steering linkage.
We replace a torn or loose cover.
The cover can be replaced without removing the steering gear from the vehicle.

Having wrapped the hinge body with an emery cloth, we unscrew the rod with a pipe wrench.

Disconnect the linkage from the steering rack.
Install the new rod in reverse order.

To prevent the hinge from turning away, we deform the edge of the threaded part of the hinge on the steering rack with a center punch.

The ball joint must be completely filled with grease. If necessary, add Litol-24 grease to the ball joint.
We install the dirt-proof cover in place and fasten it with clamps (we replace plastic and damaged metal with new ones).
We install the steering mechanism in place.
We check and, if necessary, adjust the angles of the front wheels (see "Angles of the front wheels").

The steering rack on Ford Focus 1 2 3-generation cars very often fails. The reason for this is a huge number of external and internal factors, which include: aggressive driving style, poor road surface condition, poor tightening of fastening mechanisms, corrosion on the inner sleeve, torn seals and rubber bands.

Due to the design features of the steering rack, in most cases, repairs are carried out by a complete replacement of the aggregate mechanism.After reading this article, you will learn how to independently repair (remove and replace) the steering rack on a Ford Focus car, how to tighten it, how much it costs and what is included in the repair kit.

Steering rack repair kit Ford Focus – how much does it cost, that it includes article numbers and part sizes.

For more convenient use, I recommend that you refer to the table in which I published popular steering rack repair kits for a Ford Focus car.

As can be seen from the table, the steering rack for a Ford Focus 1 2 3 car of its generation is from 600 rubles to 3000 rubles. Such a large run-up is associated with the quality of the material produced. Naturally, original spare parts are much more expensive than analogues, but they will also last much longer.

What does a steering rack kit consist of? Ford Focus

Basically, the steering rack repair kit consists of the following spare parts:

Steering rack repair kit (seals) No. AG0008 (price 3000r.)
The nut that tightens the rail, instead of the plastic standard No. 6772170 (price 150 rubles)
Sleeve sleeve SKF PCM 252815 E

It can also come in handy, but is not included in the rem. set: Clamping fork No. 6317116 (It is just pressed by the adjusting nut and removes the backlash in the engagement of the rack with the gear) and Spring No. 3707496 (It is placed between the clamping fork and the adjusting nut)

And so, we stocked up on consumables, now we move on to the very process of repairing the steering rack on the Ford Focus

All repair work with the steering rack on a Ford Focus car is carried out only after removing this part. Therefore, it is with this that I will begin our step-by-step instruction.

Before starting all work, it is recommended to drive the car into a pit or overpass.
We unscrew the bolts of the subframe on both sides
We unscrew the subframe mounting bolt, but not completely, leave a few turns on both sides
We unscrew the bolts securing the subframe to the exhaust pipe.
We pull down the subframe in order to provide access to the steering rack mounting bolts.
Disconnect all wire blocks from the ABS sensor
In the cabin, unscrew the bolt securing the steering rack to the steering wheel.
Now remove the steering tips.
We remove the crankcase protection, it rests on two fasteners
We unscrew the pillow from the gearbox
Letting go of jet thrust
We loosen the bolts on the rod so that you can easily start and pull out the steering rack
We take out the steering rack.

Repair (bulkhead) of the steering rack on the Ford Focus (Ford Focus)

On the steering rack removed from the car, it is necessary to carry out diagnostics
Then the tie rod joints and the tie rods themselves are removed.
Remove the pressure adjusting nut and spring. Remove the stem clamp itself.
Disassemble the distributor. Remove steering angle sensor
Remove the distributor nut
Remove the distributor
Remove the retaining ring, oil seal and upper bearing from it.
Remove the stem support from the steering rack.
The centering sleeve is removed from the support.
Next, the stem is removed from the body, and the right stuffing box of the stem.
All parts of the steering rack are thoroughly cleaned of dust and dirt, remaining lubricants.
Then, on a lathe, the surface of the steering rack is polished.
Next, grind the necks of the distributor
When assembling, all seals and rubber seals are recommended to be replaced with new ones. We collect everything in the reverse order.

And so, another important point. There are times when the replacement of the steering rack, rods, tips is not required. But at the service station they will scare you how bad everything is, and you can try to stretch and adjust the steering rack on your own. Let's get started:

This whole procedure with preparation takes 20 minutes, and the knock riveted my brains for 2 years, although everything was fine at the car dealership. It is not profitable for them to pull it up, this is a penny job, but when you gouge it, they will gladly change it for you, for a tidy sum. It passes the warranty period with a knock.

I thought I had a cracked rack.

1) Knocked “in the yards” with a double knock, especially at low speeds

2) When I turn the steering wheel back and forth quickly, I feel a knock on the steering wheel.

Found on the forum a new Vsevoluyu rail. I don't remember who suggested it.
Called him. He said that he thought that his rake grunted. He bought a new one, but when he started to change it, it turned out that it was not she who knocked.

I thought about whether it was worth spending 10,000 rubles, went to Rolf for a “steering wheel diagnostics” for $25. The verdict is the replacement of the stabilizer struts and the coupling (shaft) connecting the rack to the steering shaft.

I changed the stabilizer struts (400 rubles each. Limferder) - the sound at low speeds is completely gone.
The shaft coupling has not been changed. The knock on the steering wheel is still not big if you quickly turn the steering wheel back and forth, but if you don’t dig it, it’s not noticeable. There are no loopholes.

So all the same, there are no those who grunted something. The Ford car is difficult, it took me 36 hours to set the signaling, but remember the old days of Henry: he said that you need to earn money not on cars, but on spare parts, let's think about it and probably the next one will not be a Ford.

I thought I had a cracked rack.

1) Knocked “in the yards” with a double knock, especially at low speeds

2) When I turn the steering wheel back and forth quickly, I feel a knock on the steering wheel.

Ford Focus Hatchback PNDA/ib5/18″/Titanium › Logbook › Ford Focus 1.6 Steering Rack Knocking Out

I must say right away that while I am preparing for this procedure, in search of a competent service, no matter what happens with suspension repair ...

The problem zadolbalovaya all who have this device! There is no need to be afraid of this, as well as running to the repair of rails, paying off 15,000 r for “repair of the steering rack”.

Simply put, everyone knows about this problem and click their tongues shaking the steering wheel to the beat of a knock, but! This is not fatal, there is nothing terrible!

In short: Let go of the subframe, stabilizer, rail mount. We apply marker risks and turn the adjusting nut as needed. We are happy with the result and collect everything back!

In other words, watch the video! The main thing is to make a key from the head to 22!) However, there are options that the plastic nut breaks or stops holding, then you have to sharpen the analogue.

If this does not help, but there is an opinion that the rail is adjusted at the factory and pull no further, there will be no sense, then it is necessary to sharpen the support bushings into the crankcase to fix the gear rack rod itself in it. Just before these manipulations, you need to make sure that it is the rail that is knocking, and not other parts of the suspension! And not the steering shaft, otherwise there were such options, judging by the conversations, he was guarding.

Steering rack crunch - this is a sore spot in many car models, including the Ford Focus. This trouble can appear even after driving only a thousand kilometers. This is mainly due to the quality of our roads or dashing driving style.

These blows are shown when driving over bumps or with a sharp rotation of the steering wheel. Sometimes it appears even on an ideal track if the front wheels are poorly balanced (usually this happens in a narrow speed range with resonance phenomena).

Service centers often do not want to thoroughly diagnose the root cause of the knock and say that this situation is quite acceptable.

The steering rack consists of the main components:

tip;
Tie Rod;
booster cylinder;
input shaft gear.

The problem can be damage to any of these nodes:

As one of the cases, you have to change the support bushings, which wear out quickly. Some craftsmen make homemade bushings (for example, from fluoroplastic), which often turn out to be more reliable and more durable than the original ones.
Rubber anthers in the form of an accordion are put on the steering rack on both sides. If the boot wears out or breaks, this can also subsequently lead to knocking in the steering wheel. The ingress of moisture, dust into any mechanism does not end well.
Breakage or wear of teeth leads to impacts on a longitudinal rail or worm.
Factories - manufacturers save on the presence of transitional softening links, which often does not make it possible to reliably transfer shock forces when they hit holes and potholes (so familiar to us) on the roads.

Most often, they begin to notice a knock after the driver has caught a large pothole (usually with the right wheel, because He sits on the left). Does not treat running gear and long-term driving on paving stones and primer.

In order to start eliminating an unpleasant knock in the area of \u200b\u200bthe steering column, you must first determine its root cause. There are three main reasons:

Tie rods with their joints.
Backlash in the steering wheel itself (it happens extremely rarely due to the simplicity and reliability of the design).
Finally, the mechanism of the rack itself.

I would not advise you to change the rail, even if you have decided on its “guilt”. The fact is that a new rail does not at all guarantee a repetition of the knocking problem in the near future, and you do not need two dead rails.

In order to "kill" her, you need to try hard - to catch more deep holes on the road at a decent speed. Most often, such pits are “found” by the right wheels during forced road trips, grabbing the side of the road. But even in this case, the rubber joints on the steering rods, designed to soften the blows, usually break first. It happens that the teeth of the worm and rack are rubbed in a new car. At the same time, the gaps between their teeth increase, and a backlash appears.

Everything is simple and cheap here - there is an adjusting screw with which you can reduce the gaps between the teeth of the worm and the steering column rack. It is important not to overdo it so as not to stick the steering wheel. After making half a turn of the screw clockwise, check the play of the steering wheel quickly at small angles to the left - right, tug it.

If a knock is heard, tighten more. If the steering wheel is wedged, loosen the screw. At the end, do not forget to counter it with a nut.

It happens that the lubricant is squeezed out through faulty (cracked) rubber seals of the rail (the so-called "anthers"). Then condensate accumulates there, the mechanism rusts and this does not lead to anything good: disassemble, polish the teeth, assemble, lubricate and sculpt everything back.

It's a day of work for a newbie. For prevention, since you got here - rinse all the insides with gasoline and stuff them tightly with solid oil - this will last you five years forget about knocking in the steering (if you are not a fan of the roadside and jumping on the pits).

It is replaced in the following way:

it is easier to dismantle from a car in a pit (it is better, of course, to use a lift),
then unscrew and lower the subframe,
unscrew the steering shaft and remove,
dismantle high pressure hoses,
pull out the steering rack assembly,
it has now been removed and is ready for restoration,
mine, clean the outside, disassemble and look at the problem.

If the edges of the side clamp nut are licked (the adjusting screw is counter) or its thread is torn off, it means that the “master” tried to adjust the gap in the rack before you. Replace the nut immediately with a new one.

If the surface of the rod on the rack and pinion (kremalier) is rusty, this will be the main cause of oil leakage and moisture and dust ingress into the housing.

We take out the stock. It is necessary to polish the surface, especially where it should slide on rubber seals (by the way, it is advisable to replace them - they probably will no longer provide tightness, and they cost a penny).

After the stem has been polished, check for leaks between stem and seals. We disassemble the rail completely, wash all the parts with gasoline, carefully examine the condition of the teeth and the quality of their fit.

What we can’t fix ourselves - we change (preferably with original parts, although there are good analogues - here the VIN code and Google will help you).

In principle, if you carefully read even just one repair and maintenance manual, everything is easy and simple. He did everything in a small garage without a pit, showing such acrobatic numbers with keys and a pipe that no gymnasts and acrobats ever dreamed of.

1. First of all, as it is written in the instructions, I jacked up the car, installed it on bricks, leveled the steering wheel, blocked it, removed the front wheels. Even this I did for the first time, and even then there were difficulties, but all that was missing was the necessary head, that is, I unscrewed seven bolts with the head by 19, and the eighth did not work ... I had to go to the store for the right head 18th size. Went, bought, opened.

2. Then I removed the engine protection — 4 bolts, everything was fast, there were no problems.

3. In the cabin behind the pedals, I disconnected the steering shaft from the steering shaft - everything is as in the instructions - cars until December 1998, 2 bolts, loosen the upper one, unscrew the lower one, disconnect the shafts from each other.

4. Tie rods were next. The right one calmly unscrewed and got out, but the left one did not want to unscrew and the grinder went into action - he sawed off the nut from three sides, knocked it down. The tie rods have been disconnected.

5. Then I started on the stretcher. After reading that it is necessary to unscrew 6 bolts, I began to twist everything I see below. I saw 8, and unscrewed everything. 4 of them could be left - these are two bolts on each side for attaching the rear silent blocks of the suspension arms (Fig. 1, number 1) - I stopped on these bolts, lost time, they were very hard for some reason. Crane I need to read everything carefully 😉

Rice. 1. Front suspension arm: 1 — bolts for fastening the rear silent block of the arm; 2 — a bolt of fastening of a forward silent block of the lever; 3 - ball joint

As a result, we need 6 bolts: 4 of them are next to the bolts for attaching the rear silent blocks of levers (Fig. 2) and two more bolts we need are located above, one of them can be seen in Fig. 1 (from the center of the picture up exactly a quarter of the height of this picture).

Having unscrewed these 6 bolts, the subframe is lowered on one side. So that it does not fall, and in order to unscrew the last bolt without difficulty, the subframe is supported by a jack.
The subframe is down.

6. I wanted to twist the steering rack to the fullest, pull it out as soon as possible, but after looking at the whole thing, after reading the instructions carefully again, I realized that it just wouldn’t work out that way. Maybe you can somehow do without all that I did next, but did as I did.
I unscrewed the anti-roll bars that are attached to the shock absorber strut (Fig. 3, number 3) - there is only one nut on each side. I climbed under the car and unscrewed the anti-roll bar itself (Fig. 3, number 7) - everything is intuitively simple there (two brackets on each side, two 13 bolts on each bracket. I did not pull out the entire bar, since one of her racks just didn’t want to unscrew, I thought that in order to pull out the rail, one unscrewed side would be enough.

Rice. 3. Front suspension: 1 - wheel hub; 2 - steering knuckle; 3 - shock absorber; 4 - anti-roll bar; 5 - rear silent block of the suspension arm; 6 — a pillow of a bar of the stabilizer; 7 - bar stabilizer bar; 8 - bracket for fastening the wire of the wheel speed sensor *; 9 - hub bearing; 10 - ball bearing; 11 - suspension arm; 12 - subframe; 13 - front suspension arm silent block * For a car with ABS

7. The steering rack is attached to the subframe with two bolts (Fig. 4) - everything is also intuitively simple there.

eight.Next, I disconnected the tubes from the steering rack. There is a holder for these tubes with a thin 5.5 bolt, accidentally broke the bolt :-(, removed the holder. Then a 10 bolt that holds the tube fastening plate. Pulled out the tubes, power steering fluid flowed, sent it to a previously prepared container.
Pulled out the steering rack.

It seems like now everything is very simple, but in the end it was done for a week, not a quick quiet work of about 13-17 hours.

It seems to me that I have a lack of lubrication - the cause of the knock. This is the lubrication of the rail itself (not the steering shaft, as they eliminate the knock on the Mazda 6):

“Pro tip for knocking out 2007 corolla racks. As I have already introduced myself on the pages of this forum, our company has been operating them since autumn 2007. The knock appeared somewhere after 50 thousand mileage and not in all cars. We found out the reason, at the manufacturer they save lubricant, which is quickly produced and the WORM - GEAR RACK assembly begins to knock. You just need to lubricate. There are two options: you can remove the anthers of the steering rods, alternately extend the gear rack from each side, lubricate abundantly and stuff the anthers with the same grease to assemble everything again. Cons - the problem node is located in the central part of the rail and is not lubricated immediately, but after some time of work with the rail back and forth. We did it differently: a hole is drilled in the body at the node itself, a thread is cut and a grease fitting is screwed in for injection. Pros: the assembly is lubricated immediately and the knock instantly disappears, from the center, when injecting, the lubricant diverges to the sides and lubricates the gear rack along the entire length, with periodic injection, the rail becomes almost eternal. Another tip: it is better to take lubricant with the addition of graphite.”

I’m thinking of an easier way to push lubricants in there: through the anthers, through the nut-rusk-spring (I heard the opinion that if you completely unscrew the nut, you will have to remove the rail to put everything back in place), or by drilling (I would not want to).
Who thinks about this?

Bought Castrol LMX grease for this purpose. As the weather warms up, I'm going to look into it.
Photos are not mine.

Focus steering rack repair has a number of specific features. Let's start with the fact that generations of Focuses succeeded each other along with the design of the steering rack.

Unites all generations steering rack Focus one is a problem with a cracker.

Rusk in Steering Rack Focus needed to stabilize the rack shaft from vertical movements and at the same time clamp the teeth. The shaft-rail in an ideal rail should move only along its axis (to the left or right in the direction of the car), but nothing else. A malfunction in which the shaft-rail begins to hang up and down is caused by wear on the crankcase of the cracker and the cracker itself, or the plastic plug of the cracker is squeezed out.

Unfortunately, in Focus steering racks the cracker itself and its plug are made of plastic, and steering racks with a plastic cracker are primarily affected by this malfunction.

If soft plastic cracker steering rack Focus is worn out, or for some reason the thread on the plug of the cracker has been torn off, this will inevitably lead to knocks and backlash in the steering.

Plastic plug for crackers Focus steering racks after adjustment at the factory is planted on the glue. Sometimes Ford Focus owners try to adjust the steering rack by twisting the cracker plug. This is mistake! Never cut off a glued plug. Tighten it out only for a very short time. After that, it will fall out and the rail will knock even harder.

The same can happen if the tie rods are not professionally replaced or repair steering rack Focus. In this case, the cracker also squeezes out if, when unscrewing / tightening the steering rods on the car, an excess torque is applied to the shaft rack. For information on how to properly screw the rods, read the note:

At Hydrolab, at Focus steering rack repair you will be offered to replace the plastic plugs with the same metal ones.

After such a replacement, the steering rack of a Ford car ceases to be disposable and becomes reliable.

Gidrolab uses its proprietary method to eliminate knocks and backlash caused by wear on the crankcase. This problem is fixed once and for all.

In addition to cracker malfunctions, Focus steering racks are characterized by a number of others. These are backlashes in the right bushing of the rack shaft.

At focus steering rack repair Gidrolab uses its technology to refine the bushings and guarantees the complete absence of backlash and knocks in them. In this case, machine work is used and Japanese materials are used.

Next, we will briefly talk about the special malfunctions of steering racks Focus of different generations.

The steering racks on the first generation Ford Focus are made quite reliably. Only severe abuse, such as driving with a torn boot, will cause these racks to break. It should also be noted that TRW steering racks were installed on some of the cars, and Ford on others. TRW rails were more reliable.

On the second Ford Focus, all the problems are due to crackers, as was written earlier. But there are also such malfunctions as cylinder crankcase wear. The steering rack cylinder Focus wears out the rack-and-pinion piston most of all in the middle position. After wear to the limit value, the steering wheel begins to bite in the middle position. Sometimes this rack failure can be caused by unskilled repairs using the wrong piston rings. Piston ring material matters! Many materials wear aluminum very quickly.

At the third Focus, the rails are either hydraulic or electric. Repairing the steering rack Focus-3 is no different from repairing the steering rack on the Focus-2 if it is hydraulic. But the repair of the electric steering rack Focus-3 is quite complicated. However, most often the case is in the bushings, which Gidrolab can easily remake according to its technology. Our bushings last a very long time!

Gidrolab gives a 13 month unlimited mileage warranty.

Focus 1. There was a knock in the steering rack. Is it possible to adjust the bolt to eliminate it or is it not adjustable at all? Steering rack check:
Start moving, stop and again slowly and smoothly start moving by turning the steering wheel to the right. At the moment of releasing the clutch pedal or after a short period of time, a dull single knock may be heard. Knocking may not always occur.
Such a knock may be a defect.

ALL of these symptoms may disappear for a short time (a day or two) periodically. However, with the constant operation of the car, they progress and in the end begin to appear always and all at once.

As an option for self-diagnosis on the go - I easily heard them, driving at a snail's pace into the yard - in this case, an unpleasant tinkling, creaking and tapping noise is heard from under the muzzle of the car (there is a complete feeling that there are no knocks and something is wrong). But before that, for about a couple of weeks, I noted all the symptoms in myself and began to pay close attention to them at every opportunity.
- if you lift the car onto a lift, then it’s enough to pull the steering rod - it dangled from me like a spoon in a glass.

CONCLUSIONS:
The smooth but fast dying of reiki DOES NOT ALWAYS feel like reiki!
Extraneous sounds (creaking, knocking, etc.) when driving a car MAY BE exactly a sign of a rail failure!
In Phi Se, no one says that this is how it should be - the diagnosis was made immediately and finally. By the way, when asked about the restored rails for replacement, it was firmly stated to me that ONLY NEW spare parts are installed UNDER THE WARRANTY!
P.S. A slight knock when turning the steering wheel left and right on a stationary running car is really the norm - as is a single knock in the extreme left-right position (all the way). But it does not apply to those symptoms that I described.
P.P.S. The rail was replaced, the symptoms disappeared, the steering wheel became “clear”. The effect is obvious - positive.

Tip #1
Hello.steering rack can be adjusted, but you need a special key. they don’t do this on Ford, they say that the knock is normal, but the backlash is a replacement. I made the key myself, and slightly tightened the steering rack, until a certain point, the knock disappeared. As you can not say. You need to tighten by a millimeter, with a check with the steering wheel to the left, right, so as not to bite the rail.

Tip #2
I have a focus-2 restyling 1.8 mileage of 30 thousand. The rake knocked from the new one, especially on bumps with a turn to the right, and judging by the forums, not a single one. All this is nonsense that this is the norm on Fords and it does not pull up. I don’t know about others, but I have no special skills. You don't need a key and everything is easy to tighten. Now it's better than the new one. I think that all 2 focuses have the same system.

Tip #4
Hello, the steering wheel needs to be rocked with the engine turned off, and if there is no knock at the same time, then you still need to check the ball joints. Jack up the wheel, take it with your hands and shake it well to the right and left. The backlash is well felt and visually visible where. After 20 thousand km, I was already in the Spaniard. I replaced the left one, and now after 30, the right one began to rumble when turning left.