Do-it-yourself steering rack repair on a vaz 2108

In detail: do-it-yourself steering rack repair on a vaz 2108 from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

We will show you how to repair the steering rack with your own hands in VAZ 2109 21099 2108 cars. A VAZ 2108 car arrived at the auto service with complaints about a knock on the steering rack. The master replaced the repair kit for the first time on this car, despite this everything turned out very quickly, after the repair the knock problem disappeared.

The video is in good quality, the repair process is shown in as much detail as possible, all actions and spare parts are explained. If you decide to repair the steering rack yourself, this manual will be of great help to you.

Video of the repair and bulkhead of the steering rack in the VAZ 2109 21099 2108:

There is nothing particularly complicated in this repair, the only drawback of this manual is that it does not show how the steering rack is removed and installed.

In cars of the VAZ 2109 brand, the steering rack is responsible for controlling the rotation of the wheels, converting the rotation of the steering wheel into a translational movement of the steering rod. Wear or breakdown of parts leads to an increase in backlash, as a result of which the vehicle's handling deteriorates, the wear of automobile rubber from uncontrolled "yaw" increases, and the movement of the car itself becomes dangerous in multidirectional turns. The owner of a domestic passenger car will be able to repair the VAZ 2109 steering rack with his own hands, guided by this detailed instruction and the diagram of this unit.

The steering rack in a VAZ 2109 car has a simple design, which includes:

  • a toothed rack with two threaded holes for attaching the inner rod ends;
  • a drive gear with a splined shaft for connection to the steering clutch;
  • support half rings for smooth sliding;
  • stop mechanism that regulates the required design clearance of the gear pair;
  • a crankcase in which the parts are assembled and fixedly attached to the car body;
  • elements of sealing and protection against dust and dirt.
Video (click to play).

Symptoms of malfunctions in this control unit of a passenger car are:

  • knocking while making turns,
  • increased backlash,
  • tight rotation of the steering wheel,
  • wheel alignment problems.

Timely repair of the steering rack will eliminate all these faults and ensure the safety of driving.

To carry out repair work, you should purchase a repair kit, which, depending on the type of steering column malfunctions, may be incomplete or complete. An incomplete repair kit includes parts, disposable clamps and rubber products that require periodic replacement.

Image - Do-it-yourself steering rack repair on a vaz 2108

Repair kit steering rack VAZ 2108, 2109

In case of breakage or wear of the teeth and the ground surface, you will need to purchase a complete repair kit, which can include all parts, starting with a gear pair, needle and ball bearings, and ending with a pressure spring. This repair kit does not include only the crankcase.

You will also need a standard set of tools and a number of special fixtures and tools:

  • inner octagon 24 mm with a hole in the middle with a diameter of 18.5 mm;
  • octahedron 17 mm;
  • ball joint releaser;
  • puller for ball bearing;
  • key for removing the needle bearing;
  • needle-nose pliers for removing the bearing retaining ring;
  • locksmith vice;
  • "Fiol-1", "Litol-24" grease or similar lubricants that will not lose their fluidity at low temperatures.

To remove the steering rack, the VAZ 2109 car must be placed above the inspection pit to ensure free access to the front wheels and the engine compartment.

Then you should tighten the handbrake, rest the rear wheels, and put the front wheels straight. Raise the front wheels with a jack until they sag and support them. After that, unscrew the fastening nuts and remove the right wheel.

To access through the engine compartment, remove the air filter and disconnect the battery. All removable parts and fasteners must be put in a specially prepared container. This will ensure the safety of the parts and simplify the assembly process.

Steps for dismantling the steering rack:

After disassembly, the rubber elements should be inspected to determine their degree of wear. If they are not damaged and worn, they can be used again during assembly. Old parts should be replaced with new ones.

After that, you can disassemble the steering rack support mechanism:

  1. Using a 17 mm octagonal wrench, unscrew the stop nut that adjusts the clearance of the gear pair, then during assembly it should be tightened so that a guaranteed clearance of about 0.12 mm remains;
  2. Using a screwdriver, remove the retaining and sealing rings, the spring that presses the toothed rack through the stop to the gear and compensates for the appearance of a larger gap. The stop is removed when the crankcase is turned over with the hole down, if it does not fall out, you need to knock the crankcase on a wooden block clamped in a vice.

To disassemble the drive gear, again clamp the crankcase in a vice, removing the lock washer with an octagonal head 24 mm from it, and unscrew the bearing nut.

A 14 mm open-end wrench must be inserted into the grooves on the spline shank, choosing a support that is convenient in height, then, using a wrench, like a lever, pull the drive gear together with the bearing. The toothed rack can then be removed.

When disassembling the gear with needle-nose pliers, open and remove the circlip, and push the roller out of the bearing with a puller.

If there is no puller, insert the pinion shaft down into the vise with a small gap, while the bearing should rest on the cheeks of the vise. Knock the roller out of the bearing by lightly tapping on the end face.

Image - Do-it-yourself steering rack repair on a vaz 2108

Octagonal key for disassembling the stop mechanism

If there is no key for removing the needle bearing and it is not possible to pull it out with a hook, you need to make a hole in the crankcase opposite the bearing end with a drill with a section of 1.2 - 2.0 mm and push the bearing out with a regular nail. After assembly, the hole should be filled with epoxy glue or cold welded.

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If the wear of the working part of the steering rack is small, then it can be slightly tightened without complete disassembly, increasing its operational life by several tens of thousands of kilometers.

A 17 mm nut, which must be tightened, secures the steering shaft to the rack; to tighten the nut, you need to use a special wrench of the corresponding size. The process of adjusting the staff is as follows:

  1. Place the car above a viewing pit or on an overpass for easy access to the steering gear;
  2. Remove the crankcase protection;
  3. Clean the rail from dirt;
  4. Find the nut responsible for adjusting the mechanism;
  5. Tighten the nut;
  6. Check the resistance force by turning the steering wheel and, if necessary, tighten the nut more;
  7. Adjust the steering effort to the optimum.

Pulling up without completely disassembling will eliminate tapping and remove a little play. With badly worn parts of the steering rack, you will need to completely disassemble and buy a complete repair kit to replace the worn parts of this unit.

If such procedures did not affect the negative effect of tapping the steering rack, you will have to go further and check the steering tips and tie rods. Often the knocking occurs precisely in these parts of the mechanism.

Lugs and tie rods can also cause knocking.In this case, it will be necessary to fully tighten the fastening of the rods and tips to eliminate backlash.

Tightening the tips should be carried out taking into account the following features:

  • Firm fixation of the entire mechanism to prevent camber displacement;
  • When tightening to the stop, do not overtighten;
  • After the tip bolts, check the camber-convergence;
  • If the knocking persists, then the problem is in the inner part of the rack, or in the steering rods.

You should also check the condition of the anthers of the steering rack every 500 - 1000 km, taking into account the operating conditions of the car. Replacing the boot on a Russian car has to be done more often than on foreign cars.