Vaz grant DIY repair steering rack

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

Lada cars are famous for their "sores", one of them is associated with the steering mechanism. A knock on the steering rack of a Lada Kalina, Granta or Priora may appear after the first thousand kilometers. Next, we will look at the main reasons for the appearance of this knock and how to eliminate them.

A knock when turning the steering wheel or when driving on uneven roads may come from the steering gear (rack). Most often, to eliminate it, it is enough to adjust (tighten) the steering rack using a special key.

If, after adjusting the steering mechanism, a knock remains, then you should pay attention to the steering shaft cross. To make sure of this, lift the car onto a lift and swing the steering wheel from side to side with one hand, and hold the steering universal joint with the other.

fastening the steering shaft Lada Granta, viburnum, prior

Image - Vaz Grant DIY repair steering rack

fastening the steering shaft Lada Granta, viburnum, prior

If the car has high mileage, then the steering rack may need to be repaired. Diagnostics in this case is quite simple, you should open the hood and grasp the steering rod with your hand in the area of its attachment to the rail. If you pull the steering rod up and down, then there should be no backlash.

Not always a knock when turning the steering wheel can be caused by the steering rack, sometimes extraneous noise is emitted by the electric power steering. Image - Vaz Grant DIY repair steering rack

The steering is that responsible mechanism, any malfunction of which will not allow the driver to continue to use the car. Any malfunction must be rectified as soon as possible.

The most popular model of the Russian company AvtoVAZ received rack and pinion steering. Structurally, the mechanism is quite reliable. But at the same time, one of the most common malfunctions is the knock on the Lada Grant steering rack.

If we talk in general about the steering mechanism of the Lada Grant, then its main characteristics and features should be noted.

Video (click to play).

The steering column provides the ability to adjust the tilt of the steering wheel. And the steering wheel itself has the ability to lock by installing an anti-rotation device associated with the ignition switch.
The steering gear is installed of a rack and pinion type, where it is possible to change the gear ratio in different operating modes.
The mechanism is mainly equipped with an electric power steering.
The electric amplifier is equipped with a unit that allows you to independently diagnose the technical condition of the device, and, if necessary, exclude the amplifier from operation.

The schematic diagram of the Lada Grant steering device is quite simple. The gear-rack mechanism is fixed in the engine compartment on a special shield through rubber mounts. The fastening reliability is ensured by the bolts welded to the body. Steering is provided via two separate tie rods that interact with the pivot arms of the front wheel struts.

The reliability of the gear pair engagement on one side is ensured by a special clearance set at the factory. On the other hand, the precision of the engagement is maintained by a spring stop, which presses the rack itself against the gear teeth.

The above clearance under normal conditions is 0.1 mm, but during operation it can be violated due to wear of individual parts. Thus, one of the main reasons why an extraneous knock appeared in the steering mechanism is a violation of the set gear gap.It should be noted that there are other malfunctions that can lead to an unpleasant knock in the car:

loosening the fastening of the steering rack itself on the mounting bolts;
loosening of the fastening in the ball joint of the steering rods;
wear or destruction of the teeth of the mechanical transmission.

If a knock still appears, then the owner of the car will have to dismantle the mechanism. This work is more convenient and faster to carry out when the vehicle is on the lift. To carry out the work, you will need the necessary tool, which in this case includes:

socket wrench or head with a knob for 13;
flat screwdriver;
durable knife;
special key 24 for the steering rack;
6 hexagon with a knob.

Before starting work, the battery is disconnected, thereby taking the necessary safety measures. At the initial stage, you must first loosen the front wheel bolts. The wheels themselves should be left in the "straight" position before lifting the vehicle onto the lift. Further, the propeller shaft of the steering wheel is disconnected from the drive gear shaft of the rack and pinion mechanism.

This work is carried out from the salon. Therefore, the car is not raised high. The swing arms can now be released by unscrewing them from the swing arms. And as soon as this work is done, you can begin to dismantle the steering mechanism. With a 13 key, unscrew the nuts of its fastening and remove the fastening clamps.

The steering gear is removed together with the disconnected steering rods. The next step in the repair work is to disassemble the removed device. Here it is necessary to free the steering rack from all protective covers that are put on the mechanism. To this end, cut off all fixing clamps, which will subsequently need to be replaced with new ones.

Before determining why there was a knock in the steering, you should disassemble the rack completely and diagnose for wear, destruction of component parts and connections. Disassembly is carried out in this order. Fix the steering rack in a vice, having previously taken care of installing gaskets made of soft metal or other material. Unscrew the nut securing the crankcase pipe of the mechanism. The crankcase tube is removed. Take out the fastening clips of the pipe bushings and remove them.

Unscrew the adjusting nut. Here you need to use a special key for 24, which has external edges for unscrewing. The spring of the rail stop, the O-ring and the rail stop are successively removed. Remove the crankcase cover. After removing the bearing cage and O-ring, remove the rack. Dismantle the second element of the steering mechanism pair - the pinion shaft.

Read also: DIY wheel arch repair

Now you can diagnose the condition of bearings, O-rings. After thorough cleaning, the wear of the toothed sectors, the condition of the surface of the rack and shaft are assessed. After all, it is here that the reason lies, which determines the knock that appears. If necessary, the necessary parts are selected and replaced.Before reassembly, all critical connections are lubricated with a special compound. Very often, it is precisely the insufficient amount of the inherent lubricant that leads to the rapid wear of the loaded parts, which violates the previously established gap. Therefore, even a recently installed rail knocks again.Assembling the steering gear is carried out in the reverse order. For correct and easy installation of the dismantled bearings, you should select the required cut pipe diameter, which will help to correctly install the bearings in place. The assembled steering gear is subject to mandatory adjustment, since the size of the gap can also determine whether a knock will occur after reinstallation.Before installing the rack with rods back, it is necessary to set the clearances of the gear connection.Keep in mind that it is better to replace the thrust nut with a new one immediately. Set the rack to the middle position, as if the wheels were straight. For adjustment, a special dial-type indicator mechanism is used. We start the rotation of the gear-shaft and measure the indicator readings.If the value is 0.05 mm, then the adjusting nut should be tightened by the same amount. After the adjustment of the steering rack is completed, check the ease and uniformity of movement along the entire length of the rack travel. Provided that everything is done accurately, the position of the adjusting nut should be fixed by performing a special punching with a punch. When all the work has been completed, you can proceed to the reverse installation of the steering mechanism on the Lada Granta.

General view of the steering

There are not many reasons for the failure of the steering rack, but you need to know them. Timely maintenance, as well as diagnostics of the unit can extend the life of the element.

Consider the main causes of steering rack malfunctions:

Deterioration of the elements that make up the rail.
Accident damage when a wheel is struck.
Other reasons that led to the fact that the rake began to leak.

All these reasons become the reason for repairing the steering assembly.

In order to repair the steering rack, you need to know its design and the elements that make up it. Consider the node design diagram:

Steering rack diagram

Steering rack details: 1 - rack bushing ring; 2 - support sleeve of the rail; 3 - steering gear housing; 4 - roller bearing; 5 - drive gear; 6 - ball bearing; 7 - retaining ring; 8 - protective washer; 9 - a sealing ring; 10 - bearing nut; 11 - lock washer; 12 - anther; 13 - rail; 14 - protective cap; 15 - rail stop; 16 - sealing ring; 17 - retaining ring; 18 - stop nut; 19 - clamp; 20 - protective cover; 21 - inner tip of the tie rod; 22 - connecting plate; 23 - lock plate; 24 - bolt for fastening the rod to the rail; A - a mark on the boot; B - mark on the crankcase