Steering rack bellows replacement

[swindler]

Hi all

I have noticed a split in the bellows on one side of the steering rack - daft question but is there a shortcut way of replacing this? From a quick look it seems as though the track ends will have to come off thereby meaning i have to have the car aligned again :(

Mark

3.8 OTS 1964

[Simonpfhc]

Hi Mark,

When you remove and refit track rod ends, no re-alignment is required as nothing will have changed to the geometry. Track rods can only go back in exactly the same place as there were when they were removed.

However, you need to remove the track rods from the steering arm to fit the bellows - you would normally need to re-align after doing this. If you loosen the lock nut and then count how many revolutions it takes to remove the track rod end (and maybe mark where it was with tape before removal) and then carefully reverse the procedure to refit, you will not need to re-align.

By the way, you don’t need to remove the track rod end from the hub to do this. Just loosen the lock nut and then rotate the steering arm using some mole grips to remove it from the track rod end. Wrap the arm with an old chamois leather or other strong material to prevent scratching.

Hope this helps.

P.S. great to see that you have that ultra-rare ‘close ration’ gearbox

Cheers.

[swindler]

Thanks Simon that makes sense

(PS I have an 89 928 S4 as well - good combo!)

[Simonpfhc]

For the more discerning drivers