xsara steering rack

baza · Post by **baza** » 11 Jan 2010, 16:46

skidding on ice and crashed into the curb and bent the bar where the tie rod end is.. just wondering how easy or hard it is to change the whole steering rack.. anybody changed one before. thanks

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 11 Jan 2010, 19:51

Not too sure on the Xsara, but if its similar to the Xantia, theres only 6 bolts holding the subframe on, but, dropping off the track rod ends, the feed and return pipes to the PAS ram, take the steering colum off the pinion valve, lower the subframe A LITTLE so the Pinion Valve can clear the body, and withdraw from the car..

Thats the BASIC PROCEDURE, NOT the exact, but should give you an idea.

There should be SET SPACERS between the Rack and its mounting on the Subframe, and MUST go back in the same place;s..

Regards
Paul

baza · Post by **baza** » 12 Jan 2010, 17:35

cheers paul thats gave me a bit more confidence to do it myself and its always nice to have someone elses knowledge.. thanks

Chlorate · Post by **Chlorate** » 12 Jan 2010, 17:58

The Citroen Xsara apparently shares the same running gear as the Citroen ZX (and other vehicles built on that platform).
Annoyingly there's absolutely no mention of the steering rack anywhere in the Citroen ZX Haynes manual (:roll:), although Paul's procedure should be enough to get you started.
There may be some differences between the Xantia and Xsara that could make it complicated.
Not entirely certain why you want to change the entire steering rack if all that is bent is the track rod...

But at least there are lots of options out if you want to pull something out of a scrap heap, or indeed ebay the part.

baza · Post by **baza** » 13 Jan 2010, 02:38

Hi Chlorate, i dont no anything about cars so i thought i would have to change the whole steering rack, so do you think i should only replace the bar and if so what is the proper name for it so i can get a price.. cheers

Chlorate · Post by **Chlorate** » 13 Jan 2010, 03:11

Actually I've very recently bought one.
You'll want a track rod and a track rod end.
The track rod end is the bit that attaches to the wheel and the track rod is the bar between the steering rack and the track rod end.
You'll often find people calling track rods "steering drumsticks" to avoid confusion.

If I recall, the track rod and end cost me in the region of £20 delivered. Depends on where you get them I guess.

A quick look on ebay has turned this up:
Citroen Xsara Power Steering Rack
Which seems like a bargain if you still want to go down that track. But the quality of the part isn't always guaranteed.

But if you do this yourself, you've got to make sure you get the tracking right.

I haven't got around to changing my own track rod yet, my car is still buried in snow

But I hope that helps.

-Alex

baza · Post by **baza** » 13 Jan 2010, 17:20

Hi Chlorate, i've found a place where they do the track rod for 25 quid, motosave didnt no what i were on about but got a track rod end for just over a fiver.. i cannot for the life of me get the old track rod bar from the steering rack, i dont no how to do it.. any ideas.? thanks

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 13 Jan 2010, 17:28

Yes,

PEEL Back the Steering rack BOOT on the appropiate side.. Cant remember if you actually said which side it was...

The drivers side needs the WHOLE boot peeling back were as the passenger side just needs the tiny rubber boot on the end of the track rod pulling back, then - and Ill get shouted at! With a pair of vice grips, undo the joint were the baal end is sitting in, that will unscrew off the end of the rack..

I then did them back up with grips again, its all I got to do it.. and the boot does cover it over again..

Ive had this panic 3 times now, twice on XM's and on a Xantia, were as the inner track rod baal joint has worn...

Paul

Chlorate · Post by **Chlorate** » 13 Jan 2010, 17:58

I was wondering how to do that as well.
Cheers Paul, that'll be most useful when I finally get around to doing it

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 13 Jan 2010, 18:03

Just had to do another last weekend on my 94 L Xantia, as the track rod end was SIEZED SOLID and I mean solid!! I even heated the track rod up to red hot and it still wouldn't shift, and I had MOT saturday, so my only other choice, I swapped the track rod arm off the P reg 1997 Rack Ive just removed... in the way I did above..

DO MAKE SURE that when you tighten up the inner track rod joint you tighten it up VERY TIGHT!!

Paul

Chlorate · Post by **Chlorate** » 13 Jan 2010, 18:18

Aah FT, one of the universal torque settings.
I was wondering how the Haynes manual expects people to do it up to 50Nm with a torque wrench...
Not that I own a torque wrench

baza · Post by **baza** » 14 Jan 2010, 18:01

Hi, could you check his link out, its photos of the steering rack.

if the link dont work search for [citroen xsara 1.4 HELP steering rack] on youtube without the brackets. thanks

Chlorate · Post by **Chlorate** » 15 Jan 2010, 13:16

I should imagine a new steering rack gaiter doesn't cost very much..

Just get a stanley knife on it if it's that stuck

baza · Post by **baza** » 18 Jan 2010, 23:20

cheers guys... i got it off and picking one up tomorrow.. 20 quid for the bar.!