Xantia - steering rack gaiter

[Jaf]

Hi guys. Picked up a new steering rack gaiter today. Citroen wanted 100Euro to fit it, which would be 3 or 4 hours. Seems excessive even though it is a power steering rack.

Have changed a few manual steering rack gaiters but not one on the fancy xantia so any tips would be appreciated. She's a lhd car and it's the passenger/ right hand gaiter with the power feed to it.

The steering feels fine, but am a bit concerned about all the driving on dirt roads. Anyone know if these racks hold up well to dust?

Thanks!

[citronut]

it must be the UK N/S gaiter then, the one at the end of the rack that the working end of the ram is attached to,

if this is the case you will be better of purchasing an aftermarket gaiter, as the OE type is thermo plastic and does not stretch,
to fit this type you need to dismantle the rack,

the aftermarket type is rubber and does stretch which you really really need it to,

[VertVega]

I had it done in mine just before a MOT and passed it but the gaiter became loose from one end after about one month.

Left side gaiter is very easy to change and I did it on my own. The right side the difficult side and I took the car to the garage. They used aftermarket gaiter as citronut mentioned above. First attempt resulted with a splited gaiter. Before the assembly they put the gaiter in a bucket of warm water for about 20-30 min. They did not remove the steering rack. Only front right tire and steering rack end from the hub.

Here is a pic showing both gaiters. Red nut must removed and move the gaiter patiently, slowly over the bolt end. Finally fix both ends of the gaiter. You can be sure that outer end will become loose after some full locks.



Edit: Above pic is for a LHD Xantia just make the things a bit easier for Jaf in Spain

[Jaf]

Thanks guys. I do have a spare universal gaiter so can use that if necessary. Might have a go tomorrow if the rain holds off.

[citronut]

i dont like the universal gaiters either, i prefer top buy the tailor fit aftermarket rubber type, and be aware one end is very slightly smaller that the other,
and you do need to get the right end the correct way/end, otherwise like VertVega say it will not stay put for long,

also VertVega
it is the left side ( viewed when sitting in the UK car ) that is the BBBB to fit not the right hand end, were the working end of the ram attache's to the spigot

the rack in the image above is a for a LHD car so in that case Mr VertVega would be correct

[VertVega]

I was looking for a pic where amount of stretch would be seen better and found one in FCF.
After horizontal flip of pic RHD Xantia became a LHD and I added some text on it.

Gaiter must stretch almost about the length of the longer arrow. Gaiter is 44 mm if remember correct.



Check also this thread where I copied the above picture. There are some other pics and
helpful tips there also ---> Update: Removing track rod from steering rack

[mirafioriman]

I've changed this on my car. Firstly I used an aftermarket gaitor. It went on but was useless as it wouldn't stay on the end of the rack. Then I bought one from Citroen. I managed to fit it without disassembling the rack although I had a period of time when I didn't think I was going to manage it. It's a while ago but as I remember I used a blunt screwdriver inside it as a lever to force it over.

Once I got it on it had a much better hold on the rack and has been ok.

[Jaf]

Well thanks for all the advice. Finally had a spare afternoon so got the gaiter on. Thought it would take an hour...it didn't, took 6!?! In the end used the universal gaiter as I couldn't stretch the citroen one. I used a 4 inch piece of copper tubing, cut a notch out to fit over the bolt, and flattened the rest. This meant I could slide/ stretch the gaiter upto the bolt and then poked it the rest of the way with a round-ended kitchen knife. I was not gentle in the end as it just wasn't going.

It remains to be seen how long it lasts! But if it goes again I least I know how to do it.

Spanner sizes: 16mm track rod end, 18mm steering ram bolt.

Thanks again.

[citronut]

Well thanks for all the advice. Finally had a spare afternoon so got the gaiter on. Thought it would take an hour...it didn't, took 6!?! In the end used the universal gaiter as I couldn't stretch the citroen one. I used a 4 inch piece of copper tubing, cut a notch out to fit over the bolt, and flattened the rest. This meant I could slide/ stretch the gaiter upto the bolt and then poked it the rest of the way with a round-ended kitchen knife. I was not gentle in the end as it just wasn't going.

It remains to be seen how long it lasts! But if it goes again I least I know how to do it.

Spanner sizes: 16mm track rod end, 18mm steering ram bolt.

Thanks again.

you have passed the initiation test

[Jaf]

Yeah! There's an upside!