Xantia Steering rack

[froggy]

Hi, my S1 Xantia, just passed MOT , advisory : wear on near side steering rack. I have never done this job, so my question is: will I need any special tools and how easy is the job ? thanks in advance Terry.

[Mandrake]

Watching this with interest...

[Stickyfinger]

wear on near side steering rack

what does that say the problem is ? in the rack, joints....not sure

[froggy]

Rack joints

[Stickyfinger]

So not the Rack itself then...?

[froggy]

It says , wear on steering rack joints' ( near side)

[KennyW]

You don't need special tools but first job would be to identify if the problem is the track rod end, play at the ball joint. If not play in inner track rod ball joint.

Both are easy to do.

Put car onto axel stands and with the help of a glamourous assistant ask them to move the steering wheel side to side

Outer track rod ball joint you will see movement, you can place your hand over the ball joint and feel the movement.

You can do the same for the inner joint where you may see movement but you will feel the movement with your hand.

I hope this helps.

Other members will add their comments.

Kenny

[froggy]

cheers ,thanks for the help, Terry.

[CitroJim]

The inner ballpoints can be replaced in-situ but they can be biblically tight and ideally need a special tool to grip them; a device a bit like a small chain wrench..

I've done them using a pair of very stout locking pliers but a suitable pair of 'mole grips' maybe with subtle modifications may do too..

Beware there are different sizes of inner joints depending upon model...

[Axa]

Does the rack on xantia got the same kind of steering gear adjustment as on C5? I had horizontal play that could be solved by tightening the rubber bushing that is pressing the rack against the pinion.. (After opening up and adding plenty of Teflon grease spray. .)

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[Mandrake]

Does the rack on xantia got the same kind of steering gear adjustment as on C5? I had horizontal play that could be solved by tightening the rubber bushing that is pressing the rack against the pinion.. (After opening up and adding plenty of Teflon grease spray. .)

Can you describe the symptoms you were seeing that made you search for the problem ?

On my Xantia I have a reasonably bad rattle/clonk that occurs if I hit potholes on the right hand wheel when steering sharp right. The noise comes from somewhere on the right hand side of the car. It happens to a lesser degree if I hit a pothole on the right wheel turning sharp left, also I have occasionally noticed it when hitting potholes on the left hand wheel while turning, but when I hit a pothole on the left wheel the noise still seems to come from the right hand side. (although that is difficult to judge) I feel the clonk as significant kickback on the steering wheel too.

I never get a clonk when driving straight ahead, no matter how bad the bumps are, only when steering on a relatively sharp angle. The clonk still occurs if taking a potholed corner while braking so I think that eliminates rattly brake calipers. It happens when accelerating around a corner too.

So far drop links and both track rod ends have been replaced with no improvement. The lower ball joint has been checked with a crowbar and shows no slack. We were unable to find any slack on the inner trackrod joints either.

One thing I notice is that if I rock the steering wheel side to side with the motor off (and thus no steering assistance) there is quite a noisy clonk. My thought is that there could be a problem with the mesh adjustment of the rack causing play between the rack and pinion, thus the clonk is actually the rack clonking on the pinion when hitting bumps around corners.

I asked in my blog where this was being discussed whether there was an adjustment for the pinion mesh as there is on some older cars (I'm sure the GS had a pinion mesh adjustment for example) but I didn't get any replies, so I assume nobody knows ?

Does anyone know if the mesh of the rack and pinion can be checked and adjusted on a Xantia and if so how feasible it is to check in-situ ?

[Axa]

The main symptoms I had was that the left tyre wore out faster then the right hand tyre.
It was a significant rattling to. But I don't remember if straight forward or in turns only.
When I noticed the tyre wear. I found out the left wheel had play in it when I had both front wheels of the ground. But the right hand wheel was fine.
(Lock the steering wheel with a cargo strap to a door handle or doorframe to cancel out the play in the steering lock.)
Since the outer tie rod joint was fine. I assumed the inner was the problem. Ordered 2 new ones just in case as weer keeping the car. When I opened up the inner joint looked brand new since its covered under the rubber boot. No play at all. But after some frustrating time I found out the end of the rack had vertical play when I forced it up and down. That was easier to feel when laying under the car to be able to use more force vertically by hand.




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[Axa]

Since both C5 and DS got this adjustment "plug" screw, Xantia most likely got it to. (If not I would like to know and how it is put together! )
Hers a photo. http://citroenakuten.com/viewtopic.php? ... 05#p441234 and also comments on that car mechanics can not always be trusted. Which can be costly for you.
As I remember it needed a 18mm allen bits. And good aerosol grease with a thin tube on to get it in all the way.


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[c.morewood]

I never get a clonk when driving straight ahead, no matter how bad the bumps are, only when steering on a relatively sharp angle. The clonk still occurs if taking a potholed corner while braking so I think that eliminates rattly brake calipers. It happens when accelerating around a corner too.

Simon, Check your rear wishbone bolts are tight. This is the symptom I've had when they've come loose or snapped through corrosion.. or possibly the bushes are on the way out.

[Mandrake]

Rear wishbone bush bolts have been checked, and the bushes look fine - certainly they are in much better shape that the rear bushes on my previous Xantia V6 which were pretty worn, and that car didn't have any clonks.