C5 X7 Steering Rack - Again!

[bobins]

"And on the conveyor belt tonight we have...... some pictures of a dirty old pinion shaft housing taken earlier"

Pinion housing 5 - own work

Pinion housing 6 - own work

Pinion housing 10 - own work

Pinion housing 11 - own work

Pinion housing 14 - own work

Pinion housing 15 - own work

[Sloppysod]

"And on the conveyor belt tonight we have...... some pictures of a dirty old pinion shaft housing taken earlier"
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Hi Bobins, as you have the rack apart could please take a photo of the shaft side on?

Cheers

Where's the cuddly toy or did Anthea forget it!!

[Gibbo2286]

How about rigging a tube to blow air from the heater/ventilation system onto the shaft......keep it dry.

[bobins]

"And on the conveyor belt tonight we have...... some pictures of a dirty old pinion shaft housing taken earlier"

Hi Bobins, as you have the rack apart could please take a photo of the shaft side on?

Cheers

Where's the cuddly toy or did Anthea forget it!!

shaft 16 - own work

shaft 17 - own work

shaft 18 - own work

shaft 19 - own work

shaft 20 - own work

Anthea's cuddly toy - own work

[GiveMeABreak]

"Didn't he do well"!

[white exec]

Slice off...

Round file away the thin rib...

Remains of the lump will help keep gaiter - and a clip - in place.

Just an idea.
Thanks for posting all the extra photos.

[Stickyfinger]

http://citroxa.rajce.idnes.cz/servo_c5_x7/

Modified method from a guy in Cz

[bobins]

I've just been cooking the pinion housing as per Xantia_v6's suggestion (lightly oiled housing served with a rich jus de la Fluide DA, in case anyone was wondering ) and the metal ring and oil seal came out relatively easily once cooked at gas mark 3 for 5-10 minutes. The OD of the metal ring and oil seal is 30mm, with the ID being 20mm. The oil seal is a single lip 5mm deep one. I think there'd easily be enough room for a two-lip (R23) seal in there.

[white exec]

http://citroxa.rajce.idnes.cz/servo_c5_x7/

Modified method from a guy in Cz

Certainly deals with The Lump!
Would have preferred to see a gaiter clip at the bottom, and a longer gaiter that protected the entire shaft.
Should have been built like this in the first place.

[Paul-R]

It also shows that LHD cars suffer the same as RHD cars.

[Sloppysod]

"And on the conveyor belt tonight we have...... some pictures of a dirty old pinion shaft housing taken earlier"

Hi Bobins, as you have the rack apart could please take a photo of the shaft side on?

Cheers

Where's the cuddly toy or did Anthea forget it!!

Good Cuddly toy
Thanks, you can actually see where the seal rubbed during its life, it is also nice to see the shaft diameter is smaller than the seal diameter, which will prevent damage during reassembly. However, I think we have been looking at the wrong cause, the seal rubbing surface is free from corrosion on the picture, if corrosion was at fault then surely the rubbing surface would be marked, I am thinking it is not corrosion but the seals perish due to them holding water in the recess on top of the housing. This also means, for future failures that just replacing the seal would be sufficient. Bobbins, are there any numbers on the seal?
I have looked at the boot I covered my shaft with and one side is dirtier than the other, the 'dirt' can easily been seen from the wheel arch and could be spray from the wheel when on the wheel is turned to the right.

[bobins]

If you look on picture "shaft 19" the clean part of the shaft 'within' the 8.43mm measurement is where the metal bush (the thing with the 3 holes in it in one of the previous pictures) sits, I think the oil seal sits on the rusty part to the right. I'll try and do some proper measurements later and see where everything sits.

[Sloppysod]

http://citroxa.rajce.idnes.cz/servo_c5_x7/

Modified method from a guy in Cz

He also uses a two cover approach, the 1st being a 'top hat' on the shaft covering the seal, the 2nd the expandable boot, I did think of a top hat type cover but decided not as I was afraid of a guey mess between the rim of a seal and the aluminum caseing, also I had nothing available to modify.
Yes I too would have thought a longer boot, but the length looks about right to sit between the rack and the floor donut and not over the donut.
I

[Stickyfinger]

Can I ask, what is the diameter of the housing/casting around where a boot would sit ?

Taken at the same level as the red arrow.

[bobins]

The diameter at the red arrow is 40mm. The internal diameter where the dust seal sits (blue arrow) is a good old fashioned inch.

Housing diameters - own work