23- Steering

 
 
 
Thanks for your reply,
the closest repair center you may get in contact is our Service Organization
in US 

ZF Industries, Inc.
777 Hickory Hill Drive
Vernon Hills, Il 60061

Mr. Tim Corcoran.
E-mail: tim.corcoran@zf.com

Phone: (847) 634-3500
FAX: (847) 634-0736

> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: Wendy Wood & Carson Damm [SMTP:dammwood@incentre.net]
> Gesendet am: Donnerstag, 11. März 1999 22:52
> An: Utz Eberhard ZFF AI
> Betreff: Service request

> Thanks for your speedy reply, I had entered in the last field that I would
> like to know the closest repair center and the closest dealer where I
> could
> buy a new one. I fear that I may have reversed the part number and serial
> number on your electronic form below.

> Thank you, Carson Damm



Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 19:47:07 -0500
From: "B.D. & Petei Zelazny" <unltd-ltd@brooksdata.net>
Subject: Re: leaky 164 steering racks

> well, the stop leak dint work on my '92 164L's steering rack/hose leak,
what
> ever it is, it's too far gone.  anyway, i have one source for re-built
steering
> racks, but dint somebody have a source for racks w/a lifetime guarantee?
>

I cccconfess!! It was me.

Meridian Auto Parts
Racks, P.S. Pumps, CV. D. Axles and Steering Gear Boxes
800.874.1974



Hi Wendy,

Are you sure it's the pump?

Check out the pump-rack hose - it gets fried by the exhaust header and
starts to ooze (sometimes in dramatic quantities)

Check out my website for diagnois and repair.

Tony
1969 Beetle
1979 Alfetta 2000 (parting out)
1985 Alfa 90 2.5i
The Alfa 90 page http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/7709



I asked if anybody had the udated white power steering resovoir over the brown one.

My '88 3.0 has a white (or I should say was once white) reservoir, and
it has a filter in it.  I once inquired, and I understand that the
filter can be replacred.  I never have, and I do not know if this is
something that needs to be done every so often, or as you say only after
a rebuild or something.

Paul Begemann



Hi guys,

>From personal experience, this task is indeed a labor intensive one.  In
case you want to try it out, here's how:

1.  Remove road wheels
2.  Undo the tie rod ends from the spindle (use the correct tool, don't
hammer it out)
3.  Undo the motor mounts on the driver's side
4.  Undo the rear motor mounts
5.  On power steering cars, undo the banjo fittings for the hydraulic
lines to the power steering rack.
6.  Undo the steering knuckle splined fitting from the steering column
to the steering rack.  You may have to undo the steering column in the
car to allow enough movement to release the knuckle from the rack.  In
this case, wash your hands first as you're going into the interior.  No
point in getting your nice interior greasy.
7.  With a long extension, locate two of the four steering rack mounting
bolts on the driver's side and undo them.
8.  With a box-end/open end wrench, undo the remaining two passenger
side mounting bolts.  Helps if you have small hands with lots of torque.

Warning:  you can only muster 1/4 turns so be patient.
9.  Lift the engine on the driver's side.  Note that the body panel
cutouts are bigger on the driver's side than the passenger side.
10.  With a lot of patience, followed by muted cussing and swearing,
slowly wiggle the steering rack out through the cutouts on the driver's
side.  It will get hung up and stuck and you'll have to lift the engine
here and there to get the rack out.

Once the rack is out, take a moment to reflect on your achievement and
think about the process in reverse.  Also clean the steering rack tray
which is probably greasy, dirty and has extra bolts and washers hanging
out to be removed during such an operation.

Is it worth the labor charge for someone else to do it?

Absolutely.

Nizam

        Re: milano steering rack
   Date: 
        Fri, 12 May 2000 14:01:16 -0500
   From: 
        MCosgrove@bjservices.com
     To: 
        Carson Damm <dammwood@home.com>

Getting it down to 9 hours was as much "practice makes perfect" as anything
else.  In general I followed the RH,JR article but they made some mistakes,
like having you remove the downpipes from the exhaust (a real pain) instead
of loosening the engine mounts and raising the engine (much easier).  Also,
the access hole in the wheel well is too small to easily get the rack
through it.  They do recommend bending it a bit with vise grips to enlarge
it.  I learned the hard way to bend out, not in, as there is an indentation
in the channel the rack is attached to that an ear on the rack must drop
into.  If the metal is bent in, you can't pull the rack toward you enough
to rotate the ear into the indentation and line things up with the hole
properly.  First time out, that is what had me sitting on my haunches for
an hour or so staring into the wheel well cogitating (and cussing).

Are you faced with the job?  I can fax or send you the articles and an
exploded view of the rack that ZF sent me.

Mike

Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 10:11:24 -0800 (PST)
From: ethan schartman <eschartman@yahoo.com>
Subject: rack replacement ( was: RE: [alfa] Milano Power Steering)


>> From: "Spencer, Graham"
>>How involved is replacing the rack? Do I have to pull


>> the engine to replace, any special tools, is this
>> best left to an expert, etc.


funny you should ask. i just replaced my steering rack
two days ago. count on 5 hours minimum. you don't pull
the engine, but you do have to lift it up a bit.
here's the run down:

1) put front end on stands, remove front wheels.

2) disconnect tie rods from steering knuckles. if the
cotter pins are too rusty to come out cleanly they'll
shear right off when you put a wrench on the nut. jack
up the lower a-arm so that the tie rod is about level.
knock it loose with a heavy tapered punch and hammer.

3) remove the air intake box and both exhaust
manifolds. you do not need to remove the cat. just
disconnect the cat from the rear motor mount and the
two donuts holding the middle muffler. put rags in
down pipes to prevent nuts bolts from falling in.

4) unbolt the motor mounts. place jack (and a board to
avoid marring your sump) under the oil drain plug.
lift engine straight up about 2-3 inches.

5) clean the fittings on the rack with carb cleaner
and toothbrush. make sure no grease is left on or
around the banjo bolts. disconnect the banjo bolts and
cover the lines to keep dirt from falling in (i used
glove fingertips)

6) remove cotter pin from pinch bolt securing steering
column to rack. if it doesn't come out, just deform it
enough to get a wrench on it (13mm) - it'll shear off
with no problem. remove pinch bolt. spray liberally
with PB blaster.

7) now for the 4 bolts holding the rack to the
crossmember. on the driver's side the one on the front
side of the cross member is easy to remove with a
combination of a universal joint and extensions
(13mm). the rear one i was only really able to access
with a *short* (less than six inches long) 13mm wrench
by reaching up under the frame rail. on the passenger
side, the forward one is easily gotten with a
universal joint and extensions. for the rear one
clearance is tight up to the flywheel cover, and the
bolt is inside a channel so it's tough to bring a flat
combo wrench in from the back. if you have an offset
13mm box wrench, it might work. i removed it by using
a 13mm socket that has a unversal joint integrated
into it (craftsman). i plugged that into a 2 inch
extension plugged into a universal joint and then
about 24" of extentions. one hand turns the wrench
while the other keeps the universal joints in proper
alignment.

8) use a flat blade screwdriver to push the universal
joint of the steering column up off the input shaft to
the rack (it won't come off completely). jam the
screwdriver into the gap where the pinch bolt would be
and wiggle it back and forth rapidly while rotating
the rack forward (i.e. swing the bottom up and
forward) and puching it in toward the engine. it
should pop off with out too much difficulty.

9) once the rack is disconnected from the steering
column, rotate it on to it's side and pull it out
through the wheel well (there's only one way it'll
come out

10) before installing the new rack, clean the dirt and
grease away from the mounting holes in the cross
member. make sure there are plugs of some sort on the
fluid inputs to the new rack before stuffing it into
the car.

11) prep new rack by adjusting tie rods ends to
corresponding lengths on old rack (if recycling tie
rod ends, measure before removing)

12) when ready to mate the steering column to the rack
input shaft, clean out the splines of the shaft. mark
on the outside of the steering colmun clamp with a
permanent marker the exact location of the last spline
line this up with the corresponding edge of the smooth
part of the input shaft and slip them together. if the
clamp doesn't slide readily onto the shaft, rotate the
two of them together till the pinch bolt gap is up and
insert a screwdriver or flat bladed cold chisel ( you
don't want the object to interfere with the shaft's
movement) into the gap. wiggle the chisel back and
forth rapidly while rotating the bottom of the rack
back (opposite motion to removal) onto the cross
member.

13) the bango bolt on the hard line may be a problem
to line up, if so, put a pair of pliers on it and
twist it a bit as necessary to get it aligned
(obviously, don't do it too much)

14) the only other trick is to wire the spherical
exhaust joint and it's gasket to the manifold before
reinstalling and to make sure exhaust studs are not
caught inside the down pipes before tightening
everything down.

15) check and adjust toe as necessary (one full turn
of tie rod is about 3.5 or 3.6 mm - this number is in
the shop manual)

required tools: 13mm socket, shallow 13mm socket with
integrated universal joint (craftsman), universal
joint, 2" extension, extensions totaling about 24",
14mm socket and/or box wrench, 17mm and 19mm sockets,
13mm combo wrenchs with one less than 6" long, cold
chisel, flat bladed screwdrivers, pliers, heavy
tapered punch, hammer, 21 or 22mm (i think it's 22,
but double check) open ended wrenchs (need 2 or some
good quality adjustable wrenchs) for adjusting the
outer tie rod ends, jack and jack stands.

it's a labor intensive job, but doesn't require any
tools that you can't get at sears.

- -ethan schartman
- -87 milano gold (no more dripping rack!)
princeton, NJ

Date: Sat, 22 Jul 100 08:50:02 Central Daylight Time
From: Kevin Smith <kevin.smith12@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Milano P\S Pump Seals

Try Alfa Parts in Berkly (Sp?), CA.  They have a web site too.  Six
dollar part that will fix
you right up.
-- 
 



Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 19:32:27 -0700
From: "Ted Siverns" <tsiverns@lightspeed.ca>
Subject: Urethane Boots

I recently had to change a tie rod boot (164S but probably for many other
models) and discovered that this boot along with the ball joint boots is
the same as a VW Golf and Jetta. The colour is red (!)and the material
urethane. The cost for a kit of two was about Cdn. $20., # 12-5575 from Bugpack in Anaheim, CA.
 



Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 16:06:23 -0800 (PST)
From: Zamani Zambri <zzambrimail@yahoo.com>
Subject: Milano Power Steering pump seal

Hi Guys,

This matter was brought up a long time ago but I did not get a
definitive answer.

My Milano's power steering pump probably has leaking internal seals. I
was told this pump is the same as that on an Audi 5000 or 4000 series.
In fact it may have been used in older Volvos like the 240 or 244s.
Does anyone know where the internal seals can be bought from. ZF USA
has been unhelpful.

Thank you

Zamani

 



Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 15:12:54 -0000
   From: "andruzzo" <andruzzo@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Steering Rack Seals - ZF kit


Hi,

A couple of years ago, I visited a ZF distributor/retailer in Athens
Greece.  I picked up the seal kit for insurance purposes from them.
I still have it.  The ZF part Number is:

7830 633 007

I've also posted two pics under the "photos" link in the "ZF Power
Steering" folder.  There's A LOT of seals and O-rings...

Now how easily you can source this kit in the US or Canada, is
beyone me...I never tried.  But you may be able to get in contact
with ZF in Germany and order it....

dimitri


--- In alfa75@y..., cowfy@a... wrote:

> hi steve,i've tried to track a supplier for this part from our garage in
> brooklyn many times without succsess.it seems the big boys who sell rebuilt
> racks for unfair profit have fozen all others out.i would guess if you have
> the time to dismantle a rack and go through the oil retainers i wouldnt be
> suprised if certain volvo seals and or bmw seals would be applicable.
> cowfy
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 08:29:49 -0600
From: MCosgrove@bjservices.com
Subject: [alfa] Re: Milano power steering rack

Andy,

The rack is ZF rack and pinion power steering gear type 7830. I have an
exploded view of it sent me by ZF I can fax you or scan and e-mail. Also,
a contact I used for getting me help when my Verde rack was giving me fits
was Tam Nugyen at ZF of N. America, 777 Hickory Hill Drive, Vernon Hill,
IL 60061, phone (at the time, area codes change) 847 478-6765.

Mike


Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2005 07:53:12 -0800 (PST)
From: scott potter <twincamracing@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: power steering rack

Andy,

FWIW I’ve a power rack under my workbench needing a kit.

The ZF plate records two rows of numbers:
7830 955 105
080761 0486
I believe the lower row is the serial number and date
And the upper row denotes type
as the casting numbers share numerals:
Rack boss casting number left side (LHD) 7830 110
Pinion housing casting 7830 118
Between the numeric rows is the print “bar” which I believe is the
operating pressure and is denoted, in this case, with the letter “ Q ”

The rack housing measures 19 ¾” (~500mm) end to end and the rack
itself is approximately 25” (I didn’t remove the rod ends).

Perhaps these numbers will help your crossover search. Or if anyone
lives near a wholesale rebuilder then one could look through the
inventory and physically check for interchange. It is possible the rack
boss casting, where the pinion meets, is shared with other housings of
different length for different application.

I took the opportunity and set a ’79 Alfetta rack next to it for
comparison. It is a shorter body. With the mounting holes at the pinion
end aligned with the ZF rack the mounting bracket at the other end
doesn’t match the ZF. While it appears it could be made to work, it is
not a bolt in job.

Anyone have a price or availability of the ZF kit to rebuild a power
rack?

Cheers,
Scott

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