Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2008 05:10:27 -0700
Reply-To: Phil Stanhope <surfmobile007@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Phil Stanhope <surfmobile007@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Rebuilding manual steering rack? (+ crossing the creek)
In-Reply-To: <32a001c89a8d$9d1a4570$6401a8c0@DJZL7KF1>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Yes they "last forever" but if you do something dumb
like install Conti Vanco 8 tires and drive around town
with them inflated to 55-65psi then you will prolly
have to buy another steering rack every 5
years.....(its what i did)
the combination of florida pot holes and Load range-D,
8-ply tires inflated to 65 psi are bad for manual
steering racks in my experience.....i'll be on my 3rd
used rack soon.....actually ill be buying rebuilt this
time.
BTW....Conti's can safely be inflated to 100 Psi, so
im not crazy, just nuts;)
Phil 84' Westy Tiico'ed in 02'
--- Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
wrote:
> Since manual steering racks are not 'basically weak'
> on vanagons, like
> usually they just last forever - a good used one
> sure seems like the
> 'indicated repair' to me.
>
> I think you're underestimating what goes into a real
> rebuld.
> I'm guessing that the strip everything down to the
> bare aluminum casting,
> The bare linear gear, and the other components, or
> many of them.
>
> Then they clean and carefully inspect each part,
> possibly making say 6 to 8
> good rebult units out of 10 cores turned in.
>
> And they build up each good and inspected part, plus
> new parts for those
> parts that wear, like seals, bushings, and bearings
> if there are any and
> build a as-good-as-new unit that way.
>
> To be a 'real rebuild' it would have to be more than
> clean it and slap in
> new end bushings.
> scott
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List
> [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> jbclem1
> Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 2:38 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Rebuilding manual steering rack? (+
> crossing the creek)
>
> In the past I used to see rebuilt manual racks from
> local rebuilders. Just
> now I googled it and found Bus Boys with one
> for $425.00 and Go Westy with one for $315.00. Both
> needed the core, of
> course. I asked the Bus Boys person what was
> included for the price, and he guessed "seals?". I
> suggested bushings and
> he thought that might be. I'm thinking $425
> is a hell of a price for a couple of bushings, plus
> a good clean job on the
> rack itself. Both these shops get them from
> an outside source, who probably has a $10/hr worker
> who does the job in 1-2
> hours. The bushings couldn't cost more than
> a few dollars apiece. Getting them out would be the
> hard part, I don't know
> if there is a clip holding them in place,
> or what. I'm going to have to find a local
> rebuilder (Los Angeles area) and
> see if they'll show me.
>
> John
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Scott Daniel - Shazam"
> <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 2:35 PM
> Subject: Re: Rebuilding manual steering rack? (+
> crossing the creek)
>
>
> A good used serviceable unit is always the most cost
> effective and easiest
> solution .
> You've seen rebuilt MANUAL steering racks ?
> Scott
> turbovans
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List
> [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> jbclem1
> Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 2:18 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Rebuilding manual steering rack? (+
> crossing the creek)
>
> I took another look at the steering rack. The
> passenger side arm (tube) has
> a flared section beginning about 3 inches
> from it's end. This would be the obvious place for
> a bushing/bearing. The
> play I mentioned is coming from inside this
> flared section and a thin screwdriver will go about
> 2 inches into the end of
> the tube/arm before encountering an
> obstruction. If I slide the thin screwdriver in
> right next to the shaft I
> can feel it slip into a space between the
> obstruction and the shaft, and it won't go in very
> far because it fills up
> this space. When that happens, the play that
> I mentioned...disappears. The wear gap is taken up
> by the screwdriver. This
> feels like a worn out bushing to me.
>
> This may be a rare event, as mentioned, but consider
> that for years this bus
> was driven everyday through a creek, 6
> months of the year there was water in the creek, and
> some years the engine
> would die in the middle of the creek and the
> bus would sit there for a while, sand-bearing creek
> water swirling around
> and over the steering rack and slipping into
> the steering rack boot and up into the tube,
> presumably wearing out this
> bushing.
>
> This happened regularly, as anyone trying to cross a
> creek (with 1-2ft
> water) in a water cooled vanagon would know...in
> 1 foot of water, the water readily splashes up the
> left side of the engine
> and the engine starts missing badly and
> sometimes shuts it off. I learned to hit the creek
> moving fast so when the
> engine shut off I would be able to coast
> partway up the ramp on the other side...creek was
> about 20 feet wide...then
> if lucky I would sit at a 30 degree slant
> with engine mostly out of the water idling on 2
> cylinders, waiting for the
> hot engine to evaporate the water and then
> start running on 4 cylinders again. This usually
> takes about 5 minutes.
>
> As an aside, my 1980 air cooled Westphalia would go
> through the same water
> without even coughing, it takes a lot more
> water to get up past the heater boxes to where it
> affects the running of the
> engine. I would just keep the revs up and
> go slowly through the creek (unless the bottom was
> real soft, in which case
> it was pedal to the floor!). My hardest
> crossing was with creek water splashing over the
> head lights (3 feet
> water?)...had to catch a plane to New Zealand.
> Amazing bus, this 1980.
>
> Back to rebuilding the manual steering rack...the
> reason I brought this up
> was that I've occasionally seen rebuilt ones
> offered for sale, so some shop(s) has found or
> manufactured the right size
> bushings. There can't be much else in there,
> seals and bushings. I was hoping someone had taken
> one apart and could
> give me some clues. As it stands, I'll
> probably look for a good used one, then after the
> replacement I'll be able
> to take the old one apart or at least try to
> pull the bushing with an inside type puller...then
> go find an equivalent
> sized bushing.
>
> Thanks everyone for the suggestions.
>
> John
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kenneth Wilford" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2008 8:27 AM
> Subject: Re: Rebuilding manual steering rack?
>
>
> > I've never heard of this problem although anything
> is possible as these
> > vans age. There are no rebuild parts available or
> listed in the ETKA
> > for the manual rack. Not sure if a new manual
> rack is available from
> > the dealer but my aftermarket sources are totally
> dry. So I guess it is
> > used rack or nothing.
> >
> > Ken Wilford
> > John 3:16
> > www.vanagain.com
> >
> > Scott Daniel - Shazam wrote:
> > > If it is the inner end of the tie rod that's
> shot, fine, that's a
> > > replaceable part.
> > > What I've found though, on one vanagon of mine,
> is
=== message truncated ===
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