Turbo Tie Rod & Steering Rack Rebuild

[Caledonian]

As mentioned in my A/C topic I wandered into "While I'm in there" territory with few outstanding jobs and some (Ironically) while I was in there

I bought the Turbo Tie rod kit some time ago with the intention of doing a rebuild on the steering rack and fitting them at the same time but never got round to it. Even though the car has just gone over the 300K mark the steering was fine! I got a fairly comprehensive history with the car but no records of any work to the rack etc. so I figured it would be in need of a re-grease at least.

I noticed one of the boots on the tie rods was split, on further inspection found the rubber bushes on the rack were worn too so as I had the fuel tank out for another job (and another post) it was a good time to get it done.https://www.flickr.com/photos/152710446@N03/shares/b24Y34 with the tank out access to the coupler in the smugglers box is way better and it helps with wiggling the rack in and out too.

There are plenty of posts on how to rebuild the rack and how simple and straightforward it is, having now done it I would have to agree so no need to go into loads of details but plenty of pics.....

After cleaning off all the 40 years of grime I pulled off one of rubber boots and to my surprise the grease/lubrication was still doing its job, there were no obvious signs of play, tight spots in the gearing or the bearings and even the puck had negligible wear. The bearings were sourced from the local bearing supplier for around $20, and as the original one were still serviceable I considered not even bothering to replace them.... but I did anyway.https://www.flickr.com/photos/152710446@N03/shares/amntoR

As usual, cleaning of all the parts consumes lots of time but the strip and rebuild of the rack did not take long and I marked everything so it went back the same way. The lower pinion bearing was a sealed type and I saw no reason to remove the seals, the needle upper bearing had a cage (the original did not) which meant you did not have to fiddle with rollers after fitment. The Turbo tie rod fitting instructions refer to a special Porsche thin 32mm spanner to tighten them to the rack, and their alternative was a pair of plumbers grips! I found that a 32mm viscous fan clutch spanner did the job just fine. https://www.flickr.com/photos/152710446@N03/shares/CEL6Xt

I measured the length of the old tie rods and adjusted the Turbo one to the same length, which should be good enough to get me to the wheel aligners. The steering wheel it now off but I have to have a look at my light switch as the high beam is occasionally coming on of its own accord (another job!!!)

If your going to do this job it is worth getting a spare circlip for the pinion bearing as it would be easy to lose on removal, also there is an o-ring at the top of the pinion under the yoke (ID 17mm x 3mm thick), on removing the rubber boots one of the retaining springs broke so I got 4 new ones as the Turbo tie rod instructions indicated the outer ones are different. You actually only need the inner boot retainers as the outer ones don't need any, they fit tightly over the rubber washer thingy on the Turbo tie rod. I refitted all the shims in the same way they came out.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/152710446@N03/shares/05m588

 

2 jobs done and a few more to go.

 

Forgot these pics.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/152710446@N03/shares/6t0E4Z

[Teutonic]

Also a bit of a "while you are down there" job, quaife do a really nice fairly easy to retro fit "quick rack" rack and pinion for these. sharpens up the steering a little. For memory main extra job was to machine the hole the pinion goes through a touch as it is slightly larger than stock. 

https://shop.quaife.co.uk/porsche-914-rhd-quaife-quick-rack-pinion-kit-2-5

[Caledonian]

Now you tell me!!!!!

Thats good value at that price too.

[Stew F]

I installed turbo tie rods on my SC a couple of years ago. Easy as, providing you loosen the big lock nuts. I watched a YouTube vid where this dude struggled like f"#% because he didn't back those nuts off.

As for the high beam, I did a diy on that a while back. You have to bend the contact plate ever so slightly.

[Caledonian]

Got the car back down on its wheels at the weekend,  and took her for a quick shake down drive around the block. It was too late on Saturday to get an alignment done, and as the steering/alignment  was only roughly set I didn't want to drive it too far.  Even in the short drive today to the wheel alignment shop, it steered and braked straight and so was the steering wheel. The print out showed the difference from side to side of 0.1mm!!!

Left 14.2mm

Right 14.1mm ? 

Anyway, after a decent drive the car felt great! I wouldn't say the Turbo Tie rods transformed the car, but it definitely felt crisper and more precise than before. I'll be able tell more once I go for a decent blast through some twisties?