Steering rack mounting and wheel balance

[david.g.chapman]

Just discovered a marked improvement in my +2's sensitivity to front wheel imbalance. I had always tightened my steering rack bolts to "tight enough " using a standard spanner.

Looking at my rack the other day, I noticed red marking around the rack u-mounts - a sure sign of movement. I couldn't find a torque setting for the mounting nuts, so looked up the generic setting for unf nuts of that size - about 20 ft-lbs.

I applied my torque spanner to the nuts, and found I could tighten them about 1 extra turn, compressing the mountings further.

The effect has been to reduce steering wheel vibration at motorway speeds, so definitely worth checking if you have any balance issues.

Dave Chapman.

[Baggy2]

That's interesting. I have a bit of vibration around 70mph so I'll check it out next time I'm underneath.
Thanks

[Hawksfield]

Hi all
That sound feasible especially if the tie rods are at different lengths, it is important to adjust toe with movement to both tie rods
John

[Elanman99]

Obviously tie rods and tracking need to be correct, however the OP was refering to the clamps that hold the rack to the chassis.

The nuts on the rack clamps are meant to be tight so that the clamp metalwork is rigidly fastened to the chassis, the rack is then gripped in the rubber bushes, the fact that the red chassis paint (or maybe iron oxide) was visible indicates the clamps were loose and fretting on the chassis.

Ian