My 95 XJ6 steering rack is leaking and is ready for replacement. Have located parts OK. I am considerint doing the job myself. And I would like to hear from someone that has also done the job themself. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

EZDriver

1995 XJ6 2000 XK8

 

+1, one of ours is leaking too

 

Hi, it is easier than it looks.

1. jack the car up. remove the tie rod end from the hub carrier. it would be easy to do with a ball joint remover.
2. disconnect the 2 hoses, loosening the nuts. wait for the fluid coming out
3. disconnect the rack and lower column. you also have to disconnect the connector on the rack,.
4. loosen the rack mounting bolts. you only have to loosen 4 bolts

here is the pictures when i did it myself. all are written in japanese but the number on the picture is the same as the explanation above.

ƒWƒƒƒK�[X300�@ƒ�ƒ“ƒe�î•ñ�•ƒp�[ƒc”Ì”„�@�`ƒXƒeƒAƒŠƒ“ƒOƒ‰ƒbƒN’E’…�`

Simple as it sounds. But the nut on the hose might be a little hard to loosen. Please be careful when rack gets free. It is kind of heavy.

 

Hey,
I'm new here. I'm about to do the rack on my brother's 96 XJ6. Question- Do I need to flush the system or just refill it when all is said and done? Sorry if I sound stupid. This is a bit of new ground for me. Thanks!

 

Your pictures were very helpful, Japthug. I pulled the rack today - almost. I have one tie rod end that is very stubborn. Thanks very much!
I have learned to have a much bigger pan on hand for catching the PSF! Both boots were full of the stuff. My driveway is not going to thank me for this.
Incidentally, if anyone else was a bit confused about the blue circle in picture number three, it is the electrical connection. I removed it after dropping the rack a few inches, but be careful - there is not a lot of play in the wire! Try to remove it in the order Japthug says.

Andrew

 

Another tread on the same subject with additional information if it is helpful .

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...emoval-149198/

With the exchanging or refreshing of the PS fluid ( doesn't last forever and causes problems ) you can resolve the growling sound and I faintly recall that it softens up the seals for leaks ( transmission fluid trick may be another option ? )

There are shims you can install to resolve side to side sloop

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...es-diy-134396/

There are seal kits to rebuild your own stearing rack before buying a rebuilt one to save some bucks and shipping

http://forum.bmwland.ru/index.php?ac...=post&id=26967

Does an one have the specific ZF rack part numbers for the servo and non- servo versions to be able to source a o-ring rebuild kit or a whole rack from a BMW

 

A quick update: the rack I ordered from ebay arrived this morning, but it is the wrong one. Although the ebay post confirmed that the rack was a fit for the 1996 VDP, the unit I received did not have the electrical connection. It turns out there are two units, one with servotronic and one without. Make sure you order the right one! I got a Quality Rebuilders 20577 (no servo) when I needed the QR 20520 (servo). The A1 Cardone# 26-6001E also has the servo unit.

 

The steering rack fitted to X300's was ZF 7852-991-135,( Jag #MNA3891AB) the rack fitted to the XJR was 7852-991-138 (Jag #MNA3891BB) Note these are ZF numbers. The XJR & XJ Sport rack has a quicker ratio, otherwise the same.
The number together with the Jag number will be on the plate just to the left of the pinion gear on a RH drive rack.
Seal kit numbers are ZF 7852-633-024, British Parts X11968, Auto Parts(UK) AS11968.
Good luck trying to fit a BMW rack, only similarity is the 7852 number which refers to the basic ZF design, which yes is fitted to many BMW's.

John Herbert
1996 Jaguar XJR

 

Maybe helpful infprmation :

champaign777 and others,

I just saw something interesting in the Volvo forum and I thought I would share.

Most steering rack leaks occur at the outer O-ring/seal, thus fluid coming out of the protective boot ---> on the garage floor. It virtually never leaks at the pinion end.

Of course the proper way is to remove the Steering Rack and rebuild it from scratch or pay big bucks for a quality Steering Rack. But removing the steering rack from any car is a pain in the rear, not to mention the number of labor hours involved!

This Volvo person replaced ONLY the Outer O-rings/Seals using the rebuild kit ($47) without removing the Steering Rack from the car.

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic...rack-leak-fix/

See also :


BMW E39 I6 528i 525i 530i steering rack rebuild [Archive] - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

 

Does anyone know the specs on the nut the tie rod ends butt up against? I can't get the things off and I have a new unit due to arrive. I measured 9/16" major diameter with 18 threads per inch, but I have a feeling that it is metric despite the fact that a 7/8" wrench fits it perfectly. A 9/16" nut will only go on the shaft about half way.
I couldn't find the info in the ZF refit manual, although I notice what measurements are given are in metric.
Thanks for any illumination you can provide.

 

Suggest visit the hardware store and purchase a couple of different sizes and return what's not needed . Most likely it is metric . One of the smaller propane torches would work to get the old one off or let it soak overnight with a bolt / nut penetrating spray oil . The larger the crescent wrinch if used the better the engagement grip before it slips around the nut square points . You can insert the crescent wrench into a pipe ( sometimes you have to smash it into a oval ) to extend the moment arm or if using a specific sized open end wrench you can engage a second wrench ( open or box ) into the first ones free end . You'll have to play with it in free air before crawling under . Beware you have to apply force in a narrow radial axis angle for it will slip off and smash your knuckles so use gloves . You can also use a 2 x 4 90 degrees from the wrench for a larger moment arm .

 

A 7/8" SAE spanner will indeed fit your tie rod end adjusting nut but strictly speaking it is metric 22mm.
There should be a suitable flat on your inner tie rod to take a 13mm spanner to hold the inner tie rod secure & loosen the 22mm nut.
Seems some muscle required.

John Herbert
1996 Jaguar XJR

 

Just in case this may be of use to anyone else out there, I thought I would let everyone know that the nut that the tie rod ends snug up against is a 14 x 1.5 metric. Since I have to send the leaky ZF rack back as a core, I decided that enough was enough. After heating, soaking with penetrant, and applying hellacious force, I thought buying two nuts for a couple of bucks was well worth it. I'll let the rebuilders worry about removing the frozen nuts.
Now to twiddle my thumbs until the new unit arrives.

 

Dude , couldn't resist . No harm intended .

 

In case some other poor sod is keeping an eye on this thread, I thought I would offer a few concluding comments on the saga of replacing the rack on my VDP. The proper part arrived, but without the servo unit attached (despite the ebay post stipulating a Complete unit). I am told that this is common, but I had no idea. This cube shaped servo unit is an odd one. It has two diagonally opposite Torx screws securing the top plate of the servo to the main unit and two Allen key screws at the opposite diagonal corners though the whole unit to the rack itself. One of the securing fasteners came out smoothly, but the other stripped and necessitated a trip to the pros to remove it. Tiny, tiny Allen key fasteners in this context seem an odd choice.
Fortunately, I was waiting for the box to return the core, otherwise I would have shipped back the core with the servo unit attached. Lordy be, that would have been awful.
The reinstall was just as easy as Japthug's posts makes it look, but be very careful attaching those hydraulic lines - my rack was shipped with grisly warnings about professional mechanics destroying these threads. Carefully counting the turns of the splined shaft stop to stop (and halving them) enabled me to centre the rack before install, with only a slight adjustment necessary to ensure the steering wheel was centred when attaching the splined shaft on the rack to the steering mechanism. Having counted the turns necessary to remove the tie rod ends from the faulty rack, it was simple to reinstall them. (Incidentally, the new rack came with the nuts I had all that trouble with earlier.) I made a one turn adjustment at one end to do an eyeball alignment, but have an appt to have the pros do a proper job.
Thanks to all for the help and advice along the way.

 

Thanks for the tips all , I my need them later

Thanks , Parker