I've got a leak between the pinion housing a rack. Is there any source for the gasket that goes there?

 

blueXK8ragtop located a complete set of seals. Check through his thread My Project or PM him.
RJ___________
97 XK8 86K mi

 

Thanks RJ I'll PM him. I don't really need a complete set I can't find any leaks other than between the pinion housing and the rack but if a set is all that's available then guess that's the way I'll have to go.

 

I've decided that since I've got to pull the unit anyway to even fix the leak between the rack and pinion I'm going to just rebuild it. I found a place online will do it and have it back to me in reasonable time frame. I could get a seal kit and do it myself but they give a 12 month warranty. Now I just have to get the unit off so I can ship it to them. I know Jaguar says to use their special tool to pop the tie rod ends but that tool is a high dollar item. I'm looking for a lower cost tool which I'm sure is available.

 

Found a tie rod tool @ Habor Freight for $17 (they call it a ball joint separator but it's the same tool) maybe not as fancy as the Jag specialty tool but sure as heck beats the $123 price.

 

Good day,

If you are going to send out the rack, take the inner tie rods off and send them just the rack; it is considerable shorter... They have to take the inner tie rods off anyways to rebuild it... Trust me! I tried to get the inner shaft out of the rack case and I couldn't without pulling the inner tie rod, which was a mute point as the rack wasn't rebuildable... Read the short section of "my project" towards the end where I pulled the rack apart... I used a big adjustable wrench... It helps if the rack was still bolted in the car to break them free... They are both normal threads and interchangeable...

Good luck!!

Cheers!!

 

I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what they suggest doing. I know the whole unit including outer tie rods is long but if I can't get them to separate. I may just bite the bullet on shipping and send the whole thing. I'm going to pull it tonight. I wish there was an easier way to take care of this since everything is working and the only leak I can see is between the rack and pinion.
I also have another choice this other company has rebuilt units that include inner, outer tie rods and boots and their cost is actually lower with a $100 core charge and includes a life time warranty. If I don't send them my old one the cost is not much different than the first company. Then I could have the original to rebuild later and have as a spare in case something happens in the future that wouldn't come under warranty.

 

Keeping it sounds like a good idea. You can always sell it if you don't keep the car.
RJ___________
97 XK8 86K mi

 

I decided to go with the completely re-manufactured one and will probably keep the original and rebuild it later and have as a spare. The new one comes complete with inner and outer tie rods and new boots with a life time warranty. It's ready to bolt in. Hopefully I'll have it this week and be back on the road again

 

That is the idea I would go with too... Additionally, I was thinking about what you were saying on where the leak is... This is not good as there shouldn't be any fluid there!! There are two essential parts that have fluid... The top part that connects to the steering shaft and the opposite end of the rack itself... The part right below the valve body, for the lack of a better name, is void of fluid and only holds the gears (pinion and racks)... Mine had some pretty clean thick grease... So, if you have a fluid leak here, yours is different than mine, or the valve body is leaking into the gear area...

Well, at least you are getting a replacement and you can tear into the original and rebuild it... Oh, if you can't rebuild yours and you wanted to get rid of it, I could use just the internal rod for my old one...

Cheers!!!

 

Like you say I'll find out what going on when I pull it tomorrow. It's hard to see what's going on with it in place. All I've been able to do is clean it all up then start the engine and then turn the wheels back and forth and see that I've got fluid appearing again in the place I've described. But I can't really see where it's actually coming from. All I know is the pressure hose and return hose go into that piece and it appears that fluid is leaking where it mounts to the housing that holds the rack and inner tie rod. I'll see when I get the unit out and take it apart.
One good thing is I'm getting a completely re-manufactured unit with all tie rods and new boots ready to bolt in place. This and the life time warranty really sold me on this deal. This deal even with me not sending the my old one back to them comes in at close the same price as the other company rebuilding mine.

 

Decided that while I'm at it I'll replace all the hoses too. It will be a much easier job with the rack out of the way.
Had a heck of a time getting the unit off of the steering shaft link finally got it loose using my ball joint pickle fork.

 

As mention in previous messages I decided to go with a remanufactured OEM unit. The guy I was dealing with didn't happen to have one on the shelf but contacted a friend who was in the same business and had his friend send me one of his. I am getting the same lifetime warranty and will be keeping my original as a spare to rebuild later on. I new one is an exact OEM unit that was in the car.
As I've said I decided to replace all 3 hoses also. I had to cut the old pressure and return hoses to get them out. Also the pressure hose is a little different than the original and is re-routed and actually much easier to install, but contrary to JTIS you do not get at the conection to the pump from the top. I used a crows foot to get the old one off from under the car and then after threading in the fitting by hand reaching up from under the car I finished tightening it with the same crows foot from above blindly by feeling to get wrench in place. As for the return hose to get to the slip fitting I had to remove the oil filter and ended up draining and discarding oil that I'd just put in 7 miles before doing this job. At least I can reuse the filter.
While I was under the car doing the rack job I noticed that both lower ball joint gaiters were damaged so this added some cost and time to the whole project. Jaguar and all the parts supplier I checked only supply the rear wishbone arm with the lower balljoint included as a package at around $650 per side. I managed to find eventually 2 places that have just the ball joint the one I chose cost me $49 each with free shipping. I had the old one pressed out and new one pressed in for $30.
These 2 jobs require 3 specialty tools one to remove the tie rod ends from the vertical link most suppliers want around $123 for this. I found one that's not as fancy but just as good at Harbor Freight for $17. The Quick Release tool to release the return hose from the line to the oil cooler I found for $24 with shipping, the 3rd tool was for removing the lower ball joint from the vertical link goes for around $350 at most specialty houses I found one for Mercedes that works for our cars for $56 with shipping.
I've got everything cleaned up now and will be putting it all back together so I can again enjoy the fun of driving this mean machine.
Prior to tackeling this project I did the rear brakes, the pads for this job was $77 with free shipping.
I also picked up a replacement wheel for my spare which had some serious damage to it. I found and almost perfect used one for $87 with free shipping.
As you can see by shopping around (spending a few hours on the internet) and doing the work youself you can save some really serious money.

 

Good job, enjoy driving the car now!

Can you post the details of the tools you found?

 

Sure, I'll compile the info giving the Jag ID and the ID of the tool I bought and the name of the people I got them from.
I'm busy right now, our son and family are arriving from Key West in about an hour.
I'll post later

 

These are the tools I found online to save money on this job.

Lower Ball Joint Splitter 211-098(JD100) Specialty Pricing $356. This is used to seperate Lower Ball Joint from the Vertical Link.
I found mine on Amazon for $49.99 + shipping from (Tools for the Trade). Says it's for Mercedes but is almost identical to the Jag tool and worked perfectly.

Ball Joint Taper Seperator 204-192(JD219) Specialty Pricing $123. This is used to seperate the Tie Rod End from the Vertical Link.
I found mine at (Harbor Freight) for $16.99 and it also worked perfectly.

The Quick Fit Connector Release Tool for seperating the Quick Fit Connection on the Power Steering Return Hose I found only at SPX Service Solutions online, price is $11.44 + shipping. They list it under Fuel System Special Tools but it is the same tool that releases the connection on the Power Steering Return Hose on our cars and also worked perfectly.