First up: USE TRESSLES!!!!!

Safety first. You do not want a 1 tonne car squashing you when you're crawling around underneath it. Please don't use a jack to hold the car up. Use tressles.



Stuff needed:

New steering rack
Tressles
New steering rack boots
New rack mounting rubbers
Steering universal joint bellows
Tie-rod ends, ball joints, etc if needed
13mm, 17mm, 19mm, 22mm and 28mm ring/flat spanners and sockets
Hammer
Soft metal drift
Vernier caliper


Optional extras:

Coca Cola
Sigarettes
Patience
A few choice words for getting the rack out of the car.....



First jack front of car up, remove front wheels and support with tressles.....





Remove the left and right ball joints. Some models have a 17mm nut and others a 19mm nut.











Remove the 3 bolts holding the gearshift mechanism to the steering rack. 13mm bolts.....





Remove the steering universal joint bellows by slicing with a Stanley knife blade.....or if yours is still OK just push it up and out the way.....





Centre the steering wheel and chock it in place with something. I used an old amp mounting rack between the seat and the steering wheel.....





With the bellows out the way, loosen and remove the 13mm bolt holding the universal joint to the rack.....





Remove the 4 nuts on the 2 clamps (2 on the left and 2 on the right) and gently knock out the front 2 bolts using the drift and hammer. By removing the front 2 bolts, it's easier to maneuver the rack to get it out.....









Remove the 2 clamps.....





Slide the universal joint upwards and off the steering rack. Then wiggle, push, pull, choice words, wiggle some more, more choice words to get the rack out towards the left front wheel.....








Admire the old and the new. I gave the new rack a few coats off matt black engine enamel.....





Take off the old mounting rubbers and put on new rubbers on the new rack. I have polyurethane mountings. Put them in when I done the motor swop.....







Pull the rack boots off the rack and be astounded by the sight of a Chernobyl-type nuclear waste.....454 000km's can do this to a steering rack!!!!!











Next, use the 22mm and 28mm ring/flat spanners to loosen the lock-nuts on the tie-rods. The lock-nut is 22mm and the ball joint is 28mm.....









Now you have to centralise the new rack. Use the vernier caliper and make sure both sides of the rack ends stick out an equal amount on both sides.....







Next set the vernier on 70,5mm.




Now screw the lock-nut and the rod ends onto the new rack. Use the vernier to make sure both side are the same distance fom the points shown. These measurements are from the Mk2 Haynes manual.
If your Mk2's ball joints, tie-rod ends, rubber boots etc are FUBAR, now is the time to replace with new stuff.







Stand back and admire your handiwork.....





Now for more choice words, wiggling, etc and......


VOILA.....






Started at 12:15pm.
Finished at 3:45pm.


Now take the car for wheel alignment.

Good job guy! Thanks for the help on this, i'm sure to be doing it soon and at least i won't have to translate that heynes manual


Can one of the mods make this a sticky?

Very well done.

Thanks mate.

Thanks guys.


I really appreciate the good comments

awesome DIY!!!!!!

Nice one dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow

Thanks Bruce.

Excellent!!
Printed out and in the file.
I need to do mine soon.
It gets stiff after a long drive.
Probably the heat from the motor.

GolfII GTi King wrote:Excellent!!
Printed out and in the file.
I need to do mine soon.
It gets stiff after a long drive.
Probably the heat from the motor.

Thanks mate


The Jetta's rack started going stiff a few weeks ago. When turning sharply to the left it was vey stiff. Hot or cold made no difference.