Rack Rebuilding

Previously I had written about my woes with the rack and pinion on the Pulsar NX.  Since the rebuilt steering rack was leaking, I decided to address the leaks in the original rack myself.

The leak was coming from the input shaft at the pinion gear.  Luckily, the seals in this area were the easiest to access.  

After removing the top retaining clip I was able to remove the top cap and replace the top seal.

The rack tensioner was then removed along with the bottom cap and pinion retaining nut.

At this point the pinion was removed by pulling it out from the top.

To replace the lower seal, the lower pinion bearing must also be removed.  I used a blind puller to remove the bearing and subsequently the lower seal.

I then installed a new lower pinion seal and replaced the bearing using an appropriately sized socket to tap them both into place.  The pinion was then slid back into the rack housing and the tensioner was reinstalled.

The top cap and seal was put back into place and the retaining clip reinstalled.  A fresh set of bellows was installed and the rack was reinstalled into the car.

A vacuum bleeder was used to both purge the air from the system and test for leaks.  The reservoir was topped off and the system was tested.  After several test drives no leaks were found.  I now have to decide what to do with the rebuilt rack, but the ultimate goal of repairing the steering system on the car has been achieved.