RE: Steering Rack Problems - Any experience?

[mikeandcarmen <mikeandcarmen@pdq.net>]

I think my '98 has the same problem (stock suspension & OEM tires).  Does 
yours feel like the tie rods are loose?

If your problem turns out to be the same as mine, I'm gonna be really pissed 
at my dealer because I brought it to them for this problem about 5 times.  The 
first few times, they said that they could not find a problem; then they 
replaced the struts & strut bearings.  I went back one final time before my 
warranty expired (no extended warranty), & a tech told me that it is normal 
for the steering in some VW's to feel like that after the car has some miles 
on it because of the rack bushings that VW uses.  He said that there was 
nothing wrong with the rack & the performance of the car was not affected.  
Therefore, VW would not make any repairs under warranty.  He went on to say 
that his own personal car had started to do the same thing.  I checked a 
friend's '98 GTI VR6 which has less miles than my car, & it did the same 
thing, but not nearly as bad.  Therefore, I concluded that it was normal & 
made plans to have rack bushings fabricated from delrin at some point in the 
future to resolve the problem.

My car now has 28,000 miles on it.  If it does turn out that my rack is bad, 
I'm probably gonna have to fight my dealer & VWOA to get it fixed because my 
car is out of warranty.

I wish I could give you some advise, but I'm getting shafted just like you.  I 
would appreciate it if you could keep me posted about your problem.  I'm 
interested to see if my dealership lied to me about the rack in order to keep 
from having to replace it under warranty.

Good luck!

Michael Keith
Pasadena, TX
'98 Jetta GLX
'85 Golf SCCA ITB
>===== Original Message From jettaglx@igtc.com =====
>Folks,
>
>The 97 GLX is having some steering rack problems.  It just feels like
>too much play in the steering.  Along with the play comes the
>occasional noise.  Went to my dealership and sure enough they say
>something is wrong with the rack.
>
>I'd appreciate hearing from anyone that has experienced steering rack
>problems.  The car only has 57000km on the clock!
>
>Here's the kicker.  The DSM says that my extended warranty rep *may*
>not cover the cost of any repairs/replacement of the rack due to the
>fact that I have H&R Coilovers installed.  I can't see how shocks and
>springs can affect the steering rack but I want to be prepared with
>ammo in case I have to go into battle.  Can someone point me to info
>indicating that VW will offer aftermarket springs as an accessory?
>
>Anyone have any other advice or words of encourangement?
>
>Cheers,
>
>----
>Jeff Newton