RE: Steering Rack Problems - Any experience?

[Jeff Newton <Jeff_Newton@pmc-sierra.com>]

Mike,

If I sit in the car will its running in neutral, and rock the wheel
back and forth, I hear faint clunking noises.  It doesn't feel like a
bushing problem to me.

In any case, I will keep you posted.

Cheers,

>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
>

----
Jeff Newton
Unix Systems Administrator
PMC-Sierra Inc.