anyone know how to remove the steering rack ?

[Banton27]

or is it possible to change the smaller pipes on the steering rack with the rack still in place? there seems to be some kind of clips holding in the pipe, not sure how to take them off. one side has the clips the other side is a bolt and a bracket holding the 2 pipes in.
(would put pics but not sure how)

[AstraFasta]

There are some UK videos on YouTube for the Astra MK 5 (or H) which might help.

Note a few different racks and brands were used in the Astra. Not sure what came to North America, but I do think there were also differences here between the XE and XR models.

[Banton27]

Thanks for the reply, yes i seen some on YouTube not very thorough all though useful, but all involve lowering or removing the upper frame , which i am really trying to avoid

[JFS]

Originally Posted by Banton27

Thanks for the reply, yes i seen some on YouTube not very thorough all though useful, but all involve lowering or removing the upper frame , which i am really trying to avoid

Have a look here, part 1 of 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZR6s147CdE

[tackepj]

Out of curiosity, I assume you're dealing with a leak? Did you find it in one of the lines? Had a leak about 18 months ago that I treated (not fixed) with stop-leak, but couldn't get a consensus from the mechanics on where it was leaking. One said pump, one said rack (in two places??). Frankly, I don't really put much faith in either...

Would be nice to do a permanent fix. In my case, the puddle was toward the firewall, underneath the reservoir / electric PS pump (near passenger side wheel).

[Banton27]

yes i have a leak, if you look at the rack itself there are 2 small lines that run from one side of the rack to the other, its leaking on the driver side of those lines right at the joint. i tried the stop leak but all the fluid leaked out in another day or so . maybe i should try another bottle??

did they give you a quote for pump or rack replacement ?

[tackepj]

I never got an exact number, sadly. The first shop (the pump diagnosis) wasn't confident in their diagnosis, to their credit, and they told me to take it to shop #2 without any charge. They said the rack was leaking "at both sides" (which I found odd, there was only one puddle), and the quote was north of $1200 if I remember correctly, largely labor as the cradle had to come out.

I was days from moving 600 miles to the east so I said screw it, put in most of a bottle of Lucas power steering fluid with stop leak, threw it on a trailer, and dragged it to our new house. That was about 18 months and 26,000 miles ago and there's been no reemergence of a leak. I did install an inline fuse and a switch because the fluid is way more viscous and the pump complains a bit in cold weather. I just shut it off in the winter and enjoy the upper-body workout. Truth is, the car has little wheels and it really isn't too bad, and driving in the snow is MUCH better.

I figure eventually my bodging will let go and I'll have to fix it for real, so it would be good to know if you're successful in line replacement. The car is worth so little at this point that a full rack replacement doesn't make a ton of sense.

[Banton27]

man, cars its always something!!! lol

the part i need is discontinued here, ordered it from gmpartsgiant and in 4 hours i got a refund, no explanation so i figure the part is out of stock too.
now trying other places.

actually took the part off, sanded it a little and put some epoxy , put new orings , closed it all up and guess what, ,still leaking from the same spot! so tired lol

[ProOpel]

Originally Posted by Banton27

man, cars its always something!!! lol

the part i need is discontinued here, ordered it from gmpartsgiant and in 4 hours i got a refund, no explanation so i figure the part is out of stock too.
now trying other places.

actually took the part off, sanded it a little and put some epoxy , put new orings , closed it all up and guess what, ,still leaking from the same spot! so tired lol

Dang! I feel you man I feel you lol. That's one of the things I don't like about modern cars. Such a pain to work on them always! No matter what they are, I don't care if it's a honda, it's still a literal pain!

[lrbraner]

Originally Posted by Banton27

man, cars its always something!!! lol

the part i need is discontinued here, ordered it from gmpartsgiant and in 4 hours i got a refund, no explanation so i figure the part is out of stock too.
now trying other places.

actually took the part off, sanded it a little and put some epoxy , put new orings , closed it all up and guess what, ,still leaking from the same spot! so tired lol

Would it be possible to cut the line at the leak and then use a compression tube to tube steel fitting the rejoin it ?

[Banton27]

Quick update !!

So not long after my last post, did some research and seen the part that was leaking on my astra could be replaced, its called a pipe kit part number 93189020, the part was discontinued in Canada, luckily I was able to find it on eBay. Also , I was able to replace with the rack still in place . To date , no leak. Knock on wood !!


Thanks for the replies !

[AstraFasta]

Thanks for that obscure part number. This will save some people a lot of time and money.

[tackepj]

Nice! Congrats on the repair. What exactly is in this kit? Noticed that it is listed as "with quick ratio"...wonder if this is only for the XR, or if it would work on the XE too?