GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/19/16 4:13 p.m.

Was cleaning up a steering rack assembly I plan to put in the AE92, as part of this I smeared a very light coat of ATF (the working fluid for this rack) on the exposed parts of the rack/piston and slowly turned the rack through its travel by attaching the proper U-joint to the pinion shaft. As I was doing this I noticed that maybe a teaspoon of old-looking fluid came out of the end of the rack body nearest the power piston. This means it has mad leakz right?

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy PowerDork
3/19/16 5:55 p.m.

Were the boots full? If the boots were on, and all you got was a teaspoon or so, that's pretty minor. Impossible to say til you get it under pressure.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/21/16 8:58 a.m.

Boots weren't full, there were no prior signs of leakage.

This is a tricky situation now...a pre-emptive rebuild would be expensive and risk causing further damage to the rack that could only be fixed with a full re-chroming and possibly even re-boring (which I would have to send it out of the country for). On the other hand, installing a rack into the car only to find that it's leaky would also be expensive and cost a lot of time.

I'm thinking a bench test might be worth it if I can find a local shop that does it.

Edit: 3rd option: I could install the rack in the car and try adding PS stop-leak if it's leaky. It'll turn the rack into a timebomb, but it could buy me some time and give me a performance advantage for a while if it works.

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