Steering

Power Steering

Brakes and their relative components are always a plenty at scrapyards and well priced. Steering racks, pumps and steering boxes are usually the steering parts that get the most money for any scrapyard dealer, so expect to pay a little more for good steering parts and components

Don’t touch a steering rack if it has been involved in a front-end crash or collided with a pavement. You can’t be mistaken if you are viewing the vehicle at the scrap yard, the wheels will tell you a story by the way they are facing. If possible check if the steering wheel turns the front wheels ok.

If one comes off the shelf make sure the tie rod ends are not bent and the housing is not damaged. The steering shafts that travel up and down inside the steering rack housing are prone to leak very easily if anything is even slightly distorted. This is like measuring a piston with a mic, you can’t always see the fault with the naked eye.

If you do purchase a second hand steering rack and pinion have it checked by a professional brake and steering shop. They have specialise and have the right equipment to detect the slightest leak that will only become apparent once the steering rack is fitted, you will more than likely be buying into troubled waters, not to mention that you would be putting peoples lives at risk. A steering rack ior steering box is not an easy item to remove and refit although it may look easy, its not.

Steering racks, steering boxes and the pumps are a specialist field and best left to the guys that do this finiky job every day. I have tried reconditioning steering racks in my day with very little success. It’s pretty much like stripping 100 different gearboxes; it’s a whole new learning curve. My advice to anyone reading this, contact the experts that have been in the business half their lives like the pros at Brake and Steering, they will give you good sound advice and point you in the right direction. They also collect and deliver and are a nationwide setup.