The steering rack knocks: the causes and their elimination. Repair of steering wheels

The serviceability of the steering depends not only on the maneuverability of the car, but also on your safety. In some situations, losing control of a speeding machine can lead to irreparable consequences. After finding out the slightest changes in the behavior of the car or extraneous sounds emanating from the elements of the control system, you should immediately stop the movement and take measures to identify and eliminate faults. In this article, we will talk about the reasons for the knocking in the steering rack when turning the rudder, and the possible consequences of this phenomenon on the example of the VAZ-2109. Also we will try to understand how to diagnose a malfunction of the rack-and-pinion mechanism and fix it yourself.

Varieties of control systems

The steering structure of modern cars can be of two types:

• Worm;
• Rack and pinion.

The first to be equipped with almost all models of classic VAZ. It is called a worm because the main element of the mechanism here is the so-called worm, which is a kind of continuation of the shaft of the helm. It is in constant engagement with a roller fixed to the shaft of the bipod, which, in fact, transmits the force to the steering rods. This design allows you to turn the wheels to a large angle and perfectly suppress the shocks and vibration coming from the wheels.

Rack-and-pinion steering gears are equipped with front-drive VAZs of the Samara and Lada families. Their mechanism has a different design. Everything is a little simpler here. The end of the steering shaft is equipped with a pinion, which, pressing against a special rack, having teeth on the upper side, causes it to move in a horizontal direction. This design is simple, compact and highly reliable.

More information about the rack mechanism

At first glance, the device of the rack mechanism may seem rather complicated. If you take into account only the main parts of it, not counting the steering wheel and column, they will be more than twenty. The rake itself looks like a shaft half as large as it is.

On its upper part there are longitudinal teeth meshing with the drive gear. The rack is enclosed in an aluminum crankcase filled with special grease. Its central part has holes for fixing the inner tips of the steering rods. At this point the crankcase has a saw cut by a rubber anther. Inside, the rod is held in position by a support sleeve, usually made of PTFE. To adjust its mobility is a special stop.

As you can see, in reality, there is nothing complicated in the rack mechanism. If you understand what all the elements serve and how they work, you can maintain and repair it without any special problems.

Knocking in the steering rack

The steering rack of VAZs on average "nurses" up to 100 thousand km of run. Naturally, in normal operation. In some cases, it can fail much earlier. The main sign of the steering rack fault is a knock. It appears either with a sharp turn of the rudder, or with a strong twist, or when you hit a bump. Knocking in the rail may result from:

• Easing the tightening of the thrust nut;
• Easing of bolts of fastening of steering drafts;
• Natural wear of the rack or drive gear;
• Malfunction of the support bush;
• Wear of machine parts caused by rupture of anther.

Next, we'll look at each of the reasons in more detail, but first we'll figure out how to correctly and accurately diagnose the breakdown.

Troubleshooting

So, if you notice that the steering rack is knocking, you need to determine where exactly this knock comes from, and discard the malfunction variants of the chassis components of the car. Let's start with common points. Place the vehicle on a flat surface. Exit the cabin, open the hood. Start rotating the steering wheel to the right and left, unscrewing it until it stops. If during this process the steering rack is knocking, producing a characteristic sound with a sharp turn of the steering wheel, you can be sure, this is exactly it, and not shock absorbers and not SHRUS. For greater persuasiveness, ask the assistant to twist the control wheel, and put your palm on top of her crankcase. When the wheels are turned out, you will surely feel the vibration with your hand during this very knock. These signs are typical for the wear of the rack itself, the drive gear or the failure of the support sleeve. Similar symptoms can occur with a weak tightening of the stop nut.

If you do not show a knock when turning the wheels, pull the steering rods with your hands. If there is a problem, you will definitely find the appropriate play.

Loosening the tightening nut

Often, the steering rack knocks because of the weakening of the lock nut, which serves to adjust its movement inside the crankcase. The more it is tightened, the tighter the steering wheel will spin, and vice versa. In other words, the nut, released more than the required one, provokes the appearance of a backlash between the rod and the stop. He is the cause of the knock.

Check that the steering rack is knocking precisely for this reason, it is easy, but for this you will need a special octagonal key for 17. You can buy it in any autoshop. Now you need to find the location of the nut. And it is located on the bottom of the carter rack in the vicinity of the vacuum brake booster. Usually it is protected by a plastic or rubber cap, which will need to be removed. When this is done, try using the key to tighten the nut by turning it counter-clockwise. Normal tightening is considered when the nut is wrapped up to the stop, and then released to 24 degrees. This ensures a gap between it and the stop, equal to 12 mm.

Loose bolts of steering rods

Each steering rod is attached to the rail using a single bolt. They are on the front of it, roughly centered. To tighten these bolts, you will need a key (head) for 22, as well as a large slotted screwdriver. With the latter you will need to bend the sides of the plate, the locking heads. Simply tighten each of the bolts until it stops, checking by hand for the presence of play between the rods and the rack.

We disassemble the rail

Now we proceed to faults that can not be detected without dismantling the steering gear. If you removed the play between the rods and the rack, and between it and the stop, and the knock did not disappear, then you'll have to dismantle the whole device.

Repair of VAZ steering rails is not a complicated process. Once you disassemble it yourself, and immediately understand the principle of its operation. First, remove the rubber support located on the right side of the crankcase and remove the rubber boot. On the left side, you also need to remove the protective cap and support. With the octahedral key, unscrew the stop nut and knock out the stop.

Use a screwdriver to pry the rubber boot of the drive gear and remove it. Unscrew the bearing fixing nut with the "24" key. Remove the gear from the crankcase. After that, you can pull out the rake itself.

Wear

Pay attention to the state of the drive gear. Its teeth should not have any signs of mechanical damage.

If they are present, it needs to be changed. The same applies to the teeth of the slats. Attach a gear to it and observe how they get in gear. If wear and tear is present, the mechanism should be replaced. Repair of steering racks, implying their recovery, is possible, but hardly justified. If even I manage to do something, then for a little while. After a while, the fault will manifest itself.

If the mechanism is worn out, exit one is a new steering rack. The price of the spare parts is about 3500 rubles. Agree, this is not so expensive if it comes to safety.

Support sleeve

Is it OK with the rack and gear? Go ahead. We remove the fluoroplastic bushing from the crankcase. It is because of her most often knocks the steering rack VAZ-2109, or rather, because of its wear and tear. If it is worn out or deformed, immediately it is changed, since it is worth a penny. But it's best not to buy one of it, but a repair kit, which includes a stop with a nut and a spring, as well as a set of seals and gaskets. Replacing the bush and all these small elements, you get a fully working steering rack.

Anther rupture and wear of the mechanism

Rubber anther on the crankcase serves to protect the entire steering mechanism from dirt, dust and moisture. In addition, it prevents leakage from the crankcase lubricant. You probably heard the phrase "the steering rack is flowing". So, this lubricant flows through the torn dusting cap. Its damage will inevitably lead to premature failure of the control mechanism. In addition to that it will remain without lubrication, so also moisture with dust will seriously accelerate the wear process. Having found out that in your car the steering rack is flowing, immediately go to the store for a new anther. And do not forget to buy grease.