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Hi folks, looking for some input / advice. Below is a picture of the steering rack in my 1999 Coupe which has 61k km (38k miles) on it. As you can see, there is some rust on it. This looks ugly on an otherwise clean undercarriage. The car has rarely seen rain in it's life, so I have some questions:
1) Any idea why this would happen and is it common?
2) Any suggestions on what to do with it? Simply paint it?
Last edited by HowardPurchase; Nov 16, 2015 at 09:19 PM.
mine with over 130k wasn't even close to that bad. maybe the rack was replaced with a refurbished unit that was never painted.
In order to remove the rack:
-get as much fluid as you can out of the reservoir with a turkey baster
-disconnect the steering shaft u-joint
-disconnect the tie rod ends
-unbolt the two bolts holding the rack to the cradle.
-disconnect the two hydraulic lines (be prepared for a mess)
-slightly drop the engine cradle
-pull the rack out from the drivers side wheel well
Probably not worth it for just a paint job. Cars get old. Things rust. I'd just live with it and drive the **** out of it.
I wouldn't remove it... I'd just sand it where it is, mask around it (from below and above), and spray bomb it to prevent major rust. I haven't looked up at mine but I am pretty darn sure it's not like that.
The refurb sounds right to me, PO's mechanic grabbed one from a junkyard.
Get yourself a wire brush and brush off what rust you can--no need to get it all. Then hit it with some rust converter. Hit the hydraulic line just below it too--looks like you have a little rust there too.
Hi folks, looking for some input / advice. Below is a picture of the steering rack in my 1999 Coupe which has 61k km (38k miles) on it. As you can see, there is some rust on it. This looks ugly on an otherwise clean undercarriage. The car has rarely seen rain in it's life, so I have some questions:
1) Any idea why this would happen and is it common?
2) Any suggestions on what to do with it? Simply paint it?
Do you, by some chance, live near an ocean? It looks like there's actually quite a bit of corrosion going on, the rack, the p/s fluid line below it, the sway bar, the radiator support....
If you do indeed live near salt water, I'd suggest you buy one of the car wash soap guns that the auto parts places sell, and then invest in a marine product called 'Salt Away', and give your undercarriage a good bath.
Thanks for all the input. I wondered too if the rack had been replaced, and that is entirely possible. But as leadfoot4 guessed, the car has lived very near the ocean pretty much it's entire life before I got it. So that may be it. However it was garaged all the time, so perhaps that just says something about the power of salt in the air. I don't live right next to the ocean (about 8km away at the closest point) and the car continues to be garaged all the time, so hopefully with huesmann's rust converter suggestion I can at least neutralize it. Will also consider Salt Away....and maybe a few cruises in the rain would help too. Thanks again everyone.
Thanks for all the input. I wondered too if the rack had been replaced, and that is entirely possible. But as leadfoot4 guessed, the car has lived very near the ocean pretty much it's entire life before I got it. So that may be it. However it was garaged all the time, so perhaps that just says something about the power of salt in the air. I don't live right next to the ocean (about 8km away at the closest point) and the car continues to be garaged all the time, so hopefully with huesmann's rust converter suggestion I can at least neutralize it. Will also consider Salt Away....and maybe a few cruises in the rain would help too. Thanks again everyone.
8KM... that's pretty much on the ocean. I'm about 400KM, that's not near the ocean. Your car is a prime candidate for some rust.
8KM... that's pretty much on the ocean. I'm about 400KM, that's not near the ocean. Your car is a prime candidate for some rust.
I agree, some rust is to be expected when living near the ocean. However, better 8km than 1km, and I suspect a large percentage of the world's Corvette population live in the vicinity of an ocean. Was hoping to hear from some of those folks to compare steering racks. Thanks again for the input everyone. Love this forum. You guys are great.
Rusty Steering Rack
