[DeTomaso] Steering Rack Rebuild - reassembly help

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/17/11 15 19 12, julian_kift at hotmail.com writes:


> However the tie rod balls seem floppy on the end of the rack and teh tie 
> rods won't stay horizointal under their own weight, so my question is how 
> much preload are the rod ends supposed to have? None of the rack rebuild 
> articles I came across mentioned how tight to do up the end nuts that hva ethe 
> spring laoded ball ends. I wonder if this is my problem, I could see 
> definite play whilst the rack was on the car.
> 

That's definitely the problem.   People take the racks apart and when they 
put them together, fail to tighten the tie rods enough, so that they flop 
around and there is in-and-out slop.

The best thing to do is to make note of where the peen marks are on the 
locking ring, both where it locks to the rack, and where it locks to the tie 
rod.   When you reassemble, try to ensure that everything lines up as it did 
before.

Failing that (for whatever reason), the next test is that the tie rods 
should move freely wherever you move them, without binding, but remain in 
position when you let go, i.e. not flop around.

Mike