Has anyone used them for a rack and Pinion? I purchased one a week ago and other than them taking my money I can't get them to respond about shipping or anything else.

 

I ordered one (with servotronic) about 3 months ago. They took the money than about a week later refunded and said they were out of stock (I didn’t have to contact them, they sent an email on their own, mentioning they were returning the funds) Might have gotten more in stock since then.

As for the quality I’ve heard mixed reviews, decided to chance it but it didn’t work out.
Ended up buying a maval unit from parts geek, that’s been holding up good so far.

 

They finally contacted me by phone and stated they were our of stock but should have one in on Wednesday. I am very leary on what I will get and what kind of customer support I will get. I guess I will find out soon. I am going to give them till Thursday then will cancel

 

Well, the saga continues. I got mine. No orings. Got it installed and few issues. The rods that come out of the rack looked like someone took vice grips to them. The powder coating wiped off with a rag and the thing leaks and can't get anyone to return my email. I would say my call but they don't give you a number to call them. Stay away from them if you can.

 

So I finally got a hold of them. They are going to send me another rack but now I have to pay another 225 to get that one replaced!

 

Damn that sucks. Will they refund the $225 after they receive the first one back? Either way I’d just see about a return. I guess I lucked out when they didn’t have mine in stock.

 

they are replacing it but they will not refund the installation. They said that they would it out last Friday and I have yet to hear from them a a my car continues to leak even more than it did before

 

So I received another rack from the Rack Doctor and on the plus side does not leak. Now for the interesting part. My mechanic installed the rack and when he aligns everything the steering wheel is off by about a quarter turn. DO I have another bad rack or is there something that my mechanic is missing. I really don't want to pay another 250 to get another one installed. If the rack is bad, may be a stupid question, but can I take the steering wheel off and put it on straight?

 

I have realigned steering wheels in the past by doing this, with no I'll effects. As the shaft is splined there is plenty of gradual adjustment possible. Just be careful not to misalign any stalks/cancelling actions on the column assembly.

 

I've replaced racks in several Jags.

Success has been a hit-n-miss thing buying from online suppliers. Most recently the Maval unit I bought is good. I'm pretty sure that one of the duds I've gotten came from Rack Doctor.....but I'd need to look up part records to verify

However, racks I've bought from Coventry West have always been good.

Not shilling for CW. Just tossing it out there

Cheers
DD

 

The steering wheel is about 60 degrees off. My concern is the turn signal if I realign the wheel. Right now if I put the turn signal on and turn left it does not turn off automatically. Will that be fixed if I realign it

 

Don't forget you can also get adjustment/realignment at the splined joint on the actual steering column shaft. If my memory is right it's a sort of U joint, accessible from inside the car, just above the pedals.

 

Hi cdma,

Rebuilt racks are supposed to be re-centered by the rebuilder after the work is done, but I find that rebuilt racks from most rebuilders are often not properly centered. So before I install a rack, I pad the pinion shaft with a piece of old leather belt to protect the splines, and clamp a pair of Vice Grip/Mole Grip pliers to the shaft in the 12 o'clock position. I turn the shaft from lock-to-lock while counting the total number of turns. Then I turn it back exactly 1/2 the number of total turns and the rack is now close to centered. For example, if it takes 4-1/2 turns from lock-to-lock, I turn the shaft back 2-1/4 turns. Some racks have a centering hole on the housing into which you insert a drift punch, and when the rack is centered the punch drops into a hole in the rack gear.

Another tip I follow is, before disconnecting the steering column from the old rack, I use bungee cords to secure the steering wheel to the driver seat head rest support rods or other good attachment point, so the steering wheel cannot be accidentally turned so far in one direction that I don't know how to get it back to its original orientation.

The best solution for your situation is for your mechanic to pull the car into his garage straight, so he knows the wheels are oriented to move the car in a straight line, raise the car, disconnect the steering column from the rack, carefully turn the steering wheel to the straight position and reconnect the steering column. Then he needs to carefully turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock while listening for any signs that the clock spring is becoming overextended. If the wheel goes lock-to-lock with no issues, you're good. Test drive the car, and if the steering wheel is still off a little, he can repeat the process rotating the steering column just one or two splines relative to the pinion shaft.

Attempting to correct your issue by adjusting the outer tie rod ends asymmetrically will probably not work well, because the "dead center" position of the rack, where no power assist is applied in either the right or left direction, will not correspond with the center position of your steering wheel, and also, as you've discovered, the steering wheel won't be positioned correctly relative to the turn signal cancellation module.

P.S. Like Doug, I have found that rebuilt racks from Coventry West tend to be very well done. They've been doing it a long time and have a great track record. You'll probably pay more, but this is the kind of job you only want to have to do or pay for once, as you have learned the hard way.

Cheers,

Don

 

How much power steering fluid is in the system I recently had my rack and pinion steering changed and my fluid seems to be going somewhere unless it was that

 

Well, I thought I finally got a good rack the second time but it did not happen. So, my mechanic put in the second rack. It looked clean and after the install, which the only thing that was messed up was the steering wheel was 60 degrees off and we fixed it, I was happy. Well, I drove the car and realized that I had a case of the disappearing power steering fluid. After a long trip and 4 bottles later I went out and bought some fluorescent leak detector. I put it in and drove about 50 miles and brought it home. Jacked the car up and could not find where the leak was. I then took a look at the rack's boots and they were about to burst. I poked a pinhole in it and Old Faithful erupted. It was going into the boots. The seals must not have even been replaced. So I gave the Rack Doctor another chance and tried to call him and email him....not a peep. So I disputed the charge and at least got my money back.

If you are thinking of using them don't....at least for a Jag. You will be very disappointed. It is going to cost me for the three installs at about $250 apiece and another rack. Sucks! Should have gone to the Jag dealership and paid the 1K. Would have been ahead.

 

Hi Phil,

I have moved your latest posts to your original Rack Doctor thread so all the relevant info is in the same thread.

Cheers,

Don

 

Phil, perhaps you could also change the title to,
Rack Doctor, avoid these lying, cheating scum at all costs and buy a new genuine Jaguar rack instead. ?

 

I really don't think you can buy them new. They are all rebuilt. Just need to find someone that does a better job. Letting my mechanic get it this time. That way I am only paying one installation fee

 

I need rack, or line repairs also. New are still available. a mere 2500 US dollars.