Can anyone help me. My mechanic tells me I need to replace the steering rack ends - is there another common name for this part/item

Kelvin - Brisbane

I'm guessing that this is Australian for Track rod ends, but then I asked some Australian on another board and he said that Track rod ends is also what they're called out there.

Can't think of what else he could have meant though but.

The steering rack ends logically could be the the actual track rods (ball joint+long rod inside the gaiter), but 'ends' normally refers to the track rod end ball joints

Ride_on wrote:The steering rack ends logically could be the the actual track rods (ball joint+long rod inside the gaiter), but 'ends' normally refers to the track rod end ball joints

Good thinking, that man. Though surely, unless they've been used for many years in a worn state and the buttons are worn through, replacing the nylon buttons alone would solve a problem at the inner end of the track rods?

I don't know what the 'buttons' are, but I'm not aware any parts of the inner ball joint can be replaced. I had one knackered once because the boot was split, dirt got in a ground the joint away.

you can replace the thing in one piece

on a PAS rack however, you'll have to take the entire rack apart and mount everything back with new o-rings etc.....

it's a good thing these things don't wear that quick

on a sidenote, at the passenger side of the rack there is a rubber bush. this bush can get a slight play that can be seen as a play in the joint but this isn't, this won't affect steering/handling in any way. if your car has a MOT fail on this; let the mechanic take the rubber boot off and do his test again so he will see the play is in the bush and not in the joint

Ride_on wrote:I don't know what the 'buttons' are, but I'm not aware any parts of the inner ball joint can be replaced. I had one knackered once because the boot was split, dirt got in a ground the joint away.

At the inner end of each track rod, there's a nylon button which takes the role of the female part of the joint, by splitting the rack at the end of the tube, these can be removed and replaced and are the usual source of wear at the inner end of the track rods in any similar rack. Most specialist bearing suppliers keep both of the sizes that cover most, if not all of the applications they'd be needed for.
Those, along with pinion thrust muffs are the most likely locations of play in racks, the bearing at the uppermost end iof the pinion is also a common one, Fiat 127 being just one of its alternative uses.

There y'are, now you do.

edited Sunday, 05/16/10:

Empi racks use nylon for the inner end buttons, as do Maval ones, but possibly some ZF and Quaife racks use Oillite-type bronze.