Steering rack love when replacing subframe?

[shoebear]

I plan to replace my Jetta's subframe in the next couple of weeks. While I'm in there, should I give any love to my steering rack? My steering is fine; I have no complaints. But I'd like to have whatever I need to do the job in one weekend once I start. My car has 390K miles.

I see in Bentley that the rack is both "not serviceable" but also takes special grease AOF 063 000 04. Is there a zerk on the rack? Can I use regular CV joint grease?

What about the rubber rack bushings (1J0422884A)? I would think I should replace them, at least.

Are there replaceable seals on the rack? How can I tell if the rack is bad and needs to be replaced?

What about the u-joint from steering column to rack?

I appreciate any insight/advice from those who have done this job. Thanks!

 

[braddies]

While you have the subframe out... A quicker ratio rack from an mk1 Audi TT is a beautiful upgrade. As far as everything else you asked I have no idea where the referenced grease would be used.
Go easy on the powersteer lines while pulling the Kframe, they like to leak when moved around too much, might be able to tie the rack up out of the way during surgery

 

[shoebear]

While you have the subframe out... A quicker ratio rack from an mk1 Audi TT is a beautiful upgrade. As far as everything else you asked I have no idea where the referenced grease would be used.
Go easy on the powersteer lines while pulling the Kframe, they like to leak when moved around too much, might be able to tie the rack up out of the way during surgery

Hmm, MK1 TT? Good idea - I'll give that some thought. Tying up the rack is a good idea also, but I have new lines to install anyway - my old lines are leaking. So I will be disconnecting the lines.

 

[snakeye]

While you have the subframe out... A quicker ratio rack from an mk1 Audi TT is a beautiful upgrade. As far as everything else you asked I have no idea where the referenced grease would be used.
Go easy on the powersteer lines while pulling the Kframe, they like to leak when moved around too much, might be able to tie the rack up out of the way during surgery

I will regret till the day I die not grabbing a genuine one from Cascade German while they still had them available.

I've never seen a worn steering rack mount before, but it's cheap, so I wouldn't really advise against replacing it on a 20 year old car.

Since you'll have access to the steering rack, it might be the best time to put two new complete tie rods on (get Lemforder), with the proper OEM style clamps on the boots. Doing this any other time is nearly impossible.

Inspect the hard lines on the rack before tackling the job. Judging by your location I assume they'll be fine, but they do rust and eventually fail in rust prone areas. Some places sell new ones.

For the subframe, take as many measurements as possible because you'll want to put it back into the exact same position it came off, otherwise you could run into hard to fix steering issues.

 

[Nuje]

For the subframe, take as many measurements as possible because you'll want to put it back into the exact same position it came off, otherwise you could run into hard to fix steering issues.

Or put the old bolts back in and bring in the new bolts to the alignment shop and tell them they can move the subframe to get it properly aligned then to install and properly torque the new bolts (assuming you have trust in the people doing the work).

 

[braddies]

spray painting around the perimeter before removing the rack can help with lining it back up.
there's a surprising amount of adjustment available though the movement appears minimal.
A tt front subframe will bolt right up and comes with stiffer bushings already installed, and can be pulled from donor car with steering rack still attached!
Feel obliged to mention...
if you find a nice donor car for a rack and subframe it probably has good control arms and spindles and sway bar and struts all attached too,
just zip-off the; upper strut mount nuts, power steering lines, interior u-joint bolt holding column to the rack, and the four subframe mount bolts. Drop the whole assembly and off ya go
take the brake lines regardless, take the calipers and rotors if you want the 312mm upgrade, if not use the 288 caliper/rotors from 1.8t models.

 

[Gvr]

I thought that putting in a faster steering rack on a mk4 causes esp issues, so beware of that. The steering rack bushing can be replaced but it may be hard to find the stock one. I replaced it with a red poly one..

 

[snakeye]

Or put the old bolts back in and bring in the new bolts to the alignment shop and tell them they can move the subframe to get it properly aligned then to install and properly torque the new bolts (assuming you have trust in the people doing the work).

That part in bold is where the problem lies. In my experience they'll just straight up tell you there's no adjustment to be made, and if everything is within specs then it's aligned. I've gotten tendinitis from my wagon that was "aligned" with everything in the green on the alignment sheet.

Best bet it to just put the subframe back exactly where it was, or align it yourself. There's someone on here who made some alignment guide pins to align the subframe. Actually I think he may have used the bolts themselves with a sleeve of some sort around the shank to eliminate the play and have everything line up perfectly.

 

[braddies]

That part in bold is where the problem lies. In my experience they'll just straight up tell you there's no adjustment to be made, and if everything is within specs then it's aligned. I've gotten tendinitis from my wagon that was "aligned" with everything in the green on the alignment sheet.

Best bet it to just put the subframe back exactly where it was, or align it yourself. There's someone on here who made some alignment guide pins to align the subframe. Actually I think he may have used the bolts themselves with a sleeve of some sort around the shank to eliminate the play and have everything line up perfectly.

If the subframe is way off they won't be able to get it "in the green" which is a lousy way to ballpark anyways, but hopefully there's still an alignment shop that will give out a printout with the measurements in fractions of degrees.
Cross camber and cross caster are getting moved around with kframe shifts, total available at each side shifts with the frame as well.
The tt control arms with slotted ball joint mounts allow quite a bit more wiggle room.. once you find an alignment shop/individual that will work with you when you talk about what you're goals are, tip them well.
You want to be able to move the frame around when you can't adjust much of anything on the rear axle beam.

 

[shoebear]

Well! I've had a busy day today and just checked the thread. Thanks for all the helpful hints!

A couple of notes:

• The rear subframe bolts are no longer available. There are still a few on eBay for $50+ each. I will check with my local dealer Monday on the off chance they they can still get them. If I can't get new ones, I'll reuse the old ones with threadlocker and tighten them "gutentight".
• Otherwise, all the bolts I will need cost $167 from idparts. !!
• There are no donor 1st Gen TTs available in Colorado Front Range u-pull yards. So that's not an option.

 

[Zak99b5]

spray painting around the perimeter before removing the rack can help with lining it back up.
there's a surprising amount of adjustment available though the movement appears minimal.
A tt front subframe will bolt right up and comes with stiffer bushings already installed, and can be pulled from donor car with steering rack still attached!
Feel obliged to mention...
if you find a nice donor car for a rack and subframe it probably has good control arms and spindles and sway bar and struts all attached too,
just zip-off the; upper strut mount nuts, power steering lines, interior u-joint bolt holding column to the rack, and the four subframe mount bolts. Drop the whole assembly and off ya go
take the brake lines regardless, take the calipers and rotors if you want the 312mm upgrade, if not use the 288 caliper/rotors from 1.8t models.

You’d also need 17” wheels to clear the TT ball joint, as it’s a bit lower than the Golf/Jetta one. I think certain 16”s can clear too, but not all.

 

[shoebear]

In luck! My local VW dealer has 4 of the rear subframe bolts in stock, and I have 2 reserved for pickup after work tomorrow. About $29 each, but better than $50.

 

[Prairieview]

I would also advise new tie rods now. I recently rebuilt a Jetta with 185,000 miles on it. I elected to slip in a 135,000 rack I had on hand. Everything seemed fine. I should have clamped the new rack into a vise to check tie rod play. I did not.

Once the car was assembled, I found that the passenger inner tie rod had more play than I could handle working with. Installing a new one went quite well, but, I was pessed that I had to spend more time on the car.

I never saw any grease zerk of any kind.

The universal joint should only go "bad" if salt was getting up into the link or if the bolt was loose for some reason.

 

[gmenounos]

If you search around, you can still find some vendors that have the rear subframe bolts in stock:

All 4 bolts: https://www.urotuning.com/products/subframe-stretch-bolt-kit-mk4-set-of-4-bolts

"NLA from VW, we had them special made to the same 10.9 hardness with zinc plating.": https://cascadegerman.com/product/subframe-bolt-mk4

https://kermatdi.com/i-1098-rear-subframe-bolt-mk4.html

 

[shoebear]

I would also advise new tie rods now...

I never saw any grease zerk of any kind.

The universal joint should only go "bad" if salt was getting up into the link or if the bolt was loose for some reason.

Thanks! I did replace the inner tie rods a couple of years ago, but it won't hurt to do so again. Also, I appreciate the response about a zerk and the u-joint - nobody else responded to those questions.

"NLA from VW, we had them special made to the same 10.9 hardness with zinc plating.": https://cascadegerman.com/product/subframe-bolt-mk4

As stocks run out, it sounds like Cascade might become the North American source for these.