240 power steering leak-scary quote!

Hi

I'm in Australia.

I've been quoted almost AU$1000 to have a leak in my 85 240 repaired.
The mechanic has advised he needs to replace the rack and boots. I
can get a guaranteed second hand rack from a wrecker for $150, and I'm
a reasonably proficient amateur spanner man. Is it a hard job to
replace the rack, boots etc? I don't own a manual yet, although if
the gods of eBay smile upon me in the next week or so I'll have one.

thanks in advance for any advice.

Steve

 

ZF or Camgear?
I found replacing the seals on a ZF fairly straighforward.

Replacing the rack is easy, but you'll have to have the wheels realigned

 

Not sure, sorry. How do I tell?

 

Manufacturing logo's on the casting? Or look at the servicelabel, ZF is
code 3, camgear 2. Repairprocedurers are given for all models in the
appropriate Volvo service manual 6 (64) Power steering

 

When you get the used rack, be sure to get the cups or brackets or standoffs
or whatever they are called the locate the rack and keep it off the cross
member. An aluminium block with a half circle the rack nests into with bolt
holes through.

Each rack manufacturer has a unique set of cups ... that fit under the rack
at the bolt down point.

Duane

 

The ZF has a giant "ZF" cast in it (opposite where the steering column
attaches, I think) while the Cam Gear version doesn't really say. IIRC the
dust boot on the ZF is quite a bit larger (diameter) than the Cam Gear boot.

Mike

 

The degree of difficulty is at the fairly advanced "intermediate"
level.

Jack up car.

Remove tires and wheels.

Unthread power steering hoses from rack.

Remove outer tie rod ends from mounting holes using tool ("pickle
fork").

Loosen the eight bolts on the four "U-bolt" devices used to affix the
rack to the car.

Then comes the one that always causes me the most problem: separate
the end of the steering shaft from the splined shaft of the rack.

Finally, fully loosen and remove the nuts on the U-bolts, and the rack
should come free.

 

If he is replacing the rack with a rebuilt one then that is a
reasonable price, at least in my area after converting AUD to my
currency.

If you buy a used rack for $150.00 it will likely be as old as yours,
have the same wear as yours and will probably be a candidate for
replacement because of leaking seals in the near future. So, yes you
could save a lot of money in the near term, if you were willing to
devote at least a weekend to replacing one used rack with another one
and doing a home realignment.

It is a job that most home mechanics could accomplish with the right
tools and a reasonably advanced level of knowlege.

My question would be why would you replace one worn out part with
another. If you want to do it at home at least buy a rebuilt rack
that will last you for a while. If it were me I would pay the
mechanic to do the job correctly in the first place and do something
else with a weekend.

 

You should be able to get a rack cheaper than that, a brand new one is
only about US$250. Yard near me has them for US$30.

Changing it is about a 2 hour job if you take your time. You'll need a
couple of wrenches and some sort of container to catch the fluid that
drains out of the lines. With some careful measurements you can preserve
the alignment.

 

I would seriously recommend getting a front end alignment after doing
this swap. Also, the new boots idea is a good one. A good aftermarket
retailer should be able to come up with them, otherwise <shudder> the
dealer.

Chuck Fiedler
Nothing but Volvo since 1974

 

Two years ago my 91 740wagon spewed a large amount of fluid that has
accumulated in the end boot of the rack. I was backing out of my driveway
and had the wheel turned all the way when the boot popped off. I do not know
how long it has been accumulating there but for what it is worth, on the
advice of my mechanic I poured in 12oz of Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak to
get my by till we find a used rack or till things get worse. Well it has not
gotten any worse yet. I realize that this makes for lousy statistics but it
might be worth a try.

 

Alternatively, the tie rod ends may be unscrewed from the old rack and
screwed onto the other without separating them from the steering knuckle. It
goes without saying the toe-in will be anything but good after that - thus
the mention by another contributor that alignment is mandatory afterward.

Mike

 

Right you are - the tie rods won't last long if the boots are bad.

Mike

 

As an alternative to doing it yourself, get a few more
quotes. We found an independent mechanic who replaced our rack
with a rebuilt one for literally half the highest quoted price:
it was a bit under $600 USD. (Then he ripped us off on the next
job. Life is like that.)