Rack and Pinion ????

[hippiekiller]

Has anyone re-sealed their own steering rack? I noticed that the kits seem to be quit reasonable.....Mine pulses a bit going through corners so I thnk that it might be a leaking internal o-ring....

Also, there seems to be a few different models of rack and pinion for my 95 jetta
  I think I can get  to either  a zf-gear or a trw-gear model, are these chassis-based differences or manufacturers....thanks

[CRSMP5]

tie rods are different between the 2 brands, one is longer then the other...

[CrazyAndy]

One also has ribs along the outside of the rack.  I thank that's the ZF one.  And yes the ZF and TRW are different manufacturers, so buy accordingly once you know.  Someone else around here mentioned this stuff; have you used the Search function?

[hippiekiller]

I crawled underneath and found a few numbers, and a tag, but no identifying letters like zf or trw, just , oddly enough, usa and the audi symbol....from my research I am leaning more toward the trw rack though....

[theman53]

If it has different tie rods, what could you learn from them?

[hippiekiller]

They will both work apparently, the only difference being the inner tie rod ends, and quite possibly the tie tod lengths, not a big deal if I buy a used one....the trw units seem to be a little cheaper than the zf units,, and a more readily available used....

the obvious visual differnce between the two is that the ZF is aluminum cast and so has these waffle-like markings on it, while the trw unit has a smooth steel body...

so has anybody rebuilt one of these themselves?

[CRSMP5]

it usually only leaks when a part destroyed a seal or some unobtainum piece fails.. i doubt you can rebuild your self due to parts/seal avalibility.. or should i say lac of..