Steering rack golf 3: help needed please..

[jantd]

Hi guys,
I really need some help with this , because this really keeps me busy!
Could someone tell me how sensitive the steering rack is to dust or small dirt?
I mean can it block the steering rack and cause the whole steering to block(!!) :shock: ,or is there always still a mechanical back-up foreseen?
It's just that I don't see how you can prevent 100% sure that dirt comes in during removing the 2 hoses (pressure and return line).
What do the mechanics do as prevention of this when they put in a new rack, do they maybe replace the lines as well?
The guy at the yard didnt clean anything in advance, just dismounted the hoses and removed the rack. When i looked in the thread, I could actually see a small piece of thread loose, which could have fallen in easily :?:
Thanks a million ,Jan

[jtanguay]

all you can really do is blast air through it to clean it out.  even then moisture will contaminate the system a little bit.

i just bought a parts car and the fluid is a nice dark black colour... the boots were torn and thats how the dirt got in.  if you're going to store the rack for a while, you can easily get fittings to fit on the threads...  IMO power steering sucks anyways.  only good for women.  :lol: