Scirocco Register

Or Refurb.

Replaced my rack last weekend and got it aligned yesterday, it's much nicer/ tighter now, but there feels like there is a very small amount of play left to right before engaging the rack, as if the UJ is worn slightly.

Any ideas on a new unit?

UJ are silly money new and you will be lucky to find one so double check it is that at fault. You can get some play in the bearing in the steering colum, the one at the bottom is plastic and prone to wear.
I did read some where that the U clamps which hold the rack on are sided and if you use the wrong one in the wrong place you will get some movement in the rack?

Thats a shame. Doest feel like the bearing as the play is in the turning of the wheel, I'm being picky really.

I put both the brackets side to side when I removed them and they looked the same, going to have someone move the wheel while I look through everything. I'll probably just have to deal with it I reckon.

I wonder if number 4 could be my issue, can't remember transferring this over, perhaps it takes up some play

Surely the absence of the o-ring would only make the UJ sit marginally further down on the rack splines - and therefore be tighter/less play?

New UJ is £112 (which is half the price of a new mk1 UJ!) but maybe try another used one first?

New steering rack came with the o-ring on anyhow so it is already on there.

Tightened the pinch bolt (steering rack end) just 1 degree shy of "It's definitely going to snap" which seems to have cured it.

this might sound daft but is the UJ the right way around?
i bought a mk2 1.3 golf once that failed the mot for play in steering and i found it was the uj joint onto the steering rack.
i turned the joint around and (i think i ground the slot wider too) that seemed to fix it to get it through an mot.

Don't think it's ever been off the car, but will know for sure when I take the column out to fit a bias pedal box next month. Feels good for now though!.

mark1gls wrote:UJ are silly money new and you will be lucky to find one so double check it is that at fault. You can get some play in the bearing in the steering colum, the one at the bottom is plastic and prone to wear.
I did read some where that the U clamps which hold the rack on are sided and if you use the wrong one in the wrong place you will get some movement in the rack?

Both sides on my mk2 UJ were the same size luckily, so can go in etherway