[RanjS8]

Well, the steering rack replacement was a success!!!! I enlisted the help of my nephew, who has been working as an apprentice mechanic for a vw specialist for past 3 yrs. He has just moved to a bmw specialist now, but wow what a talent.

I managed to find the procedure on elsawin, and so much is involved. Fortunately, we managed to do it without removing engine/gearbox.

There's lots involved in doing the job, and so it's certainly not for the faint hearted. To get access to the rack, one must remove the driverside under trim, the rear front wheel trims and the upper control arms/tie rod ends.

there are 3 bolts holding the rack in place all difficult to reach so we modified a spanner to reach them. There are 2 on the drivers side n 1 on the passenger side n they go up into the bulk head.

We left the power steering lines in the car and disconnected them from the rack. The pinion is connected to steering wheel universal joint by a hex bolt which is accessed from under the wheel arch.

There is a rubber seal covering the bolt and is easiest to remove from the inside on the driverside.

Apologies for lack of pictures, it really was one for a lot of swearing!.

good luck!!!!