Properly installing a new rack

I am about to put a better used rack in my 91 940. How do I get the shaft on properly and the centering correct? I just did a rack in my 245 and the wheel came out crooked.

Once you get the alignment set. You take off the steering wheel and center it by putting the wheel back onto the column centered.

dl242gt said:

Once you get the alignment set. You take off the steering wheel and center it by putting the wheel back onto the column centered.

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Pulling wheel won't affect SRS or signal cancel?

you could do that, but if the wheel is significantly off, then won't taking it out and putting it back centered cause you having more lock to one side than the other?

I'd get the alignment set and see how it ends up, then spin the tie rods equally on both sides until the wheel was centered.. Wouldn't that work?

Yeah locking was another thing I wasn't sure about either.

I know on my 240 when I had the shaft disconnected I did a test and I could spin the wheel infinitely. On my 940 I know there is a spring in there that goes flying kinda when you take the wheel off. It's supposed to have a certain amount of preload/twists on it and when you pull the wheel you can hear it unravel. I have just spun it a few times for preload before putting it back together. My SRS light is on anyways but I wanna keep my airbag working if possible.

I already put the rack back on and just kinda guessed on the splines. I shoulda made a mark, but I was planning on putting in a new rack.

With SRS cars, there's only one way to put the steering shaft on the splined part on the rack, so you can only put it on 360 degrees out of phase. Put old and new racks next to each other, and then line them up so that the notched portion on the splined input shaft is in the right position and both tie rods are about the same length.

If you don't do this, there's a very good chance that you'll wreck the airbag's contact reel, as it only has a little extra play to go left stop to right stop than the rack does.

If you spun your steering wheel round and round, your contact real is toast.

-Ryan

Ryan_R said:

With SRS cars, there's only one way to put the steering shaft on the splined part on the rack, so you can only put it on 360 degrees out of phase. Put old and new racks next to each other, and then line them up so that the notched portion on the splined input shaft is in the right position and both tie rods are about the same length.

If you don't do this, there's a very good chance that you'll wreck the airbag's contact reel, as it only has a little extra play to go left stop to right stop than the rack does.

If you spun your steering wheel round and round, your contact real is toast.

-Ryan

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i had to replace said contact reel on my 780 many many years back and the wheel most definitely did go on slightly off center.