[s-cars] Steering Rack bracket woes.....again.

[Jim Fleischer]

Thanks for the quick responses, guys.

The passenger side was not replaced, as there was no movement, and still no movement except for the rack itself within the bolt hole.

I wasn’t all that impressed with the welding job that was done initially, but was just happy to get the car back on the road with crisp steering.  I noticed a few months afterward that there was a little flex in the bracket, and the thing let go this spring.  Funny thing, I was told that the bracket was “new and reinforced” but seemed identical to the one that was removed.  I don’t trust this repair again, so that is why I’m looking at a better alternative.  The car is a driver with 196K and doesn’t need to be “OEM Correct,” I just want a repair that is safe and permanent without spending a ton of $$$ to graft in another fender well (as some on the list suggested last year.)

More suggestions?  Thanks!

Jim Fleischer
’95 urS6 avant

From: theringmeister at triad.rr.com
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2016 12:45 PM
To: Jim Fleischer; s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: Re: [s-cars] Steering Rack bracket woes.....again.

Jim,
My car has been down for over a year with this same problem. Did you replace the bracket on the passenger side as well? Sounds like maybe not? That could also be cracked and caused the premature (re-) failure of the driver's side. 

Sent on the new Sprint Network

----- Reply message -----
From: "Jim Fleischer" <jim at almgt.com>
To: "s-car-list at audifans.com" <s-car-list at audifans.com>
Subject: [s-cars] Steering Rack bracket woes.....again.
Date: Thu, Apr 28, 2016 2:12 PM

Hey guys,

Last year I found that the bracket holding the steering rack in the drivers side fender well had cracked and there was movement of the rack while turning.  I sourced the factory correct bracket from my local dealer (who sourced it from Germany) and had the new piece welded in by a local reputable body shop.  It lasted only a year, and I now have the same issue, only now the supporting area in the fender well is cracked and compromised.  I also noticed there is movement of the rack on the passenger side as well, as if the bar on the rack that the bolt goes through is “hollowed” out or something, as it moves in it’s perch, even after tightening the bolt.  This seems to effect the position of the steering wheel at center depending on where this is in it’s perch.

So, after a look with my mechanic (he is a VW/Audi specialist, but more familiar with post 90’s german cars including BMW and Porsche) we found that there is a piece of frame rail that is directly under the steering rack on the drivers side that we can maybe fit a piece of angled steel to weld in and attach the rack to and secure it properly, bypassing the existing bracket and the cracked fender well completely.  Does this sound feasible?

Also, curious as to the issue on the passenger side….is the rack bar supposed to offer adjustment within a certain range to center the steering wheel, and I don’t have this bolt tight enough, or are there issues with that area being hollowed out and I have more work to do?  The bracket on the passenger side is fine, the issue is with the bar on the rack that secures to the bracket.

Sorry if my descriptions/names might not be the proper technical terms, but hopefully you get the gist of it.  Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Jim Fleischer
’95 urS6 avant
196K



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