[jerommeke66]

Hi,
I am new to this forum (switched from the Dutch forum to this hoping for more technical feedback).

I have a Milano 2.0TS ZF power steering rack in my GTV6.
After 2 days of playing on the chassis handling track at my work the rack is leaking and losing a lot of oil through its seals (rubber booths looked like could explode any moment...).
Although Milano racks have their reputation of leaking this is the first time it happened to me with a Milano rack over 20 years of driving them.
I heard from another colleague he had the same problem with his Porsche Boxter.
It seems that the rack is not designed for fast lock-to-lock steering on a handling track with the engine running at higher rpm.
Anyone familiar with this problem?

I'm looking for a rack seal repair kit supplier who also supplies to private persons, any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your advise and / or seal kit supplier contact.

Cheers, Jeroen

 

[MilanoVerdebc]

Shoegoo works for all my boots ad cracked CVs , just shogoo the **** outta it and wrap a bike tire tube patch around it!

 

[NMMilano]

Shoegoo works for all my boots ad cracked CVs , just shogoo the **** outta it and wrap a bike tire tube patch around it!

He's talking about the seal leaking and filling the boots (the boots are easy to change, the seals are not)
I'm sorry I dont have a solution, I think its a bad design because I've had 3 leaking racks, others here disagree with me. Someone even said this was one of ZF's best racks, I would hate to have one of their bad ones.

Is the Boxter rack ZF also?

 

[Alfisto Steve]

USA reman shop but I have bought 164 rack seal kits from them and they rebuild Milano racks, too. So contact them and ask for Roger he may sell you a Milano seal kit. http://www.jorgenauto.com/

Tell him I sent you and see what happens.

 

[jerommeke66]

Hi Steve (and others), thanks for your reply.

I contacted Jorgen some time ago, actually I found them through your rack item on the forum (nice job) but no feedback from them so far except that they would contact me soon (sent 3 weeks ago...).
I disassembled the ZF rack already and it seems pretty much a do-it-yourself-job so I prefer rebuilding it myself and not spending 300 Euros on a rebuilt one.

The Boxter rack is made by TRW and the owner told me that in the US some people who use the car a lot on the race track fit a smaller pulley on the crank and a bigger one on the pump to reduce rpm which apparently solves the problem of leakage.

Any other suggestions or suppliers?

Cheers, Jeroen

 

[86spider]

leaky steering rack

I've read here on the BB that you can bypass (remove) the PS pump and sort of cross connect the sides of the rack, fill it with NLGI #0 weight grease. The grease thins to an oil when working and thickens to a grease at rest. So leakage if any is minimal past the worn seals.

I have two leaking racks at home and would like to know the repair parts are available though.

Wayne

 

[oz3litre]

My 75 rack needs rebuilding and I will be taking it to the professionals who did my last one. Due to the difficulty in removing the things I would rather have experts do it who will guarantee the job for 12 months and pressure test it prior to fitting. Last time they did one for me they said that there is nothing special about them in terms of the parts required. The critical thing is to make sure that the shaft is perfect or it will start leaking again shortly after. If it is scored at all it has to be hard chromed and machined, which adds to the cost of course. It is absolutely not worth taking a chance on that. I think most of them last years before they start leaking. Mine was improperly rebuilt by someone before I bought the car. It will be interesting to see what they did wrong.

 

[jerommeke66]

Hi Wayne,

thanks for the tip but I would want to have the power steering working, otherwise I'll definitely miss the narrow corners at racing pace and end up somewhere in the field That's why I converted the car to power steering in the first place (I know I am a sissy )

I have some Milano and GTV6 racks without power steering assist in my garage, if someone is interested.

I will let you know if I have some information on the seals.

Cheers, Jeroen

 

[Gubi]

For the record, mine just started leaking recently out of one of the shaft seals (inflated and popped the boot). I'll probably replace it eventually as rebuilt racks aren't too expensive, but in the meantime I threw in a bottle of Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak (aka Magic Juice in a Jug) and it seems to have improved matters.

I'll keep you posted if it holds long-term or not. Stuff's pretty thick so maybe it would help with the high racing temps thinning the fluid.

 

[slyalfa]

I think if it is rebuilt it will be OK
The first one lasted 20years it might have been close to failing anyways.
with new seals even used hard it should not leak as long as there is no damage to the rack.
lots of RPM should not hurt it. the only problem I know of is some seem to just crap out on a quick turn you just lose power. like the belt is slipping. I think this is due to the over PSI valve opening to soon. I have not had this problem on the gold but do on the Verde. I guess it is very common on other cars brands(reading on the net). The fix is to change/fix the valve to open at a higher (correct)PSI.

 

[Clayton105]

It has been a long time since I worked on one of these, but I have fixed and overhauled a few pumps and racks.

There are racks which I am sure are just leaking from the seals wearing out now...

But years ago, I saw several that dropped their load while people were parking the car. My diagnosis was that the drivers had had a habit of holding the racks on HARD full lock. This does two things.... it holds the pressure at full biscuit on the by-pass limit in the pump (not good), and chops the crap out of the bump stop at the end of the rack. When the bump stop has disintegrated, the rack can go too far in to the housing and tears a piece of the seal out (at the non-pinion end of the rack). The PS rack then bleeds to death wherever you happen to be....

The original bump stops were a high density foam ring. I used to get hard poly ones made and give FIRM instructions for the owner to never hold the steering hard on lock.

The 75 T-S donor car that I recently bought has a totally brand spnkin' new rack in it, and I will be looking after it.

 

[oz3litre]

It has been a long time since I worked on one of these, but I have fixed and overhauled a few pumps and racks.

There are racks which I am sure are just leaking from the seals wearing out now...

But years ago, I saw several that dropped their load while people were parking the car. My diagnosis was that the drivers had had a habit of holding the racks on HARD full lock. This does two things.... it holds the pressure at full biscuit on the by-pass limit in the pump (not good), and chops the crap out of the bump stop at the end of the rack. When the bump stop has disintegrated, the rack can go too far in to the housing and tears a piece of the seal out (at the non-pinion end of the rack). The PS rack then bleeds to death wherever you happen to be....

The original bump stops were a high density foam ring. I used to get hard poly ones made and give FIRM instructions for the owner to never hold the steering hard on lock.

The 75 T-S donor car that I recently bought has a totally brand spnkin' new rack in it, and I will be looking after it.

That is interesting. I have often wondered what effect it has holding them on full lock so that they make that hissing noise. I very rarely have the 75 on full lock like that but it happens with the 164 due to the lousy turning circle those cars have. You find yourself trying to get a few extra inches out of it when pulling into or out of car parks.

 

[Brendan_LS]

fluid temperature playing a part?

I put a known good used pump and rack in my car years back. Soon after installing that non leaking rack and non foaming pump, I routed the return hose to the reservoir through a small power steering cooler, which I placed in front of the radiator.

This improved the feel of the system greatly, and I know it works because it gets extremely hot (115°C with heat gun)after some high rpm cornering. Since adding the cooler, I have not had the 'loss of assist' problem after high rpm cornering which I used to get after about 10 very aggressive minutes.

I think some Milanos had a power steering cooling circuit on the front frame rail, but mine had been broken and removed for some reason. That small circuit is too small and not in enough airflow to be effective in that warm engine bay anyways.

been driving now with my 'good used' parts and cooler now for about 50,000 very hard km, and no leaks or problems.

 

[Mound Dawg]

The 75 TS does have the cooler system on it, a pipe that runs across the front crossmember behind the radiator. There may be something in the cooling theory, I guess this part of the circuit didn't make the transition over to the GTV6 with the rest of it?

I agree that holding the car on full lock is never a good idea.

I use my 75 on the track quite a bit and at over 160,000 miles it makes the odd hissing noise every now and again but there's no evidence of "seal explosion". I'm also running very sticky tyres and you'd think they'd upset the trolls that live under the bridge if nothing else does! Come to think of it though, half the time one of the front wheels is off the ground...

 

[jerommeke66]

Hi Brendan and Jim,

sound like an potential explanation for the problem, or at least part of it.
I fitted the "small excuse for a cooler" tube same as in the Milano on the front cross member in front of the engine but sounds plausible that the cooler is not sufficient for hard use.
Before the rack started leaking I went on the chassis test track at my work and drove slalom and oversteer power slide corners for several minutes at the time and this over a few hours for 2 days...
Bigger cooler might help, especially when it is fitted in a proper place.

Still I'd like to now a supplier of a new seal kit, anyone?

Cheers, Jeroen

 

[Gubi]

For the record, mine just started leaking recently out of one of the shaft seals (inflated and popped the boot). I'll probably replace it eventually as rebuilt racks aren't too expensive, but in the meantime I threw in a bottle of Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak (aka Magic Juice in a Jug) and it seems to have improved matters.
.

Gotta say, it still hasn't leaked since I put in the Magic Lucas Juice, which is pretty impressive considering how much was spraying out at times and how hot it's been of late.

I'm sure I'm still going to need to replace the rack eventually, but I'm kind of amazed this stuff worked.

 

[fatdarryl]

I've also used the lucas steering stop leak with excellent results, but this is purely based on street use.

 

[jazig.k]

~ NEW 18" ALUMINIUM FINNED OIL COOLER ~ | eBay

just a quick suggestion for a cooler, should fit where the stock pipe is with minimal work, but im not sure. they come in other lengths too, 12" 15" and 18" i seen.

EDIT:

12, 15, 18, 20 and 22".