Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

My steering has developed a mysterious clunk and a touch of vagueness (EDIT: see next post for a postmortem on my original steering rack). More importantly though, someone pointed out that the steering rack on my van was probably the only part I hadn't modified, rebuilt or replaced!* We can't have that. Here we go...

Rebuilding a power steering rack. According to the workshop manual it's not rocket surgery, as long as you have all the special tools. I don't have the special tools, but I reckon I can figure something out.

You will need:
MN103497 rebuild kit (contains 2 of the 3 bearings, all oil seals and O-rings, teflon seals, tie rod lock washers, gaiter retaining bands, new locking nut, Molybdenum rack grease)
One bearing size 37mmOD x 20mmID x9mm thick, without seals (not included in the rebuild it, for some reason).
MR455426 tie rods x2
MB527650 tie rod ends x2
MB501711 gaiters/bellows x2
A steering rack suitable for rebuilding- no rust pitting on the rack, rack teeth shiny and un-worn.
Workshop manual (http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=7334) I bought a steering rack from a 2WD L300 to rebuild, so the van wouldn't be out of action while I waited for parts etc. The 2WD rack is the same as the 4WD rack, except for the tie rods; 4WD tie rods are longer. The MN103497 seal kit is only suitable for L300 steering racks, which suggests that no other vehicles use the same rack.

Remove and strip the steering rack as per the workshop manual. Clean everything thoroughly, except the pinion and valve assembly- just blow any fluid out with compressed air. You don't want solvent or dust getting in there. Check everything for wear, especially the rack where it passes through the seals- it should be clean and undamaged. Remove the bearing from the pinion and valve assembly using a bearing puller.

Following the reassembly steps in the workshop manual:
35: back up washer and oil seal. Use the rack as an installation tool. On the short (non-toothed) end of the rack place one of the old rack seals (we're using it as a spacer), the new rack seal (lubricate it with ATF and slide it onto the rack carefully, with the lip first) and the backup washer. Insert the rack into the housing, and press the seal into place. Before you remove the rack, give the housing a shake- if the backup washer rattles, you haven't pressed the seal in far enough. 34: needle roller bearing. This one needs to be pressed in, not hammered in (hammering can bend the bearing race and pinch the rollers), it needs to go in dead straight, and you don't want to damage the bore the pinion and valve assembly goes into later. I used an old bearing sleeve as a guide, with a close-fitting socket to press on the bearing, and a G-clamp to do the actual pressing. You could also wrap a socket in tape until it was a snug fit in the bore. Check that the needle rollers are installed all the way.

33: oil seal. The rack support is the perfect size to press the seal in, if you wrap it with tape to keep it centred and to stop it damaging the bore. The manual says "be sure the seal faces the correct direction”- the lip goes upwards, towards the pinion and valve assembly/away from the needle rollers.

32: ball bearing. Get it started by hand, then install the cover plug to press it home. -The rebuild kit comes with two O-rings that are nearly the same diameter. The thinner O-ring goes on the rack piston, the thicker one is for the end bushing/seal.
-Before installing the new piston O-ring and seal, polish the rack to help the end seals do their job. 25: installing rack in housing. Cover the teeth with a piece of PVC/electrical tape, leaving a flap of tape on the end (this will protect the new rack seal from being shredded by the teeth). Lubricate the rack with ATF and install, threading the flap of tape through the inner seal. Catch the tape as it goes past the rack support hole, and peel it off as you install the rack. 21: pinion and valve seals. Lubricate the new seals with ATF and slide them onto the valve from the splined end, so they end up in the recesses between your existing seals. (Keeping the old seals in place while you do this helps protect the new seals). Try not to stretch or twist the new rings- some stretching and twisting is inevitable, but try and keep it to a minimum. Carefully cut the old seals, taking care not to scratch or damage the seal body or the new seals, and slip the new seals into place. The new seals will have stretched, so to shrink them a little wrap the valve body very tightly in electrical tape, about 5-10 turns, stretching the tape as you go to build up the pressure. Install the bearing while the tape is doing its work. Remove the tape and apply grease to the pinion, wiping it deep into the teeth so it won't get all over the seals or bore when you install the valve later. Grease the rack teeth. Lubricate the valve assembly seals with ATF, then install the pinion/valve assembly. You will feel the assembly stop when it reaches each of the new seals- just push harder, and it will pop in. Watch your fingers!


Loosely install the tie rods, then install the retaining nut a the end of the pinion. (The tie rods stop the rack from moving too far so you can tighten the pinion nut).

Adjustment of pinion torque: you might have to get creative. Here's my amazing torque-o-meter. You want to end up with the rack support cover *not quite* touching the rack support- the spring should be doing all the work. If the rack cover is touching the support, you'll be able to feel binding when you turn the pinion. The easiest way to get there is to wind the cover down until it stops, then back it up about a quarter turn.

For the rest, just follow the manual. It's fairly straightforward.
One last tip. Once everything is back together, wheels pointing straight ahead and steering wheel centred, but *before* you have it aligned, remove the bevel gear box (the thing behind the bumper that turns the steering shaft 90 degrees), rotate its input 180 degrees, and reinstall. The bevel gears mostly wear in the straight ahead position- by turning the gearbox 180 degrees you're now using the un-worn part of the gears for straight ahead. It just removes a little bit more play from the system.

*They're wrong: I've not touched the wiper motor and linkages, power window motors, or fuel filter bracket.

...and here's why you might want to rebuild your rack as a precaution, rather than when it starts to get clunky. This is my van's original rack, 27 years and 275000km old, which I've stripped down after swapping it out for the rebuilt rack.

Here's the first sign that something's not right- rusty sludge on the cover plugs and rack support bush, it looks like a mixture of grease and ATF. Yup, the grease is no longer a lubricant, it's more like a grinding paste with all the rust particles in it. This rack is ruined. Rust pitting on the areas that go through the seals: The rack teeth should be polished and shiny, not rough and rusty: Even the far end has got marks where rust has etched the surface, and then been polished off by the seal: This rack is ruined. Maybe a professional could polish the rust pits out of the rack (but they seem pretty deep), but the gear teeth are still wrecked. In the recycling it goes!

Good write up guys. Just went through a year of rack problems till I had mine rebuilt by Randy at Steering Solutions 9785 192 st Langley 1 877 513 9813 randy@steeringsolutions.com

A month after the rebuild with lots of backroad driving it's still holding up well. FYI Randy is not a steering rack fan. If he blows you off wait a week and phone him back or just drive there and hand it to him like I did. He's a one man shop and does get busy.
. $525.00
MD

Wow, that's a great price! I spent about CD$300 on parts alone (though shipping costs to NZ doesn't help).

thelazygreenfox wrote: ↑Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:05 pm Good write up guys. Just went through a year of rack problems till I had mine rebuilt by Randy at Steering Solutions 9785 192 st Langley 1 877 513 9813 randy@steeringsolutions.com

A month after the rebuild with lots of backroad driving it's still holding up well. FYI Randy is not a steering rack fan. If he blows you off wait a week and phone him back or just drive there and hand it to him like I did. He's a one man shop and does get busy.
. $525.00
MD

Is your rack still holding up?

I’m wondering when removing/installing the rack do you need to remove the steering knuckle & disconnect the cv axle on one side, or does it slide out with only the tie rods & other connections disconnected.

Manual seems to imply it pops out pretty straightforward ….

Wow, most of us struggle to get a rusted power steering line off let alone successfully rebuild a rack and pinion !

sealica wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 10:39 am

thelazygreenfox wrote: ↑Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:05 pm Good write up guys. Just went through a year of rack problems till I had mine rebuilt by Randy at Steering Solutions 9785 192 st Langley 1 877 513 9813 randy@steeringsolutions.com

A month after the rebuild with lots of backroad driving it's still holding up well. FYI Randy is not a steering rack fan. If he blows you off wait a week and phone him back or just drive there and hand it to him like I did. He's a one man shop and does get busy.
. $525.00
MD

Is your rack still holding up?

up, still working well.
thanks
MD

sealica wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 10:43 am I’m wondering when removing/installing the rack do you need to remove the steering knuckle & disconnect the cv axle on one side, or does it slide out with only the tie rods & other connections disconnected.

Manual seems to imply it pops out pretty straightforward ….

It doesn't come out easily but after some $%#& and some more $%^# you'll get it out.
MD

Great write-up! My friend might do the power steering rack rebuild soon for his new Delica project. We got to finish installing the shocks and skid plates from 4Wheelonline onto the Wrangler before we can clear the garage for the van.