Re: Steering rack replacement

["David Teitelbaum <jtrealty@xxxx>" <jtrealty@xxxx>]

Although there are shims there and you can add and remove them to 
adjust for manufacutring tolerances it isn't such a good idea to do it 
for wear. The problem is that the rack tends to wear more in the 
center of travel, less at the ends. If you adjust the "looseness" out 
in the center you may make it too tight at the ends. Normaly when a 
rack is "remanufacured" the rack is reground along it's entire length 
and when reassembled now when you can adjust the play at any point in 
it's travel and it is equal at all points. This is not to say you 
can't remove a shim or two, just be sure to check the play at several 
points in the position of the rack to make sure it doesn't bind 
anywhere. If it was to "stick" it will interfere with being able to 
return the wheel to center quickly and could be dangerous during 
driving. If you are going to work on the brakes or steering be VERY 
careful as if these two systems don't work PERFECTLY you could lose 
control of the vehicle!
The procedure wasn't in the manual and many "field repairs" of parts 
were never intended to be performed at the dealer service level. As 
with most Auto manufacurers it was intended to either send parts back 
to a wharehouse for rebuilding or just outright replacement. The 
Dealers are not reembursed for rebuilding service parts, just removing 
and replacing them to keep the times down. This applies to water 
pumps, starters, alternaters, radiaters, A/C compressors et al. The 
situation is now completly different due to the limited availability 
of some parts, cost, and the perserverence of the owners. In fact it 
is one of the main reasons for the DML, to share info on keeping the 
Delorean going!
David Teitelbaum
vin 10757


--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "mgutkowski@xxxx" <webmaster@xxxx> 
wrote:
> Hi Knut
> 
> I'm curious - did you try removing a couple of adjustment shims to 
tighten
> your old rack before deciding on a replacement? It's not a procedure 
that's
> widely known, and it's not in the manual.