Technical Steering Rack Information/Advice

[AlfistaCy]

Hello there.. took off the steering rack today [well a friend of mine did] and told me that there was no grease in it, but Oil!

the whole system is kinda loose and im considering buying a replacement of the whole steering rack. The problem is that i dont know if i can source a Panda steering rack in Cyprus and i dont know if there is a direct fit from other FIAT cars like UNO or Y10 for example..

i did find one steering rack in ebay which can be delivered in Cyprus but its the long one 1050mm, and im using the 850mm one.

Is it possible to swap to the longer steering rack and change the components as well to fit the longer one? the tie rods etc are 12.5 instead of 1.5 that i currently have so in other words is it possible to fit the older steering rack 1050mm onto my 1989 4x4 999cc Panda with all the components?

anyone done this? moreover is there a reason i had oil in my steering rack instead of grease? :S

thanks! :idea:

 

[VmanC]

As far as I'm aware all steering racks for the Panda are the same, when did they change the length of them, was it after 1995 when they stopped importing them to the UK?

Should be grease in the rack so my guess is someone has incorrectly used oil in yours.

 

[firstcar-Y10]

I did get my spare racks out & compare recently and a Y10 rack appears to be the same actual rack but it's different where it meets the bulkhead and mates up with the column, adds about 2 inches to the overall length of the column so probably best avoided.

 

[AlfistaCy]

thanks for the responses guys appreciated

fortunately i only need 2 steering column bushes and 2 tie rod ends

i also need 2 new front struts

and the plastic base? that the bearing sits in the top strut mount. does this plastic thing comes together with the top strut mount or is it available as a piece?

 

[Bougainvillea Rosso]

Not sure what you are referring to with 'plastic base' do you have a picture?

 

[AlfistaCy]

here it is. [its no7 not 9! lol]

sourced 2 in very good condition + 1 new tie rod end and a cap for the water/wiper tank for 25euro. not bad..

bought a new steering rack bush and a set of all 4 suspension struts.

problem solved!