Repaired the power steering rack of my preowned Maruti Swift petrol

The new bush and damper kit was put in place, and adjusted till there was no play in the rack.

BHPian Ashtoncastelino recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Steering Rack Repair:

Two of my Biggest fear with the First generation Swift/ Dzire is the failure of the steering rack and AC compressor. The steering rack costs a whopping 35000 and the AC Compressor 58000. In my swift the AC compressor was taken care of, but the steering rack had developed a knocking sound when turning the wheel left and right. Friend and fellow BHPian Chiranjit’s Swift also had developed this issue and it was a nightmare for him.

Now apparently, the thing that goes bad in the steering rack and develops a knocking sound is the little plastic bush which is on the left side of the steering rack. I wanted to repair mine, browsed through the parts manual and checked for all the child parts available, The bush was not available separately from Maruti so aftermarket was the only choice.

Got the following parts for the steering rack repair:

• Steering rack bush
• Plunger Spring
• Plunger
• Adjusting Plug
• Check Nut
• New boots ( 48572M63J00 and 48571M63J00)
• Boot clamps (48575-63J00 and 48576M63J00)
• Stabilizer Bar Bushes

I discussed with my mechanic and decided on a day to do the overhaul.

Once we dismantled the entire sub-frame and removed it from the car, I found the left control arm ball joint busted and a inner tie rod had developed play. I gave clear instructions on not to open the torque sensor which is mounted on the steering rack.

The torque sensor and the EPS Motor.

Opening this torque sensor will lead to issues such as poor return of the steering from one side. Whilst my mechanic started dismantling the steering rack, I went to my local parts shop to get the inner tie rod, they had Talbros in stock so I gladly picked it up. MGP Control arm was sourced but was of the Ritz, it is a direct fit into the First generation Swift.

Inspected all the suspension parts for wear and tear, stabiliser bar bush was on its way out so replaced that as well. All steering rack parts were washed and cleaned thoroughly using diesel and the rubber parts were cleaned and sprayed with Wurth Silicone Spray generously.

Rack vendor in Showa.

Steering rack pressure washed.

Old bush.

New bush.

The new bush and damper kit was put in place, and adjusted till there was no play in the rack. Applied grease to the rack such that it will never run dry. Torqued all the bolts back to spec and mounted the rack onto the Sub-frame assembly. Installed the sub-frame assembly onto the car and made sure the steering wheel was at center position.

Me and Vishu took a good test drive and found the noise to be completely gone. Generally after the rack is worked upon, there is a tendancy of the steering getting heavy but lucky for me, the steering weight was the same if not lighter Touchwood!

Regards,

Ashton Castelino.

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