The steering rack leak soon turned to a steering rack flood. The seals were basically plastic and blew out. The replacement has been excellent.
So the ZF steering rack finally got through customs and arrived safe and sound - thanks UPS. The rack is originally from a VR6 Passat so in theory should be up to the task. Got it installed and hooked up and so far no leaks. Immediately I noticed the pump is a lot quieter connected to this rack than it was when connected to the TRW rack which makes me think the TRW rack couldn't handle the pressure coming from the pump? Or maybe there was just something wrong with it internally. So far no leaks from the ZF rack so fingers crossed it'll hold up well when I get it back on the ground and go for a test drive.
I can confirm, I had to change the rack on my 2001.5 Passat because the steering wheel was loose and they are in fact interchangeable.
New reman'd steering rack from German auto parts installed Saturday, took about 7 hours...Pump is silent, steers nice, doesn't rattle on center, doesn't grab the wheel out of your hands anymore.
Put a used w8 rack in that had 66k on it. Tested it out before I buttoned it all up, seemed great. Buttoned it all up, drove a few miles on a test drive, no issues or noises at all.
I had my pressure hose go out, then the rack go in a similar situation to you (a little leak turned into a blown out rack). go get a zf rack, and replace the hose (sadly, they both cost about the same, and it's not cheap). i've been running solid since then.
Most VR6s came with a ZF brand steering rack which uses different length tierods than ABA engined cars which mostly came with TRW steering racks.
I had to replace my ZF steering rack. Prior to replacement the feel was prefect. Only thing is it is remarkably easier now, like way too easy. It feels like one of those early 90's vans where the power steering is overly assisted and has no feel.
I just put in a remanufactured $150 rack and it's a huge (bad) difference.
944 were notorious for leaky steering racks. We replaced many ZF steering racks in 944s back in the day. Usually when they went south, they would leave a sizeable puddle of ATF, underneath the car. Sometimes you need to pull the rack boots back, and the fluid would pour out.
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