Early warning signs of a steering rack failure can be spotted and repaired before it happens to save a lot of money and time for the car owner.

Fluid Leaks Around the Rack

Look for oily patches on the underside of your car and also check along the steering rack itself for signs of wetness or oily looking marks. A failing steering rack seal can leak out power steering fluid, resulting in the steering rack gradually losing power as the fluid level decreases.

Clunking or Knocking on Turns

A clunking or knocking noise when steering on full lock is normally due to rack bushes having worn out or for some internal components within the rack to have become loose. As with all of these symptoms the knocking noise will normally worsen as time goes on.

Excessive Play in the Steering

Steering that has excessive free play will be caused by a loss of the rack’s internal preload. As the steering wears the components can lose their preloaded position and result in excessive free play before any correction is applied by the tires.

Pulling to One Side

An uneven leak of the power steering fluid through the hydraulic circuits of the rack causes a pull to one side when driving. The pull can get worse when driving fast as opposed to when driving slowly.

Stiff or Heavy Steering

A faulty steering rack could lead to stiff steering, feeling heavy on one side of centre or even stiffer when turning in either direction.

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These faults can develop very slowly and need to be caught early to try and complete simple repairs rather than expensive replacements for the entire steering rack.