Update by Tim Suddard to the
Austin-Healey Sprite project car
Nov 5, 2021
Photography by Tim Suddard
Time to rebuild our Bugeye Sprite’s steering rack and, fortunately, this is a rather straightforward job.
To disassemble the rack, remove the tie rod ends and lock nuts and then the boots. Make sure you take pictures so you can remember how everything goes back together.
To pull the rack from its case, you will need to remove at least one of the tie rods. Assuming you don’t have the special tool needed, you can carefully put the rack in a vise, unclip the retaining clips, and gently remove the tie rod end (or ends).
As long as there is no back-and-forth play in the tie rod ball joints, you can reuse them.
To finish disassembling the rack, you will need to remove the pinion gear and tensioner (or tensioners).
This is all straight-froward, but you’ll need to keep track of the shims found on either side of the pinion gear. You’ll also find a seal; if it’s in less than perfect condition, replace it.
The tensioners are usually shimmed, and you will want to keep track of these shims and replace them as they were.
While you will most likely want to replace the tie rod ends and rubber rack boots, the rest of the rebuilding process primarily involves just cleaning, lubricating, painting and reassembling.
We painted everything with Chassis Black from Eastwood.
There is some debate regarding rack lubricants: Most experts will tell you that 90 weight oil, and not grease, should be used to lubricate your steering rack. We try to follow the factory specs here.
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