I have changed my steering rack over the weekend, and decided to put up a little how-to on the way. People are spending ridiculous amounts of money on new racks, my whole job cost me $125 with a lifetime warranty part! you can get racks for as low as $75, so hopefully this will save few people moneys 
and show the rest that the job is really not as bad as everyone seems to think
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How-to: Remove and install Steering rack.
![Image]()
Disclaimer. I am not responsible for any damage done to your car or yourself, including; cuts, bruises, lost limbs, or any psychological problems you might encounter on the way. You’re on your own!!
Time: ~6 hours, whole day if you can.
Tools you will need:
Torque wrench
Set of metric wrenches and sockets, 8mm to 22mm
A lot of ratchet extensions! (will make some parts a lot easier)
screwdrivers
Turkey juicer
Ice cold beer.
Parts:
ZF or Koyo steering rack, whichever your car needs.
1x M8x35 Pitch 1.25 screw (very important to align steering rack to center position)
Bottle of Pentosin VW Steering rack fluid
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Before we begin, lets start by identifying which steering rack you will need. 1.8T cars came with two steering rack manufacturers Koyo and ZF, and they are Not interchangeable. There is no way to tell wich one you have by year or vin number, only way to correctly identify the rack is by visual inspection, to inspect you will need. (If you have a V6 than don’t worry, there is only one)
1. put your car on jack stands, because you will have to crawl under it.
2. get under the car from the left (drivers) side, if you look straight up you will see your steering rack. Here is how the two rack look like:
![Image]()
The top rack is made by ZF and bottom one by Koyo. ZF rack looks more like its made out of a cast, it has a metal number tag and imprinted ZF part number above it
![Image]()
Koyo rack looks more like a cylinder and will usually have a Koyo sticker on the left side.
You can get your rack at a dealer (most expensive)
Remanufactured one from the net (Less expensive)
Or Salvage part from Car-part.com or eBay, I got my for $125.
If you have your rack already than you’re set to go
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, let’s start!
1. Park the car with the front wheels pointing straight ahead.
2. Choke your rear wheels, loosen your front wheel bolts and put your car on jack stands, and than take off the wheels.
3. Take off the belly pan.
4. Now it’s a good time to drain your steering fluid. Get an empty 2L bottle, and a turkey juicer or something to siphon out the old fluid out of the reservoir. There are two ways of draining the fluid. You can turn on the engine and let the fluid circulate as you siphon it with a turkey juicer, or you can disconnect the return line from the tank (the smaller hose) and put it into a 2L bottle and let the engine run while turning the steering wheel. This way you will get the most fluid out (and yes it will make an awful sound).
5. When you drain the fluid, disconnect the battery and remove it from the car, the steering rack screws are under it.
6. Get into your car and remove the panel under the dash board. Its held by two screws behind the fuse panel door, and two more screws under the dash.
![Image]()
7. When the panel is off, you will see the steering shaft going from the steering wheel to the rack, we have to detach it. You will see a hex pinch bolt securing the shaft to the rack. You have to remove the nut from the other side of it, its impossible to get to it when its in this position, so we will have to turn the steering wheel. Put in the key to disable the steering wheel lock, and turn the wheel 180 degrees. The nut is much easier to access now. So unbolt it, and than turn your wheel back to the straight position. Don’t worry it will not slip or anything. Now take the hex bolt out by turning it the opposite direction to how you will normally unscrew it (like you are screwing it back in) and wiggle it out.
![Image]()
8. Now detach the shaft from the rack by pulling it out, the shaft will telescope in. You might want to use a screwdriver or something to pry it out.
Now that the shaft is detached you can pull the rubber seal separating the rack from the outside of the firewall. Take a pair of pliers and pull really hard towards the shaft.
9. Move to the driver side fender, Now you will have to disconnect the Tie-Rod from the control arm. Unscrew the top screw first, and than the pinch bolt. Now use small screwdriver and gently hammer the tie-rod out. (do the same on the other side)
![Image]()
10. Remove the small splash shield from where the tie-rod comes out of the engine compartment. By unscrewing the metal nut and prying the plastic cap off with a screwdriver.
11. Now you will have to unscrew the Fluid supply and return lines for the steering rack. It’s the hardest part of the job in my opinion, the bolts are hard to access due to limited space. So you might try it now, and if its really not working out, you can try it later after unscrewing the rack (step 13). This way you will be able to move the rack around and have better access to the two screws. The big bolt is big! Its 22mm.
12. Unscrew the steering rack from the car, there are two screws on the top of the engine compartment. One under the battery, and one next to the master cylinder. There is one that is only accessible from underneath the car, its hard to get, but if you have a ratchet with big extension, it will be a lot easier.
![Image]()
![Image]()
13. Now that the rack is completely detached, you can remove it out of the car. It might be tricky but if you maneuver it right, its not that bad. Out with the old, in with the new!
![Image]()
14. Now its time to center your new rack. There is a pre-drilled hole in the rack. You can see it if you take off the left boot. The inspector hole has a Hex screw in it. Unscrew it and manually align the two holes. To hold the rack in center you will need a centering screw. This is where you will need one M8x35 Pitch 1.25 screw. You will need to file the screws tip down so it goes into the hole.
![Image]()
![Image]()
And screw it in place of the short screw. Now the rack is secure and ready to be installed.
![Image]()
If you got a remanufactured rack, you will also need to install new tie-rods, Unscrew your old rods from the old rack, counting how many turns you make, and install it the same way on the new (make sure you count! Or the car will be crazy misaligned!
15. Now that everything is ready to install, you might want to ask a help of a buddy to get the new rack in. You can do it yourself, but it might be a easier with another person to help you.
16. Now you will need to attach the fluid supply and return lines back on. Again this might be easier to do when the rack is not bolted down. Torque the smaller bolt (supply) to 30 ft-lbs. And the big bolt (return line) to 37 ft-lbs.
17. If you haven’t bolted the rack down yet, now is the time. Torque the mounting bolts to 48 ft-lbs.
18. Reattach the Tie-Rod ends to the control arm, you might have to gently hammer the rod in. Torque the vertical bolt to 62 in-lbs (inches NOT feet! Very important!) and the clamp bolt/nut to 33 ft-lbs. Do the same on the other side as well.
19. Now move back into your car, you might want to wash your hands first and put the rubber seal back on, and reattach the shaft to the rack. Again, you might have to hammer it in gently.
20. Once it is on, go back to the engine compartment and remove the Centering bolt and replace it with the original bolt to seal the rack.
21. Go back to the car, put in the pinch bolt to secure the shaft to the rack, and sure it really well with a hex wrench. Turn the wheel 180 degrees again to attach the nut, torque it to 30 ft-lbs. And move the steering wheel to straight position again.
22. Attach the battery.
23. Put the panel back on. Its time to bleed the system.
24. Make sure that the return hose is attached back to the fluid tank. Add fluid to the tank. Cross your fingers and turn on the car!
25. Move the steering wheel until it can’t go anymore in both directions, it will ensure that the rack is getting lots of fluid. Add fluid when the level goes down.
26. Check for leaks, explosions, etc…
27. Attach the belly pan.
28. put the wheels back on
29. take the car for a test drive
30. Open your beer!
Good job!
and show the rest that the job is really not as bad as everyone seems to think -------------------------------------------------------------------------
How-to: Remove and install Steering rack.
Disclaimer. I am not responsible for any damage done to your car or yourself, including; cuts, bruises, lost limbs, or any psychological problems you might encounter on the way. You’re on your own!!
Time: ~6 hours, whole day if you can.
Tools you will need:
Torque wrench
Set of metric wrenches and sockets, 8mm to 22mm
A lot of ratchet extensions! (will make some parts a lot easier)
screwdrivers
Turkey juicer
Ice cold beer.
Parts:
ZF or Koyo steering rack, whichever your car needs.
1x M8x35 Pitch 1.25 screw (very important to align steering rack to center position)
Bottle of Pentosin VW Steering rack fluid
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before we begin, lets start by identifying which steering rack you will need. 1.8T cars came with two steering rack manufacturers Koyo and ZF, and they are Not interchangeable. There is no way to tell wich one you have by year or vin number, only way to correctly identify the rack is by visual inspection, to inspect you will need. (If you have a V6 than don’t worry, there is only one)
1. put your car on jack stands, because you will have to crawl under it.
2. get under the car from the left (drivers) side, if you look straight up you will see your steering rack. Here is how the two rack look like:
The top rack is made by ZF and bottom one by Koyo. ZF rack looks more like its made out of a cast, it has a metal number tag and imprinted ZF part number above it
Koyo rack looks more like a cylinder and will usually have a Koyo sticker on the left side.
You can get your rack at a dealer (most expensive)
Remanufactured one from the net (Less expensive)
Or Salvage part from Car-part.com or eBay, I got my for $125.
If you have your rack already than you’re set to go
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, let’s start!
1. Park the car with the front wheels pointing straight ahead.
2. Choke your rear wheels, loosen your front wheel bolts and put your car on jack stands, and than take off the wheels.
3. Take off the belly pan.
4. Now it’s a good time to drain your steering fluid. Get an empty 2L bottle, and a turkey juicer or something to siphon out the old fluid out of the reservoir. There are two ways of draining the fluid. You can turn on the engine and let the fluid circulate as you siphon it with a turkey juicer, or you can disconnect the return line from the tank (the smaller hose) and put it into a 2L bottle and let the engine run while turning the steering wheel. This way you will get the most fluid out (and yes it will make an awful sound).
5. When you drain the fluid, disconnect the battery and remove it from the car, the steering rack screws are under it.
6. Get into your car and remove the panel under the dash board. Its held by two screws behind the fuse panel door, and two more screws under the dash.
7. When the panel is off, you will see the steering shaft going from the steering wheel to the rack, we have to detach it. You will see a hex pinch bolt securing the shaft to the rack. You have to remove the nut from the other side of it, its impossible to get to it when its in this position, so we will have to turn the steering wheel. Put in the key to disable the steering wheel lock, and turn the wheel 180 degrees. The nut is much easier to access now. So unbolt it, and than turn your wheel back to the straight position. Don’t worry it will not slip or anything. Now take the hex bolt out by turning it the opposite direction to how you will normally unscrew it (like you are screwing it back in) and wiggle it out.
8. Now detach the shaft from the rack by pulling it out, the shaft will telescope in. You might want to use a screwdriver or something to pry it out.
Now that the shaft is detached you can pull the rubber seal separating the rack from the outside of the firewall. Take a pair of pliers and pull really hard towards the shaft.
9. Move to the driver side fender, Now you will have to disconnect the Tie-Rod from the control arm. Unscrew the top screw first, and than the pinch bolt. Now use small screwdriver and gently hammer the tie-rod out. (do the same on the other side)
10. Remove the small splash shield from where the tie-rod comes out of the engine compartment. By unscrewing the metal nut and prying the plastic cap off with a screwdriver.
11. Now you will have to unscrew the Fluid supply and return lines for the steering rack. It’s the hardest part of the job in my opinion, the bolts are hard to access due to limited space. So you might try it now, and if its really not working out, you can try it later after unscrewing the rack (step 13). This way you will be able to move the rack around and have better access to the two screws. The big bolt is big! Its 22mm.
12. Unscrew the steering rack from the car, there are two screws on the top of the engine compartment. One under the battery, and one next to the master cylinder. There is one that is only accessible from underneath the car, its hard to get, but if you have a ratchet with big extension, it will be a lot easier.
13. Now that the rack is completely detached, you can remove it out of the car. It might be tricky but if you maneuver it right, its not that bad. Out with the old, in with the new!
14. Now its time to center your new rack. There is a pre-drilled hole in the rack. You can see it if you take off the left boot. The inspector hole has a Hex screw in it. Unscrew it and manually align the two holes. To hold the rack in center you will need a centering screw. This is where you will need one M8x35 Pitch 1.25 screw. You will need to file the screws tip down so it goes into the hole.
And screw it in place of the short screw. Now the rack is secure and ready to be installed.
If you got a remanufactured rack, you will also need to install new tie-rods, Unscrew your old rods from the old rack, counting how many turns you make, and install it the same way on the new (make sure you count! Or the car will be crazy misaligned!
15. Now that everything is ready to install, you might want to ask a help of a buddy to get the new rack in. You can do it yourself, but it might be a easier with another person to help you.
16. Now you will need to attach the fluid supply and return lines back on. Again this might be easier to do when the rack is not bolted down. Torque the smaller bolt (supply) to 30 ft-lbs. And the big bolt (return line) to 37 ft-lbs.
17. If you haven’t bolted the rack down yet, now is the time. Torque the mounting bolts to 48 ft-lbs.
18. Reattach the Tie-Rod ends to the control arm, you might have to gently hammer the rod in. Torque the vertical bolt to 62 in-lbs (inches NOT feet! Very important!) and the clamp bolt/nut to 33 ft-lbs. Do the same on the other side as well.
19. Now move back into your car, you might want to wash your hands first and put the rubber seal back on, and reattach the shaft to the rack. Again, you might have to hammer it in gently.
20. Once it is on, go back to the engine compartment and remove the Centering bolt and replace it with the original bolt to seal the rack.
21. Go back to the car, put in the pinch bolt to secure the shaft to the rack, and sure it really well with a hex wrench. Turn the wheel 180 degrees again to attach the nut, torque it to 30 ft-lbs. And move the steering wheel to straight position again.
22. Attach the battery.
23. Put the panel back on. Its time to bleed the system.
24. Make sure that the return hose is attached back to the fluid tank. Add fluid to the tank. Cross your fingers and turn on the car!
25. Move the steering wheel until it can’t go anymore in both directions, it will ensure that the rack is getting lots of fluid. Add fluid when the level goes down.
26. Check for leaks, explosions, etc…
27. Attach the belly pan.
28. put the wheels back on
29. take the car for a test drive
30. Open your beer!
Good job!
