The serviceability of the steering system of any car is an important safety requirement on the road. Repair of the steering rack on Kalina must be carried out when any suspicious sounds occur. As practice shows, many car enthusiasts are calm about the fact that when turning the steering wheel there is a knocking or creaking noise, but this may indicate that the steering rack is knocking. Repairing the steering rack on Kalina is best done at a service station, but you can do it yourself.
Steering mechanism: 1 – boot; 2, 20 – bolts; 3 – washer; 4 – oil seal; 5 – crankcase cover; 6, 17 – sealing rings; 7 – separator; 8 – drive gear with bearing; 9 – steering rack; 10 – left protective cap; 11 – rod support; 12 – bracket; 13 – plug; 14 – stop nut; 15 – stop spring; 16 – retaining ring; 18 – rack stop; 19 – stop liner; 21 – locking plate; 22 – cover plate; 23 – clamp; 24 – protective cover; 25 – right protective cap; 26 – steering gear housing
Lada Kalina steering rack resource
The Lada Kalina steering rack has a factory service life of 60-80 thousand kilometers. After this period, the manufacturer recommends checking the condition of the part by visiting an official service center.
When checking the condition of the steering rack, you should pay attention to several factors:
- Lada Kalina, for all its novelty, remains a budget car. For this reason, replacement of the part may be required after 20-40 thousand kilometers. The same rule applies to the electric booster. Statistics show that only 50% of the electrical amplifiers and racks installed on Kalina retain their operational properties over 80 thousand km. mileage
- In some cases, if signs of a part malfunction appear, it is enough to tighten the steering rack. Please note that failure to perform this maintenance may result in serious damage, including damage to the spool and stem.
- Most often, the steering rack fails due to leaky boots that cover the moving elements of the part. Therefore, they should be checked regularly and changed as necessary.
The most reliable are the Mando racks, produced in South Korea and installed on the new Lada Kalina. Since dismantling the part is not difficult, drivers can fix many defects themselves.
Vehicle Maintenance
Before replacing the steering rack on Kalina, you need to decide on the desired number of revolutions - 3 or 4. This indicator characterizes the maximum possible number of turns from the extreme right to the extreme left position of the steering wheel. If the vehicle is not equipped with a power steering system, then the steering rack is selected by 4 turns. A lower value will make it more difficult to control the car.
You can cope with replacing the steering rack on Kalina yourself in a few hours. First you need to buy a new original steering rack. It’s not worth saving on it by choosing Chinese analogues. The initial benefit will lead to many problems in the future. The retail chain offers a set with steering rods, so you won’t be able to buy just the steering rack separately.
Experienced drivers recommend paying attention to ensuring that the steering rack has suitable tips for a specific vehicle model. Even with minor differences in size, installation will be possible. Problems will arise during the adjustment stage.
Steering rack for viburnum
Having purchased the necessary part, it must be thoroughly lubricated. Manufacturers of the Lada Kalina car do not always supply the vehicle with a sufficient amount of lubricants. To perform the described procedure, you will need nylon ties, with which the rubber boots of the slats are secured. The minimum length of the ties is 28 cm.
Diagnosis of steering faults
There are several characteristic signs by which you can determine a malfunction of the hydraulic steering rack:
- Increased effort to turn the steering wheel;
- Constant decrease in fluid level in the expansion tank. A lack of power steering fluid can be indicated by leaks under the car, as well as a corresponding notification on the dashboard.
- The appearance of knocking noises when driving. This sign is easy to notice when driving on uneven roads.
- A hum that gets louder when you turn the steering wheel. In some cases, extraneous sound may be accompanied by vibrations.
- Problems with returning the steering wheel to its original position.
Many of the listed “symptoms” are also characteristic of an electric rack. In addition to them, the breakdown of a part with an ESD can lead to the steering wheel biting, its spontaneous rotation and knocking.
If one or more of the listed symptoms appears, you should definitely contact a service center. You can also inspect the rack yourself if there are brake shoes or a hole.
Causes of steering rack failure on Lada Kalina
There are three reasons why the Lada Kalina steering rack most often fails:
- wear of the central tooth or working pair;
- the appearance of corrosion on parts (usually this problem is associated with a worn boot);
- wear of any other element, such as a disc spring.
In many cases, the breakdown occurs due to the fault of the driver. Among the typical mistakes of car owners that lead to the described malfunctions are driving over bumps at high speeds. At the same time, it is not recommended to turn the steering wheel sharply on a cold car or leave it with the wheels turned out in winter.
These and many other factors accelerate wear of parts, which may require expensive repairs or complete replacement of the unit.
You need to pay attention to the smallest details
Possible problems may arise at the stage of dismantling the rack stop nut. The manufacturer of the Lada Kalina car began to twist it too much. Even with maximum effort, it is not always possible to move it in space by 2 or more divisions. In this case, there is no need to make significant physical efforts. It is enough to move it by the allowed number of divisions.
In order to properly repair the steering rack, you need to carefully turn the worm shaft in one direction and then in the other direction.
½ tube of Litol lubricant will help speed up the process. After this, you need to install the new steering rack in its rightful place and secure all the elements. It is recommended that after installation is completed, make 4-5 full turns of the steering wheel in both directions. The absence of knocking or delays indicates the success of the repair. If there are problems, the steering nut needs to be slightly tightened or re-lubricated.
Prompt replacement of worn or broken parts will eliminate the likelihood of further spread of the malfunction. It would not be a bad idea to regularly visit the service station for preventive visits. Timely diagnosis is the key to a long mileage between repairs.
DIY steering rack repair
If you refuse to contact a car service and decide to carry out the repairs yourself, you will need a repair kit. In terms of cost, such a set will be cheaper than a new unit. You can find a repair kit for the described Lada Kalina unit using article number 2110-3403090-11. However, you should not buy plastic inserts and bushings separately, since the quality of such parts may vary.
Dismantling and disassembling the part
After purchasing all the necessary materials, you can begin the repair. You should first clean the rack using a high-pressure mechanism: it will remove contamination from all elements without damaging them. You can clean it yourself, but it will take more time.
It is also necessary to make marks for the correct position of the steering shaft relative to the rack axis.
To dismantle the steering rack you need to perform several steps:
- Installing a jack under the front of the car
- Removing the front wheels.
- Disconnecting the EUR from the network
- Unscrewing the bolt securing the steering shaft in the cabin.
- Removing the cotter pins and nuts that secure the tie rods to the steering knuckle.
- Removing the tie rod pins. If they cannot be removed by hand, you should use a pry bar.
- Removing the clamps securing the steering rack.
- Pulling the rack through the wheel arch without removing the steering rods.
At this stage, all that remains is to unscrew the bolts securing the part to the rods. After this, remove the clamps securing the boot. To disassemble the faulty element, you need to unscrew the fastenings of the electric booster and remove the rack housing cover. Now you can begin diagnosing the condition of all elements, replacing the bearings and boot, and installing the unit.
Assembly and installation
Before assembling all parts, it is necessary to coat the rack shaft with lithium grease. The assembly and installation process is carried out in several stages:
- Installation of new bearings.
- Filling lubricant (Litol24) into the crankcase.
- Installation of a part with a preliminary set of marks. The arch is necessary for proper fixation of the steering wheel.
- Installing the stop, plastic ring and spring.
- Fastening the steering rods and installing a new boot.
After the above steps, the rack is inserted back, followed by connecting the splines and the electric booster. The EUR is connected to the network, then the steering knuckles are connected to the steering knuckle. Now the assembly is complete, and you can proceed to adjusting the unit and checking it after repair.
Part tightening
It is easiest to tighten the rack if there is a hole. For such work, you may need a partner - second hands will greatly facilitate the adjustment process. The rack tightening looks like this:
- Installing the car on an overpass, pit or jack.
- Wheel alignment for easy adjustments.
- Measuring the play of the front wheels using a play meter. The gap should not exceed ten degrees.
- Remove the lock nut, then tighten the adjusting nut.
You should periodically check the travel and play of the steering wheel - a partner will help you do this work.
In most cases, it is enough to turn the nut 10-15 degrees to achieve the desired result. If, after completing the work, extraneous sounds or other characteristic signs of a malfunction do not disappear, the unit should be completely replaced.
Also note that after removing the rack, it is necessary to perform a wheel alignment. To ensure that the repair does not affect the driving of the car, you should contact a car service center.
Design features
The structure of the Lada Kalina steering unit includes:
- electric amplifier;
- steering column, adjustable for reach and tilt;
- electric power steering rack with gear ratio change mechanism;
- rods with tips, as well as rotary levers.
In the mechanism housing there is a unit with mechanical gearing, where the main operating element is a helical gear, the pitch of the teeth of which varies depending on the length of the rack.
The figure shows the design of the Lada Kalina rack and pinion unit.
The pressure in the rack-and-pinion pair is carried out by means of a spring, and the plastic liner present is designed to reduce the friction force. The compression level of the spring element is adjusted using a nut. The factory gap between the steering shaft and the rack is 0.1 mm in the LADA Kalina model.
If a knock appears inside the unit, it can be eliminated by adjusting the gap with your own hands. The steering shaft is centered using two bearings, one of which is located in the column bracket, and the second is located inside the electric power steering housing. The bracket is connected both to the pedal mounting unit, or rather to its front part, and to the body. Structurally, the bracket together with the pipe forms a hinged connection from a pair of plates. This unit provides a change in the position of the steering wheel, where the width of the range of movement is limited by slots in the designated plates.
The specific position of the pipe is fixed by a lever, which is connected to a special bushing that performs an adjustment mission. It is screwed onto a coupling bolt located just in the slots of the plates. When the lever is turned, the sleeve rotates synchronously. At this moment, the fixation of the plate weakens, and the steering wheel begins to change its position. Springs located in the middle of the bracket and plates, when the fastening is loosened, pull the pipe in the upward direction.
Consequences of untimely troubleshooting
Neglecting the problem can lead to even more unpleasant consequences. Driving the car will become difficult due to the increasing play - the car will begin to “float” when moving. Elements of the part will begin to collapse, which can lead to a wedge in the steering wheel. At the same time, late repairs will be more expensive, since they may require the purchase of a new unit.
The described process may take a long time, but ultimately it can lead to an emergency situation on the road. That is why you should solve the problem in a timely manner - this way you can save time and protect yourself.
At the same time, you should not take on work without experience - it is better to contact specialists who will identify the malfunction and promptly fix it.
Pressure spring
As we see, the control rack (“Kalina 2117”) has a very common design. Therefore, with its adjustment and replacement there should not be any problems. This is completely true, but the Kalinovskaya rack has one small part in its design - a pressing spring, which regulates the force of contact between the device and the gear. collisions with curbs. Learn how to knock on the steering rack, rack on. This spare part actually has some kind of cone, no matter how annoying it may sound, during operation, as oil rapidly loses its elastic characteristics, the functionality of the spring is significantly miniaturized. Therefore, it is necessary to repeatedly tighten this mechanism in order to restore the necessary efforts. When it is natural to see this spring only from the inspection hole, which greatly complicates the work of adjusting it.
The tightening itself is done with the use of a special key, as annoying as it may sound, this is impossible to do due to the design features of the model, because the control rack needs to be dismantled. Below we will discuss how this is done.
