A properly functioning steering mechanism is one of the main conditions for ensuring the safety of any vehicle. If the owner of a Lada Kalina detects suspicious signs of failure of any component components of this unit, then he urgently needs to take effective measures to find and eliminate the malfunction. The main characteristic symptom of problems is knocking. It is clearly audible when driving over bumps or when turning the steering wheel while driving. When the owner determines that the steering rack requires steering rack repair, then he has two options: go to the station to the experts or dare to repair the steering rack on his own. You can make the replacement with your own hands; of course, it is not easy and troublesome, but nevertheless it is possible. Especially if you have a repair kit on hand.
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.
Removal of old rods is carried out using a wrench whose head size is 15 mm. As an additional means, a piece of steel pipe is used. Further repair of the steering rack or its replacement includes removing the anthers and plastic ties. If a visual inspection shows that the new rack bushing is running dry, it must be thoroughly lubricated. Sometimes it requires a lift.
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.
Lyrical digression
In Lada Kalina, the steering rack never makes a knock when we are talking about a new car. This is also true for the break-in period. Let's say in your case this is not done. Then, do not try to repair anything, but go straight to the dealer. According to reviews, the defect in question is covered under warranty, and most car dealers do this: the steering rack assembly is replaced with a new one.
This is what the replacement unit looks like, the rack assembly
There is a logic here. At the factory, adjustments are made correctly (this is true in 99.9% of cases). If a defect appears, the dealer replaces the assembly without expecting that adjustment will solve the problem. The owner does not need to hope for this either. The choice is yours.
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.
Video
This video shows how to repair the steering mechanism on Kalina.
Knock in Kalina steering rack. How to remove.
Installation of Kalina steering rack.
Repair of the steering column gearbox and the RR itself on Priora, Kalina, Grant.
How to install a steering rack from Kalina 2 to Kalina 1.
Steering rack for Lada Kalina Sport with a gear ratio of 3.1 instead of 4.02.
Do-it-yourself repair of the steering rack, but not Kalina, but Daevoo Sens / Daewoo Sens.
Kalina control rack - VAZ 11183 Kalina rack repair
Have you ever had a chance to monitor knocks and noises from the side? Probably it happened. They changed the control tips, changed the ball tips, even changed the springs with support bearings, but does the knocking continue? It's time to tug, make sure there is free play and start sorting out the rack. In this article I will talk about repairing the VAZ 11183 rack , but the development is identical to all other VAZ front-wheel drive racks.
The most interesting thing is that these motherfuckers from AvtoVAZ do not fundamentally change anything except the gearbox housing, I bought a repair kit 2110-2112, the rack is listed in catalogs as 2110, but the splined part is longer than 2110, and the gearbox is slightly different, so just change Unfortunately, 11183 for 2110 will not work, although 2110 costs 2500 in my town, and 11183 5500 costs 6000 rubles. The difference per pocket is very noticeable.
Well, it doesn’t fit and doesn’t fit, so we give the engineers a hard time and start disassembling it. Unfortunately, there won’t be a photo for the article, because I was up to my elbows in mud and didn’t want to wash myself for the sake of pictures, but I’ll try to describe everything carefully.
Removing the steering mechanism.
1. For convenience of work in the future, and so as not to climb into the interior with stains, unscrew the bolt securing the splined connection from inside the cabin (you will see it near the floor of the control shaft).
2. We lift the car on a lift, throw it down, and knock out the control tips from the steering knuckles.
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.
