GEN 1 Steering wheel play and some other tips

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tomas181

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Hi folks. A few weeks ago I went to the moroccan desert for an amateur race. Marocchallenge IT WAS AMAZING TO PUT THIS THING ON IT’S REAL PLAYGROUND!

we did 6 stages in all kind of terrain and about 1500 miles offroading + about 1500 miles getting there and doing link stages.

It was an awesome experience and exactly what I bought the car for. To use it offroading. I loved every minute of it, excepting the moment when I lost my power steering due to a leak in the steering cooler. The radiator has a little hole on the backside. No stone hit no nothing. Seems like a material failure.
As I was in middle of nowhere I had to finish the last 90 miles without power steering. Which was really hard. I knew about steering issues but thought it was only the pump which blows if doing donuts. I guess I Found out I was wrong .

After finishing the stage I tried to fix the radiator/cooler but couldn’t. So I finally by- passed the cooler to be able to finish the race with PS working and hoped not to blow the pump instantly. IT WORKED! as we had pretty mild tmepratures it didn’t run hot and is still working fine without cooling system. Even running without oil for some miles, the pump still works fine without any noises. Only issue after the race is a decent amount of play in steering wheel. So I guess I have some work to do and I’m doing some research to fix it. I think that the fact of running without PS made the rack suffer more because on every rocky brake zone the wheel hitting from side to side really hard.

First thing I’m going to try is to tighten the rack. Hoping the play gets a bit better. Next thing to find some cooler to install and keep the oem one by-passed and leave it there only for the ac system.

Can someone tell me if there are cooling kits with extra reservoirs without the pump. Has someone else done this before? I’m hesitant to change the pump while still working right.

Would be really cool to here some advice from you guys.

As I live in Spain it’s difficult to find good information and parts for my truck.

Thanks in advance! d44a611d-266f-4237-ba14-c01e4fb5f557.jpeg
 

17baker

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Check out Kartek. You can buy the finned reservoirs with the filter for fairly inexpensive and there are multiple options on coolers with fans and in-line thermostats.

I snugged up my rack and it greatly improved the feel and my steering wheel stopped shaking, but it didn’t fix the slop on the front passenger wheel so I’m in need of a new rack.
 

Canuck714

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The steering shaft has a section between firewall and the rack that will get play in it. Its a 2 part shaft for installation and its the joint between the 2 sections that gets play.
Simple to replace and easy to see the play in it. Look here first before trying to tighten the bushing in the rack.
With the engine off, have someone move steering wheel back and forth in the loose play area.. Watch the steering shaft and chances are you can see the play in the shaft.
 

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