Disassembly and assembly of the steering mechanism of mechanical steering (Opel Kadett E)

Disassembly

Remove the steering gear as described above.

Remove the steering gear mounting brackets together with the supports.

Remove the clamps securing the rack protective covers, remove the covers together with the casing (see photo).



Shine the slider (see photo).



(Material provided by this website: opelbook.ru)

Unscrew the hexagonal stamped nut of the rack stop adjusting bolt. Unscrew the adjusting bolt completely and remove the pressure spring through the hole for the adjusting bolt.

Remove the retaining ring installed in front of the drive pinion shaft mounting nut and unscrew the nut from the steering gear housing. Replace the sealing ring.



Remove the drive gear. The gear is replaced only as a complete assembly with the ball bearing.

Remove the rack stop from the hole for the adjusting bolt by pressing on it with a tool inserted into the drive pinion socket. Replace the sealing ring.

Press the protective cap off the steering gear housing by hitting the opposite end of the rack with a soft-faced hammer.

This completes the disassembly. If the rack support bushings or the drive pinion needle bearing are damaged, replace the steering gear housing assembly.

Clean the parts thoroughly and check their technical condition.

Assembly

Lubricate the rack pinion and rack with steering grease, part number 1948 588/90 018 813. Also place approximately 50 g of grease inside the steering gear housing in the space between the rack support bushings.

Insert the rack and pinion into the steering gear housing.

Set the rack to the middle position so that the rack recess to the end of the long part of the crankcase (dimension "A", see photo) is equal to 61 mm, and the elongated recess of the drive gear shaft is facing left when looking in the direction of travel.



Tighten the drive gear shaft mounting nut and install a new retaining ring using the KM 473 tool (see photo).





Install the slider on the rack and secure it together with the steering rods using the rod mounting bolts, placing spacer bushings (see photo) made according to the dimensions shown in the figure on the bolts.



Insert the rack stop with a new sealing ring, the pressure spring and screw the adjusting bolt into the steering gear housing until significant resistance is felt (5 Nm). In this case, the rack should be in the straight-line position. From this position, unscrew the adjusting bolt by 20-40° and make sure that the rack moves freely throughout its entire travel.

Tighten the lock nut using the KM 472 tool, holding the adjusting bolt from turning.

Install a new protective cap onto the short end of the steering gear housing.



Install the rack protective covers and protective casing, having first removed the spacer bushings from the slider.

Secure the covers with clamps, pointing the ends of the clamps upward.

Install the supports and brackets for fastening the steering gear housing to the front shield, directing the ends of the brackets with the cutout downwards (see photo).



After installing the steering gear, make sure that the steering is in the straight-ahead position. During a test drive, check that the steering wheel returns to the straight-ahead position after turning.