whats under this boot?

[wellskint]

whilst i was getting the tracking done today, the final part involved wiggling the steering wheel several times before finalising the toe setting. something was not quite right. they ended up jacking the front of the car up an rocked and wiggled the wheel (like they do in an mot) and there was some play in the front offside wheel that seemed to originate coming from the boot that is inward on the arm that they use to adjust the setting. forgive my lack of technical knowledge - i think it might be something to do with the rack and pinion ball joint assembly. whilst there was play in the wheel in the they were unable to finalise the tracking settings. please does anyone have any idea what this problem might be.thanks

[Galileo]

You talking about the track rod end perhaps? A common <£10 part easily found if you are.

[wellskint]

forgive my ignorance but which part is the track rod end?

[Galileo]

The bit at the end, 155548 but if you don't recognize it from picture then it was probably something else!

[DavePoth]

forgive my ignorance but which part is the track rod end?

On the picture above the inset section on the left is the track rod end, part number 155548. It's a ball joint so they do wear out and would cause some play in the steering, but the good news is that they're cheap and easy to replace. Here's an example from a good supplier, you can probably find them a couple of quid cheaper if your username is true.

http://www.angclassiccarparts.co.uk/hom ... 0hl-sprint

The next thing I'd look at would be the bushes that hold the steering rack onto the subframe, on the diagram below it's part number 139386. There is one on each end of the rack.



I'd say that given the description a worn bush there might cause play in the place they were finding it.

[GlenM]

whilst i was getting the tracking done today, the final part involved wiggling the steering wheel several times before finalising the toe setting. something was not quite right. they ended up jacking the front of the car up an rocked and wiggled the wheel (like they do in an mot) and there was some play in the front offside wheel that seemed to originate coming from the boot that is inward on the arm that they use to adjust the setting. forgive my lack of technical knowledge - i think it might be something to do with the rack and pinion ball joint assembly. whilst there was play in the wheel in the they were unable to finalise the tracking settings. please does anyone have any idea what this problem might be.thanks

If it's the long rack boot that you are refering to, then it's not the track rod end, as others have suggested, but the track rod inner joint where the track rod attaches to the rack. I have never changed these on a Dolomite but I have done them on an E46 BMW.

[soe8m]

Most probably is a worn bush in the end of the tube of the rack when play at the passenger side. At the driver side you can have play by a worn plunger but these are adjustable. Loosing some shims will take away the play. Inner ball joint hardly wear.

Jeroen