This is what a healthy CV looks like

[G-reg]

Except not. The boot on the outer CV on the F.R. axle had a tear in it. And by the time I had found it, it had been there for a while. So rather than spend 120 to have a new boot put on a CV that had been running without grease for an undisclosed amount of time. I was going to let it get worse and replace the whole axle for 180. Well this one didn't get loud and knock like other bad CVs I've had...it popped. A good test of the lim.slip center. I think the weather here in ND.USA had something to do with it's quick and violent demise. It has been -44F to -20F with a few feet of snow for the last week. I had to park in hub high snow overnight a couple of times. I'm guessing ice formed inside the CV itself and blew up like an engine block. This weather has taken the seals on the steering rack also. The rack is leaking out of both sides by the boots. Can those seals be replaced or am I looking at a whole new rack? Do the Imprezas or the Turbo Legacys have a faster rack that would fit in a 92 2.2

[evolutionmovement]

You can replace the seals, I've had it done. Is there anything to the seals left? I'd put some wire ties on them to keep them somewhat closed if there's enough meat left. I lost a steering rack by driving through almost 2 feet of water when water snuck past the seals. Took about a year to kill it, though. I think the WRX has a faster rack, but I know the JDMs do. Unfortunately, they're on the wrong side.

Steve

[legacy92ej22t]

That's pretty crazy that it exploded like that.

I replaced both my front axles for $100 when I did them myself. If you have some where out of the weather and are willing to you can save yourself a pretty penny.

[cbose]

The boots on the steering rack are not really meant to keep fluid in, just
water and dirt out. Inside are high pressure seals which are not easy to change.
Easiest solution is to swap in a used but tight rack from a wrecker. It is
fairly expensive to rebuild the rack (here $150 used, $350 rebuilt, afer core).
The rack itself is pretty easy to pull out and put back in. The main thing to watch
out for is getting the hose fittings back off and on correctly (aluminum pipe fittings
with o-ring seals in my case) and to get a front wheel alignment after
the swap. My rack with approx 180K kms on it was leaking from one
end, past the boots, and from the seal at the input shaft. Details about
the swap can be found in the post

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=14251

Chris

[Tleg93]

They can be a real Pain in the butt!

[G-reg]

Because I'm lazy I had a local "import specialist" swap my drive axle. They quoted me 760 for a reman rack installed. Needless to say I'll get off my A$$ and do that one myself. I found a rack for 75.00 shipped with a 1yr warranty. Sounds like a good excuse to wrestle with some whiteline bushings. Now I need to find a friend I can bribe with some brew for some garage time. If it ever gets above Zero. I know I already asked this but nobody addressed it - How bad is it to run the PSpump without or with low fluid. Because both seals are really and truly blown, it only takes a day of driving to spew a full resevior and I don't really want to put a qt of ATF in everyday until I can fix it. I though for a moment to disconnect the pressure side at the rack and connect it to the return side on the pump. I'd guess the return is at a much lower pressure than the pressure side. Hmmmmm I wonder if 3rd gear 100ft radius donuts in 6in of snow in a 12 year old car with 200K had anything to do with these problems

[evolutionmovement]

I ran my rack without the pump for a little over a week by getting a smaller belt for just the alternator. Very hard to steer, but no problems to the pump. Still the original PS pump and it's been about 80k mi since.

Steve

[G-reg]

I thought about the smaller belt right after I posted, sound's like the best way to go. Thanks