Replacing the VAZ 2114/2015 steering rack with your own hands, photo, video

Causes and symptoms of malfunctions

There are several reasons why the VAZ-2114 steering rack needs to be replaced:

Natural wear and tear of components;
Wear due to foreign particles (sand, dirt) getting inside the mechanism;
Damage to the rack or pinion teeth.

Natural wear and tear is understandable. If a car has driven more than 100 thousand km (and on our roads maybe less), then play in the steering is a common occurrence. But other causes of malfunctions are influenced by the features of operation and maintenance.

Damaged boots and oil seals, careless operation of the car, ignoring adjustment work - all this significantly reduces the life of the steering mechanism and leads to damage that makes further use of the unit impossible.

A worn or faulty VAZ-2114 steering rack will definitely manifest itself, and the symptoms can be different:

Increased free play in the steering;
Knocks from the steering rack when driving over uneven surfaces;
Strong vibrations in the steering wheel;
The car pulls in different directions;
Crunching in the area of the steering mechanism when turning;
Wedging;
"Weighting" of the steering wheel.

Since many symptoms are also inherent in problems with other components of the VAZ-2114 steering, before making a replacement, you should first make a diagnosis.

It comes down to checking the camber/toe angles, the condition of the rod ends and silent blocks, as well as the column shaft and its components.

Cost and article number of the VAZ 2114 steering rack

The price of a standard VAZ 2114 rack from the VAZ manufacturer with article number 21080340001210 will be about 3100 rubles. You can also purchase its analogue from the manufacturer TRIALLI with article number CR108 for 2300 rubles, and the company FENOX with article number SR16002O7 - 3400 rubles.

Replacement kit

If you don’t want to change it yourself, then get ready to pay about 1.5-2 thousand rubles for the services of specialists from service stations. Today this is the average price of such repairs. Again, it all depends on the level of the car service, and sometimes on its arrogance.

When is replacement carried out?

If the condition of the listed elements does not cause any complaints, and adjustment work cannot be performed due to backlash, the fault lies in the steering mechanism itself.

Increased free play and knocking can still be eliminated by adjustment. While under the car on the mechanism body, you can find an adjusting screw for a special key, which can be replaced with a 17mm hexagon.

Using a wrench, tighten the screw until it stops, and then unscrew it by ? revolutions, and check the “heaviness” of the steering wheel. It should rotate easily, then you can check the behavior of the steering on the road.

If the adjustment does not help, the play and knocking remain, the VAZ-2114 steering rack needs to be repaired or replaced.

Read on the topic: The play in the steering, what it should be, is normal.

But if there is a crunch in the rack, you can immediately start replacing it, since adjustment with such symptoms obviously will not help.

Replacing the VAZ-2114 rack can be entrusted to service station specialists, but you will have to pay. The cost of replacement services at service centers varies from $20 to $45. And if we add the price of the rail itself, then the amount comes out to be considerable.

You can replace everything yourself, saving on this, especially since performing the operation on a VAZ-2114 is not difficult and even a novice car enthusiast can do it.

Also read about the causes of knocking when turning the steering wheel.

Signs of malfunction of the steering mechanism on the VAZ-2114

The first symptoms that indicate that the steering rack needs to be tightened are:

large backlash of the left wheel;
lubricant flowing through the rack seals;
unexpected biting of the rack while driving;
knocking noise under the hood when driving on a bad road.

Biting the steering rack in the middle of the road can lead to an accident, and in most cases a tightening is not enough, but this does not mean that it cannot be adjusted. There are two ways to tighten the steering rack: without removing it from the car or using a removed rack.

The second method is used after major repairs or replacement of the mechanism. We will look at a simple method, the purpose of which is to remove increased play and knocking under the hood.

Changing the rack yourself

There are two ways to replace the rack. The method is selected based on why exactly the mechanism is being removed - for replacement or repair.

In the case of installing a new rail, you should first determine its completeness.

They go on sale both assembled with steering rods and without them.

The first replacement option involves pressing out the tips from the steering knuckles, so the work will require a special puller.

Tools and accessories

To carry out the replacement you will need:

Socket or open-end wrenches for 10, 13, 17, 22 (but better - heads with a knob equipped with a ratchet mechanism);
Jacks and supports;
WD-40 product;
Flat screwdriver;
Hammer;
Rags;
Tip remover (if the rods are also dismantled).

Work technology

Let's look at how to replace the VAZ-2114 steering rack without changing the rods. The technology for carrying out the work is as follows:

We put the car on a flat area or hole, immobilize it (tighten the handbrake, put wheel chocks under the rear wheels);
Loosen the wheel bolts;
Using jacks, we hang up the front of the car, then secure it with props. If you have one jack, first lift one side, put a support, remove the lifting mechanism and go to the other side;
Remove the front wheels;
In the arch on the left side, in the direction of travel of the car, there is a technological hole that can be covered with a lid (not always). We dismantle this cover;
If there is an absorber, loosen the clamp securing it, pull out the element and move it to the side;
Using a hammer and a screwdriver, we bend the antennae of the plate, which prevent the bolts securing the rods to the rack from loosening (for ease of work, you can turn the steering wheel to position the rack in a place that is easy to access);
Read also: VAZ 2109 reverse gear does not engage: step-by-step instructions, photos and videos
We unscrew the fastening bolts and pull them out together with the fixing plate;
We move the rods to the side;
In the cabin, in front of the front shield, at the bottom we find the junction of the column shaft with the gear shaft of the mechanism. Unscrew the fixing bolt. By moving the steering wheel towards you, we move the connection;
Using a 13mm socket, unscrew the nuts securing the brackets that secure the mechanism. They should be treated with WD-40 first, as they often rust. Attempts to unscrew without pre-treatment may lead to breakage of the pin;
Remove the staples;
We move the mechanism towards the engine so that the gear shaft completely comes out of the hole in the shield;
We pull out the assembly through the technological hole;
We push the new mechanism through the hole, correctly place it, fix it and connect it to the column.

Reassembling the steering control is done in the reverse order of removal.

Rail replacement process

Having purchased a working spare part and prepared the car for repair, you can begin to dismantle the faulty element. Let's look at each of the stages:

Remove the front wheels of the car to gain access to the tips.
From inside, unscrew the cardan locking bolt and unclench the bracket in the place marked in the photo. Note that removing the steering column is not required.
Remove the absorber from the engine compartment.
Loosen the nuts from the cotter pins and remove the ends (use special pullers or a mounting tool).
Unscrew the nuts securing the unit to the body and pull it out through the right (passenger side). You will need a wrench or ratchet with a small extension and a socket.

Important! When removing the tips from the dismantled part, remember the number of turns in order to adjust the wheel toe when reinstalling. After installing a new spare part, go to the service center and set the alignment correctly.

On the new part, remove the side plastic covers and add lubricants (litol, fiol or graphite lubricant).

The reverse installation process should be carried out in reverse order. The only difficulty that will arise during reassembly is getting into the driveshaft splines. This work is easier to do with an assistant. In general, you can change the steering rack on a VAZ 2114 with your own hands using the above instructions alone, without the help of a service center. To restore smooth operation, you can purchase a repair kit, but to use it you will have to completely disassemble the structure, which requires experience. It is often easier to replace the entire mechanism assembly, especially since on the VAZ 2114 it is always available for sale

The nuances of replacing the assembly assembly

In the case of replacing the VAZ-2114 rack assembly with rods, we proceed somewhat differently.

There is no need to unscrew the rods from the rack during the work. But you will have to disconnect the tips from the stand. This operation will not be difficult if you have a puller.

If it is not available, you can use the folk method;

Unbend and remove the stopper;
Unscrew the tip nut;
We take the pry bar and place it between the rod and the protrusion of the stand, to which the tip is attached;
We use a pry bar to create a pressing force and at the same time apply sharp blows with a hammer to the protrusion (usually 2-3 blows are enough for the tip to “pop out”).

Next, we do everything identical to what was described: unscrew the fastening nuts and the fixing bolt on the column shaft. Afterwards all that remains is to remove the mechanism and replace it with a new one.

After replacement, it will be necessary to adjust the camber/toe angles of the VAZ-2114 steering, even if the rods were not removed. This operation will definitely not be superfluous.

Diagnostics and restoration of slats

Instead of purchasing a new rack, you can try to repair the one installed on the car. But first you need to make a diagnosis.

To do this, we completely disassemble the assembly into its component parts and carry out troubleshooting. This will allow you to determine which elements are extremely worn or damaged.

Repair kits for restoring the steering mechanism are sold on the market. Moreover, their completeness is very different.

Some include only rubber and plastic elements (oil seals, boots, bushings).

Others come with a new rack, gear, connecting elements, bearings (in general, almost all components).

With the help of repair kits, you can restore the functionality of the “native” unit, but only on the condition that the body is intact and does not have significant wear.

The use of repair kits can significantly reduce the cost of repair work. But they do not always allow you to restore functionality and problems with the steering remain even after repairs.

In this case, there is only one way out - replacing the steering rack with a new one.

Selecting a replacement unit

The choice of a new unit for the VAZ-2114 should be approached seriously. The main problem is that very often there are defective products on the market that are already faulty or will fail in a very short time.

The best option is to purchase an original unit. The VAZ-2114 uses the same mechanism as the cars of the Samara 1 family (2108, 2109, 21099). Therefore, its catalog number is 2108-3400012, that is, when searching, you can safely ask for a rack for the “Eight” and not worry that it will not fit. The average cost is $100.

You can also buy analogue racks produced by auto parts manufacturers. But here you should pay attention to the manufacturer (it must be well-known), as well as the availability of quality certificates.

Among analog products, we recommend paying attention to steering mechanisms from the following manufacturers:

Weber CG 2108-0012 (its price starts at $80);
Pilenga SR-P 1141 (costs $100);
Trialli CR 108 and CR S 708 (the first comes without rods and lugs and costs about $100, the second has an assembled mechanism, which is why it costs twice as much).

For those who want to slightly modify the steering, you can look for tuning racks. The main difference between them is the lower number of revolutions. They are also positioned by manufacturers as reinforced.

Regarding manufacturers, it is worth looking for products from the Italian company Brembo, the Polish company ATF, or the Russian company SS20.

As for the latter manufacturer, it only produces steering racks for the 10th VAZ family, so after acquisition the mechanism will have to be slightly altered.

But we note that tuning slats will cost much more than the original or conventional analogues. So, for a Brembo unit you will have to pay about $250, for ATF - about $200, and SS20 - approximately $210-220.

Typical breakdowns

Torn steering rack boot

There are several most common reasons why a unit may need to be replaced:

The rail has exhausted its service life;
The vehicle is regularly driven on uneven roads;
Having turned the steering wheel to its extreme position, sharp accelerations are often made;
The presence of mechanical damage due to collisions with potholes, accidents, etc.

Drivers should pay attention to the behavior of their car, which itself may indicate that the steering is out of order. This may manifest itself as follows:

The rack knocks when turning the steering wheel;
The steering wheel jams and turns to the sides with some difficulty;
There is knocking and vibration during travel;
The play at the steering wheel has increased;
The wheel alignment is disrupted. This can be determined by uneven wear of the rubber.

New or refurbished?

Among car enthusiasts, the question often arises regarding the steering rack - should I purchase a new one for replacement or restore the “original” one? It is impossible to answer unequivocally here.

If the repair was carried out independently and using a high-quality repair kit, then after restoration the rack can serve for quite a long time.

But if you purchase a restored rack or if it is repaired at a service station, there is a high probability that problems will soon arise. After all, it is unknown who, how and with what help carried out the restoration.

As for new units, there are a lot of defective racks on the market.

In general, it is still better to try to repair the rack first, since it is much cheaper. It is worth purchasing a new mechanism only after you have already become convinced that the restoration did not help.