faulty steering rack

[vwlt35]

Hi, what are the symptoms of a faulty steering rack? how do i know if my steering rack has gone faulty? I have looked under and cannot see any leaks. I cannot hear any noises either. My steering is very heavy and cannot pinpoint what the problem could be after replacing the powersteering pump i still have the same problem.

Any ideas would be helpful.

Thank you

[Crasher]

Which year/engine?

[vwlt35]

hi, Its a 2006 VW LT35 2.5 TDI

[Crasher]

Well if it isn’t the pump it has to be the rack. Where did the pump come from?

[vwlt35]

Apart from the steering going heavy what else would a faulty steering rack do? I.e. would it make a noise/grind etc? also there are no leaks from the steering rack.

I purchased the pump from a VW brakers yard. its tested and he gave 2 months gurantee. Also i have seen on other posts where people have mentioned the powersteering fuild going black of pump is faulty. the fluid on my van is not black when the old pump was in and with the replacement its still not black.

[Crasher]

Well my experience on the LT is very small as I don’t do them because they will not fit in my workshop and I don’t like working on commercial vehicles anyway for various reasons. I occasionally see racks on cars that lose there assistance and have no other apparent faults but it is much less common than pump failure which itself is quite rare.