Hi,

My brother bought a Daihatsu Charade, its a G200 1.3L 5 Speed Manual. We purchased the car knowing it needed new cv joints. It has had the usual mods done by a P-Plater as we bought it off one, who i know through football. CAI with holes in the bottom of the air filter box, panel filter and the exhaust, it had been removed then i thin slit cut in the last metre of pipe on top so no one could see it from below.

As i drove it for a bit the steering felt like shit, i just put it down to different to the VW and bigger rims.

The a few weeks ago we booked it in to get a check up and quote to do the cvs. The mechanic then told us to drive it home and dont drive it again till we replace the "rack ends" he said that we could hit a bump, and the wheels could become disconnected from the steering rack and splay etc. So we drove it hime and put it in the garage and i took the exhast off and am now making it a sporty noisy one.

The answer i need is what the hell does a rack end look like and what is a good manual to buy for the car.Haynes dont make them for this car and i cant find anything on the net.



Cheers for reading a long post and hope you can help.

Talk to Ray Selby at Berrima - he's in the local phone book under 'Power steering'. Nothing he doesn't know about racks.

Is that the same one thats down behind where pit lane used to be?

It is, but he has moved out. Ray now works from home.

rack ends are easy to replace

Its the rod the comes out of the rack across to the tierod end.
Its pretty common the pivoting joint at the rack end wears out and gets sloppy giving that really vague steering feel you experienced

just remove the rack boot clamp so u can pull it back and you will see the joint under it

just takes a pair of stillsons to unscrew it from the rack and you will probabaly have to pop the tie rod end out the the spindle as well

doubt the wreckers would charge too much for a second hand one.

You should put in a hyabusa engine in it while ur at it haha. regardless of the hp, they can take corners rediculously well (go kart material for sure).

So far we have beed told by repco to call daihatsu, something like $117 per end, then a daihatsu guy from brisbane, $85 for the whole rack. And Pick and Payless in Syd, $25 each.

This is where im getting confused, the prices vary so much?

And the wreckers around here dont have any charades. And its a p-plate car for now.

Okay so bought a second hand rack an gunna replace the whole thing, its been out for like a week, like all bolts unodne and it still wont come out either side.

Ive removed the bushes and still is pivoting on an engine mount frame. Anyone have any idea on who to get the thing out.

I have a workshop manual and it just says slide it out. IT WONT JUST SLIDE OUT

I bought a whole new power steering rack for my VP from a liquidating steering and suspension business for 109