JRP3
Hyperactive Member
You might be able to look up torque specs for the bolt sizes and thread pitch when going into aluminum. There should be general maximum torque values so that you don't strip anything out.
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Regarding torque specs, I don't think the bolts in question are intended to be serviceable... Pretty sure Tesla advises replacing the entire rack. So not sure we have/can get them (unless someone knows/reaches out to the rack OEM and asks?)
Hello everyoneI searched and didn't find anybody else with a similar issue.
Yesterday, all of a sudden, my steering started making some bad noises - clunks and screeches. Today I removed the tub and found 2 of the 3 bolts that mount the electric steering assist to the rack had sheared off.
Another 2 bolts, along with those 3, hold two parts of the rack together. One of those is also broken. It can't escape because it's too long to come out all the way where it's situated.
Oddly enough, there are 3 more threaded holes (exactly adjacent to the 3 used in assembly) in the electric assist; so I didn't have to drill the broken ones out. I filed them down to flush and put 3 new bolts in. (The last one was bent.)
I'm pretty sure the originals are aluminum, but being Sunday I just went to the local hardware store and bought what they had. BTW they are 8mm x 1.25, 65mm long.
View attachment 256935
View attachment 256936
Its working great again, but I wonder if I should replace the bolts with OE. I did put some anti-seize on the threads since they're dissimilar metals now.
I hope the rack stays intact.
Hello everyone
I am new to the forum but i couldn't let this one go when i seen it your not alone here's what happened to my car 2 days ago and how I tried to fix it View attachment 273293 Went to leave to go to work and lost power steering so called in sick and decided to investigate this is what I found power steering rack motor sitting on the sway bar (rwd 85 Autopilot 150000KMs vin 65XXX Canadian) you can see one of the bolts in the picture on the plastic belly cover
View attachment 273294
View attachment 273295
Only found 2 out of the 3 bolts sitting in the belly cover over torqued failure method not a good choice of fastenerView attachment 273296 up close picture of the corrosion from road salt All three bolts sheared off at the face had to be drilled out and easy-outted/tapped to the right of clean hole View attachment 273298
Damage was already done to the belt with it not aligned and cutting with the sharpe teeth of the cogged motor gear ripping pieces of rubber off the belt looks to be all fresh and not over timeView attachment 273299
I replaced the bolts with new ones but the belt is too badly damaged it slips and makes the steering wheel jump at slow speeds going to have to replace the rack or try to find a new belt to replace I would suggest to anyone with one of these power steering racks in the rwd models s to replace the blots with steel grade 8.8 M8-1.25 at 65-70mm long (washers) before this happens to you $3.5 is better then $2000
That's a fair observation but tesla makes the new racks with steel bolts holding the motor up. The aluminum factory bolts already have more then enough stress on them trying to hold up a 15 lbs motor with a lot of torque twisting action back and forth and from my pictures the bolts where torqued to yield (over torqued) that is thier failure mode put a little anti seize or dielectric to stop the formation of corrosion cells forming you will be in a lot better shape then doing nothing and letting it fall apart.Nice looking work in the fix, sorry the belt wasn't salvageable. Question though, would the steel bolts cause issue with the aluminum casting (galvanic corrosion)?
@JonMc
Land Rover?Hello everyone
I am new to the forum but i couldn't let this one go when i seen it your not alone here's what happened to my car 2 days ago and how I tried to fix it View attachment 273293 Went to leave to go to work and lost power steering so called in sick and decided to investigate this is what I found power steering rack motor sitting on the sway bar (rwd 85 Autopilot 150000KMs vin 65XXX Canadian) you can see one of the bolts in the picture on the plastic belly cover
View attachment 273294
View attachment 273295
Only found 2 out of the 3 bolts sitting in the belly cover over torqued failure method not a good choice of fastenerView attachment 273296 up close picture of the corrosion from road salt All three bolts sheared off at the face had to be drilled out and easy-outted/tapped to the right of clean hole View attachment 273298
Damage was already done to the belt with it not aligned and cutting with the sharpe teeth of the cogged motor gear ripping pieces of rubber off the belt looks to be all fresh and not over timeView attachment 273299
I replaced the bolts with new ones but the belt is too badly damaged it slips and makes the steering wheel jump at slow speeds going to have to replace the rack or try to find a new belt to replace I would suggest to anyone with one of these power steering racks in the rwd models s to replace the blots with steel grade 8.8 M8-1.25 at 65-70mm long (washers) before this happens to you $3.5 is better then $2000
Yes Land Rover as far as I've seen every steering rack is made by Land Rover for Tesla's rwd and awd's. Maybe a cheap supplier funny BMW owned Land Rover years ago and the steering racks look identical to BMW eps racks only makes sense it's a great design why bother to change anything just produce it and sell itLand Rover?
I suspect ZF Lenksysteme is the actual supplier and it happens to be part of the Land Rover parts catalog.On January 30, 2015, the Bosch Group completed its acquisition of ZF Friedrichshafen AG’s 50-percent share in the joint venture ZF Lenksysteme GmbH (ZFLS). The antitrust authorities have approved the acquisition. This means that Bosch now owns all shares in the formerly 50:50 joint venture. It will be incorporated into the Bosch Group as a new division with the name Robert Bosch Automotive Steering GmbH. A vote was held among ZFLS associates to determine the new name.
...
ZFLS is a leading manufacturer of modern, fuel-saving electric steering systems, with which it currently generates around 60 percent of its sales.
Seems like it per a quick Google search:Yes, ZF Lenksysteme Germany is the manufacturer for this one while the Facelift one with the steel bolts says Made in USA on it but the casting still has a ZF logo. ZF factory in the US?
Hello everyone
I am new to the forum but i couldn't let this one go when i seen it your not alone here's what happened to my car 2 days ago and how I tried to fix it View attachment 273293 Went to leave to go to work and lost power steering so called in sick and decided to investigate this is what I found power steering rack motor sitting on the sway bar (rwd 85 Autopilot 150000KMs vin 65XXX Canadian) you can see one of the bolts in the picture on the plastic belly cover
View attachment 273294
View attachment 273295
Only found 2 out of the 3 bolts sitting in the belly cover over torqued failure method not a good choice of fastenerView attachment 273296 up close picture of the corrosion from road salt All three bolts sheared off at the face had to be drilled out and easy-outted/tapped to the right of clean hole View attachment 273298
Damage was already done to the belt with it not aligned and cutting with the sharpe teeth of the cogged motor gear ripping pieces of rubber off the belt looks to be all fresh and not over timeView attachment 273299
I replaced the bolts with new ones but the belt is too badly damaged it slips and makes the steering wheel jump at slow speeds going to have to replace the rack or try to find a new belt to replace I would suggest to anyone with one of these power steering racks in the rwd models s to replace the blots with steel grade 8.8 M8-1.25 at 65-70mm long (washers) before this happens to you $3.5 is better then $2000
I'd be shocked if Tesla didn't know about this. Perhaps a tweet to Elektrek might be in order, or contact Consumer Reports?PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE advise Tesla HQ of your findings ASAP, and retain all parts for their analysis. This is a serious safety hazard and a recall is needed, but Tesla needs time to spin up for the repairs: parts need to be ordered, and suppliers take time to spin up as well, all before the recall can be announced. Obviously, I would think that the supplier will be on the hook for the costs, but contracts vary . . . .
Thank you--you may save a life or two by doing this.