As seen on:

SMH Logo News Logo

Call 1300 303 181

What is Rack-And-Pinion Steering?

Rack-And-Pinion Steering defined

There are many types of steering gears that can be used to steer a motor vehicle. The rack-and –pinion type is the current choice of many car manufacturers. The manual rack and pinion steering consists of a pinion shaft and bearing assembly, rack gear, gear housing, two tie rod assemblies, an adjuster assembly, dust boots, and boot clamps, and mounting grommets and boots. When the driver turns the steering wheel, the manual movement is relayed to the steering shaft and shaft joint, and then to the pinion shaft. Because the pinion teeth are meshed into the teeth on the rack gear, the rotary motion is changed to transverse movement of the rack gear. When the movement in the rack gear occurs, then the tie rods and tie rod ends transmit this movement to the steering knuckles and wheels. The power assisted rack-and-pinion steering has a hydraulic-mechanical unit with an integral piston and rack assembly. The hydraulic-mechanical unit has power steering fluid inside the lines that flow and control pressure so as to reduce the steering effort required by the driver to turn the vehicles wheels.

The rack-and-pinion steering design reliably and accurately translates the steering wheels rotary motion into linear motion using a pinion engaging with a rack.We hope that helps answer the question ‘What is What is Rack-And-Pinion Steering?’!

Back to Car Glossary