What is a Rack and Pinion?

A number of folks have asked, "What is a Rack and Pinion?" So I’d like to give you kind of an idea what that is today. Welcome to Mercie J auto care where compassion and craftsmanship come together. The rack and pinion is the steering part of your car so imagine this is my steering wheel right here. I would turn a shaft when I turn my steering wheel and at the end of the shaft would be a gear that’s called the pinion gear. Now the pinion gear would be vertical like this and then the rack is horizontal like this. Imagine the rack has teeth on top of it so when I turn that pinion gear, I move this shaft back-and-forth. Then the rack will be attached to the wheels so as I move that rack, I would move to the wheels back-and-forth to steer the car. It has hydraulic components to it, hoses and things like that that help give you power assist because if you had to manually turn, it would be hard. My grandfather always referred to manual steering as Jack Armstrong steering but you have hydraulics to assist. Sometimes they can leak and cause a problem sometimes a joint attached they can wear out. So hopefully that helps you understand what a rack and pinion is. Until next time, safe travels and blessings to you.