Just had my car serviced and they advised there was excessive play in n/s/f rack knuckle, can someone explained to me what this is and is it a easy fix.
I assume it means NSF track rod end, also known as tie rod end! I assume this as rack knuckle must be steering rack and knuckle must mean ball joint. This is a very old term. Replacement is straightforward. The ball joint in the track rod end splits from the hub once a nut has been removed. The other end is wound into a threaded bar which essentially connects to the steering rack although this itself is also a joint and known as an inner steering joint. You can change one of these very quickly and the part (pattern) is currently £9.50 inc delivery from eurocarparts on eBay. You'll probably need to get the tracking done after. I did one on a saab the other day. Exactly the same layout. Took me 20 minutes including jacking the car, placing it on axle stand and resetting the tracking to best fit. I then got someone to do the tracking with hunter alignment kit. This took half an hour and cost me £35.
Thanks for your help, I had the service done at Renault but I picked the car up late in the day and the only people left was the sales team so I had no one to ask.
Don't main agents ring people anymore? I recall a time when you'd take a car for a service and at about 10 am they'd ring to tell you in addition to the service the car needed x,y and z. Then ask you if you wanted to have the job done whilst the car as on the ramp. Usually you'd just pay for the extra part. I guess they'd prefer to book it in as an extra and separate job to claim the time.
