Corsa B steering rack end noise

[gregb]

Hi All

Greetings from South Africa

I have an Opel Corsa B three door hatchback (in South Africa the Corsa is badged as an Opel and not Vauxhall as in the UK)

I need advice on a noisy I have on the left front of this vehicle. At first I suspected that it was in the suspension. I then replaced front shocks & top shock mounts, as well as lower control arm bushes, lower ball joints and stabiliser rubbers. This did not eliminate the noise. I then checked the manual steering rack. The noise I found seemed to be coming from the steering rack end joint.

There is a joint at the rack end (under the boot) and when you remove the tie rod end and move his rod up and down, this joint creaks. I did note that the boot had a small hole in it so I have replace it. I have applied grease to this joint and then it’s quiet for a while and then the noise is back. All be it a lot quieter. Does this mean that I need to replace the rack or what are my options?

Thanks Greg