Reviews of ZF parts For Business

Heard wide range regarding compound of the ZFs, which are the replacement for rear pads that wore out in 30K on our 2021 Passat. Prevailing info was the originals were organics and the replacements (ZF) are ceramics. Put them on, if they still dust a lot they are probably still organic. The ZFs replaced on the Passat don't dust much, if any, so are probably ceramic.

If you are trying to figure out if you have a ZF or Saginaw it is easy. Look on the back side of the pump near the bottom. If you see a ZF inside a partial circle it is a ZF pump.

So the ZF steering rack finally got through customs and arrived safe and sound - thanks UPS. The rack is originally from a VR6 Passat so in theory should be up to the task. Got it installed and hooked up and so far no leaks. Immediately I noticed the pump is a lot quieter connected to this rack than it was when connected to the TRW rack which makes me think the TRW rack couldn't handle the pressure coming from the pump? Or maybe there was just something wrong with it internally. So far no leaks from the ZF rack so fingers crossed it'll hold up well when I get it back on the ground and go for a test drive.

I can confirm, I had to change the rack on my 2001.5 Passat because the steering wheel was loose and they are in fact interchangeable.

In consultation with ZF and my local VW dealer I did the following. I had my shop drop the pan and put in VW's equivalent of Lifeguard 8 in two of my V8s. No problems before or after.

New reman'd steering rack from German auto parts installed Saturday, took about 7 hours...Pump is silent, steers nice, doesn't rattle on center, doesn't grab the wheel out of your hands anymore.

Put a used w8 rack in that had 66k on it. Tested it out before I buttoned it all up, seemed great. Buttoned it all up, drove a few miles on a test drive, no issues or noises at all.

I had my pressure hose go out, then the rack go in a similar situation to you (a little leak turned into a blown out rack). go get a zf rack, and replace the hose (sadly, they both cost about the same, and it's not cheap). i've been running solid since then.

I also have recently run into this problem. . . in my case the zf rod was too long by about and inch and a half. what we determined (Dynamic Racing Solutions and I) was that world pack had a mis-labeled batch of tirods.

There's a couple reasons I've found by taking one apart that failed within a year. I've never been happy with the steering response from a re-man. I found the center wear between the rack and pinion gears to be almost laughable. There was an eighth of an inch of slop between the teeth. That's why I could move the steering wheel from side to side while going straight and nothing would happen. The biggest problem I found was the abundance of rust pitting on the cylinder walls. Obviously hydraulic fluid is hydroscopic and moisture getting in causes that. Brand new seals won't help if the mating surface is pitted. I think it's just the luck of the draw. You might get one that's in good shape internally and never have a problem. Then again, you might get one that was sitting for ten years full of water before it was rebuilt.