LHD and RHD Electric Power Steering Racks Are Not Interchangeable

The short answer

A left-hand-drive steering rack and a right-hand-drive rack for the same car are different parts with different OE numbers. They do not interchange. Confirming the driver side is the first step in identifying the correct rack, before the model, before the year.

Why the parts differ

The steering rack transfers rotation from the column to the track rods. When the column moves to the other side of the car, the pinion housing, the input shaft position and the relative lengths of the rack travel all change with it. On an electric rack the assist motor and its control unit move too, which changes the harness routing and the mounting points.

How to confirm which side you need

Sit in the car. If the steering wheel is on the left as you face forward, the vehicle is LHD. If it is on the right, the vehicle is RHD. This is a property of the vehicle, not of the market it was sold into, because both are sold in some markets.

How this catalogue is organised

Every listing states the driver side. The catalogue currently holds 151 LHD part numbers and 112 RHD part numbers, and both sides are held in the same Guangzhou stock, so a mixed order is handled as one shipment.

What happens if the wrong side is ordered

The rack will not mount. The mounting points, the pinion position and the harness will not line up, and no amount of adaptation makes a rack of the wrong hand safe in a steering system. This is why the driver side is worth thirty seconds of checking before an order rather than a return after one.