Rear-axle steering from Bosch
Technology provider Bosch has recently expanded its rear-axle steering components range for commercial vehicle applications.
“Rear-axle steering systems are subjected to extremely high levels of stress,” explained Bosch.
“This is especially true in the case of special vehicles with multiple axles and heavy bodies or vehicles with very heavy loads, such as oil tankers, dump trucks, or garbage trucks.
“Due to the elevated risk of damage, their components must be regularly inspected in commercial vehicle workshops and replaced if necessary.”
The company highlights various potential causes of steering impairment, including external mechanical damage, leaking hydraulic fluid and water ingress due to damaged bellows on the working cylinders or on the sealing rings, or leakage due to contamination in the system.
Further possible causes include use of fluid with incorrect specifications, and thermal overload.
Bosch has now added 144 new part numbers to its range of spare parts for rear-axle steering systems and add-on parts for commercial vehicles. The expanded portfolio includes working cylinders, ball joints, fluid reservoirs, hydraulic accumulators, flow-limiting valves, pitman arms, valves, and flow indicators.
Spare parts can be supplied quickly thanks to “make-to-stock” production and availability in over 80 countries. Combined with quick, easy replacement, this helps to minimise very costly downtime, says Bosch.
“In hydraulic rear-axle steering (RAS) systems, the steering movements of the front axle are hydrostatically transmitted to the rear axle,” the company continued.
“This movement is transmitted by a master cylinder on the front axle via hydraulic hoses to the centring cylinder mounted on the rear axle. In the case of electronically controlled rear-axle steering systems (RAS-EC), a hydraulic control valve controlled by the electronic control unit governs the rear axle’s motion by means of a centring cylinder.
“Rear-axle steering systems improve driving dynamics, minimise the turning circle, and reduce tyre wear. As safety-critical vehicle components, steering systems are subject to stringent quality requirements. That is why Bosch also manufactures spare parts and add-on parts for workshops’ requirements to the same quality standards as original equipment.”
The company also highlights the benefits of its Bosch eXchange value-based repair service. In addition to applying the same production standards to its remanufacturing as to the production of new parts, the company claims the service is up to 30 per cent more economical than using new parts.
