Patent ID: 7926376

Claim:
A rack guide comprising: a slider including a slider body having a slidable surface on one surface and a cylindrical projecting portion provided integrally on another surface of the slider body, the slidable surface being adapted to slidably contact a rack bar; a rack guide base body including a supporting surface provided on one axial end face thereof for supporting said slider, an annular groove at an outer peripheral surface thereof, a large-diameter recessed portion which is open at a central portion of the supporting surface and has a larger diameter than the diameter of the projecting portion of said slider, and a fitting hole which communicates with the large-diameter recessed portion and in which the projecting portion of said slider is fitted; an annular resilient member which is fitted to the annular groove of said rack guide base body and is adapted to contact an inner peripheral surface of a housing of a rack-and-pinion type steering apparatus at an outer peripheral surface projecting from the outer peripheral surface of said rack guide base body; and communicating means which is disposed in said rack guide base body and has one end portion opened to an interior of said housing at the outer peripheral surface or the one axial end face of said rack guide base body and another end portion opened thereto at another axial end face of said rack guide base body, so as to allow the interior of said housing on a side of the outer peripheral surface or the one axial end face of said rack guide base body to communicate with the interior of said housing on a side of the other axial end face of said rack guide base body, said communicating means including a transverse groove which is covered by the slider body and is open at the outer peripheral surface or the one axial end face of said rack guide base body, a vertical groove which is covered by the projecting portion of said slider and is provided on an annular wall surface of said rack guide base body defining the fitting hole, an annular space which communicates with the transverse groove on one side and with the vertical groove on another side, and which is defined by an annular wall surface of said rack guide base body defining the large-diameter recessed portion and by an outer peripheral surface of the projecting portion of said slider, and a communicating passage which communicates with the fitting hole and is open at the other axial end face of said rack guide base body, said annular resilient member being disposed so as to contact the inner peripheral surface of said housing between the one end portion of said communicating means which is open at the outer peripheral surface or the one axial end face of said rack guide base body and the other end portion of said communicating means which is open at the other axial end face of said rack guide base body, as viewed in an axial direction.