OK, 1 steering rack, 2 brake hoses, and $440 later, she's back on the road. The labor on the rack alone was $330. I had all the work done at Pep's where I work, so I got a decent discount on it (saved over $100). The mechanic who worked on it said the rack "was a b**ch to get out and a b**ch to put back in." It took them longer than the labor guide said (which was 4.3 hours), so this is DEFINITELY NOT A DRIVEWAY JOB. They also did an aligment, which is necessary when changing the rack.

It looks like the hoses were the culprit of my sticky left-front caliper, but now I have all new calipers, pads, and hoses on the front. And let me tell you, it stops on a friggen dime.

I still have to sort out the sunroof's apparent unwillingness to keep the water on the OUTSIDE of the car before she's totally ready for summer. I also have to replace the tie rod ends soon, and get some tires and/or rims. But that's for another day.

Right now I'm just happy to be able to drive my car at all.

 

Nice! Glad to hear your making progress. My car took a step backwards and isn't running again. It's ignition related though...no spark. So either my coil finally bit the dust, or my CHTS is bad......again. In fact I have a funny story how I got stuck on the side of the freeway the other week.

S

 

Well I took apart some of the interior trim and peeled back the corner of the headliner, only to find that the sunroof isn't directly accessible. So after going to 3 different shops to find a place that will service sunroofs, I found one that will clean the drains out for a mere $40. Solved the problem, it now "drains beautifully."

I'm just p**sed off cuz I couldn't pick the car up tonight. My girlfriend and her mom are coming down for the weekend (this'll be interesting ) and I was hoping to have the car all detailed up for them. Gues it'll have to wait. Anyway, I'm so glad to finally be able to wash her, it's been like 7 or so months since she's been through a car wash and it's killing me. I'll be sure to take some pics when she's all done, probably a photo shoot with my bro's Sentra.

Next up is the trunk latch, and maybe I'll finally get around to getting shocks and springs (her birthday is in May, maybe I'll surprise her).

 

Dont feel bad I havent had my max in 4 months. I need to hear its enging running again, I need to drive it again. (sigh)

 

post some pictures

 

Turbo
For your steering rack problem, what symtoms were you experiencing. My max lately feels like she is floating. I hit any little bump and it seems the whole car sways crazy or feels like she is going to hydro plane, its just a weird sensation but floating I guess describes it best. Anybody have any ideas? With summer around the corner man or whenever I'm in south jersey, we have to meet up!!!! I can get to philly in 45 min to walt whitman or Ben Frank. My brother lives off 676 so I'm always up there. Jose

 

Jose, does the steering feel tight or does it feel sorta of loose? It could be a rack problem...or the tie rod ends are shot.

S

 

Well I couldn't FEEL any symptons. But there were definitely other symptons. I was leaking lots of fluid, some out of one of the hoses, some out of the rack itself. My boots were in very bad shape as well. One was torn in half the whole way around and the other one was in several pieces. There was lots of grit in there, needless to say. Most of the fluid must have been leaking from o-rings that were ripped up from all the little road particles that got in. I could hear the pump whining quite a bit from the low fluid levels.

After having the new one put in, the steering was much tighter. There was previously a slight on-center "dead" spot which is gone now. The steering is more responsive.

As I said, I didn't change the rack myself. I had them do it at Pep's where I work. I would not recommend doing it yourself either, as I checked in the shop a few times throughout the day and saw the troubles that they were having.

In response to your symptoms, it seems like that is more suspension related that steering related. I'd say your shocks are shot, which would account for the floatiness you describe. You can push down on the corners of your car, and the car should come back up and settle without bouncing. If your worried about the steering, just drive the car up on ramps (or jack it up if you'd like) and check under there for leakage and look at the condition of the boots, but I'd bet it's just the shocks.

 

Turbo
my shocks arent that old. I have the KYB's and ST springs. I put those in not to long ago. Sarin, while driving the steering wheel doesnt feel extremely tight, its i guess you can say loose turning side to side, it turns easy not with that much resistance. What should normal play feel like and how much does it typically cost to replace the rack?? Jose

 

Mine cost about $600 for parts and labor. Expect to pay over a grand at the stealership.