wonderin if i could get any help on the rack and pinion steering on 89 SE. took car to mechanics shop and he says my rack and pinion is leaking....where could i find a replacement and how much of a hassle would replacing it be?? also looking for general ballpark repair shop estimates if any??

 

I have a good used rack-n-pinion unit for sale if you want it, no leaks...It just needs the boots replaced, easy as pie with the unit off the car..

Also, it has a set of greaseable MOOG tie rod ends that come with it..


I have no idea how much a shop would charge to replace the unit..

shoot me a pm if you want it..

 

I just replaced my rack for $615. repairpal.com has fairly good estimates.

 

Ouch...

 

Have seen rebuilt ones one Ebay for as little as $80 depending on year.

 

care to show us some links to this gold pot you found?

 

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/_Car-Tru...1993&_rkw=rack

404: $80 rack not found.

Can get them locally for around $170+core. Ask for a discount on it- if you regularly do business with them, they know your face, and are getting a high(er) dollar item; a lot of auto parts stores do 10%. It can't hurt anyway though, right?

 

Check your local pepboys(TRW) or advance they were $185 W/EXCHANGE!!!Check with NAPA as well they offer really good products at a really decent price!

 

How hard is it to replace the steering rack yourself? Is it just a hand tool kinda job, or does it require power/specialty tools? Autozone has a whole rack for $240, with a $45 core.

 

it's a PITA. It can be done with hand tools, it just takes longer.

 

Yes, a major pita. About to embark on the change for my 3rd once it stops raining here.

 

WHOA!!! i think you got raped on the pricing. i bought mine from Advance Auto for $150 with my core. and replaced it. its a bit of a pain if you don't have the right tools. i was told to remove the crossmember for this job but didn't have to . as for estimates from a shop... well i think it'll vary on how much of a crook the shop can be.

 

book time on a 94 GXE rack is 3.2 hours.

 

You may want to just keep an eye on your power steering fluid level for a little while and see if it goes down. I just had the same problem: driver's side rack boot was completely torn in half, looked like a rack leak, but turns out my fluid level never went down so much as a drop. Replaced the rack boot, all is fine. You can have a torn boot without a rack leak, pretty common.

 

a torn boot should not cause a leak, though if you leave it torn it will cause a leak

 

That price sounds about right for the big brand shops around here.

 

well i recently have been consistently checking my power steering fluid level and it has yet to get low at all but i keep seeing fluid under my car after sitting for awhile...now my power steering pump is whining like a F-ing banshee lol so i know i need to replace that...could one of the hoses be my problem with it leaking onto my rack and pinion somewhere? cuz it seems to me that the mechanic was tryin to A** rape me on labor cost like crazy but i aint that stupid to say durrr go ahead and do the work lol

 

anything is possible. many more hoses are sold than pumps which are more frequent than racks.
hose > pump > rack