$680? is this BS

[nisssan-drive]

this shop i just got back from said it was going to cost $680 to fix my power of steering.

The Rackin pinion is mest up and probably needs replacing.Is $680 how much it really cost?

Has anyone ever replaced the rack and pinion them selfs,and was it pretty difficult?
Modified by nisssan-drive at 2:02 PM 11/7/2007

[91240sx rb20det]

it takes a while to do but its not that hard to r&r if you buy all the stuff. I would do it myself....shops are charging you by the hour$$$$

[Silvia007]

rack and pinion probably costs $200, rest is labor.

[480sx]

Thats a pretty fair price, just make sure it doesnt go up. You wont find a much better deal unless you really shop around.

[crash n burn]

Thats a pretty fair price, just make sure it doesnt go up. You wont find a much better deal unless you really shop around.

pffft yes you will, get one from autopwn for what, like 200 and some change(warranty), or anyone who is re-manufacturing them, and do it your damn self, an afternoon in the garage with a busted knuckle is worth saving 400 bucks

the satisfaction, and its a vital component to upgrade/refurbish in the drive train

[sleepyS14]

Hope that includes an alignment!

[eroc263]

Hope that includes an alignment!

Pick one up as stated before and download a FSM if you don't already have one and do it yourself. $200 for a rack and 50 or so for an alignment and you'll still be way under half the price. If you don't mind a used rack I just looked on ebay and found many for under $100 before shipping. You could use the extra cash and get some HARDRACE or NISMO bushings and install them while you have the rack out.

[derelikt]

pffft yes you will, get one from autopwn for what, like 200 and some change(warranty), or anyone who is re-manufacturing them, and do it your damn self, an afternoon in the garage with a busted knuckle is worth saving 400 bucks

the satisfaction, and its a vital component to upgrade/refurbish in the drive train

Afternoon in garage with a busted knuckle = saving $400

Cross threading fitting into rack because you're a monkey who doesn't know what they're doing and buying another rack because they won't warranty that then paying a shop to align it and having it end up costing $500= priceless.

I'm just making a joke but I think you can probably do it with a FSM and a couple tie rod pullers you can rent from your local shop. Don't forget to flush the P/S fluid!

[nisssan-drive]

Afternoon in garage with a busted knuckle = saving $400

Cross threading fitting into rack because you're a monkey who doesn't know what they're doing and buying another rack because they won't warranty that then paying a shop to align it and having it end up costing $500= priceless.

I'm just making a joke but I think you can probably do it with a FSM and a couple tie rod pullers you can rent from your local shop. Don't forget to flush the P/S fluid!

You have to learn sometime dont you derelikt

[nisssan-drive]

yeah Its 650 for every thing,including rack and pinion and alignment.I was taking a better look and to be honest it looks fine to me but the boot is riped in half.The boot being riped in half would cause a leak..... right?

[gtd65]

Some prices for ya:

Autozone:Unit Price: $292.99 *Core Value: $105.00 Total Price: $397.99

Advance Autoparts:Our Price: $254.44 Core Charge: $155.00

Rock Auto:Unit Price: $277.89*Core Value: $150.00

Looks like it's about half price for the parts & alignment - assuming they are actually going to fit a new rack and pinion - I'd get that verified first

[eroc263]

yeah Its 650 for every thing,including rack and pinion and alignment.I was taking a better look and to be honest it looks fine to me but the boot is riped in half.The boot being riped in half would cause a leak..... right?

I would say just do the boot in your case. If it isn't leaking like an SOB I would remove the cracked boot or both as a matter of fact and clean everything then install new boots. If you do nothing, it would eventually leak after getting dirt and other crap in there but countless people drive around with leaky racks and cracked/torn boots b/c of the rediculous price to have a shop repair it. However if you will be doing any track driving and it's leaking just a little bit they may fail you for tech inspection. Also, if you do the boots yourself, which if you had any mechanincal experience you would be crazy not to, you may be able to mark the threads in the rack so you can reinstall the tie rod without throwing your alignment off real bad. It will still be a good idea to get it aligned shortly after though. You may not even have to remove the tie rod but check the FSM. Sorry for the long post, just trying to cover all I can.

[Urnext]

yeah Its 650 for every thing,including rack and pinion and alignment.I was taking a better look and to be honest it looks fine to me but the boot is riped in half.The boot being riped in half would cause a leak..... right?

If its not leaking now go to a local auto parts store and get a boot its simple to install. You would have to pull the wheel unbolt the outer tie rod but before you do that loosen the jam nut for the alignment. Then remove the outer tie rod and as you unscrew it count the turns, remove the already loosened jam nut and then remove the two clamps on the boot slide the boot off and reinstall in reverse order when you thread the tie rod back on turn it in the number of times you counted. If the racks leaking though I would suggest you not put a new boot on either rebuild the rack or buy a new one they aren't very hard to install. FYI if you have a ripped boot and your not leaking that shop is probably trying to rip you off saying you need a new rack when you only need a boot.

[nisssan-drive]

hmm well i am leaking thats for sure but it takes about a week to leak out all the fluid.

So it can leak if your boot is ripped?

sorry for confusion.

ME

[eroc263]

hmm well i am leaking thats for sure but it takes about a week to leak out all the fluid.

So it can leak if your boot is ripped?

sorry for confusion.

ME

I don't think it's stupid. If you were stupid you would've already tried without asking or researching but that is puking pretty good . You really should make sure that the fluid is definitely leaking from the rack. It could leak many other places but if it's leaking any from the rack, replace it. To answer the question about the rack leaking if the boot is ripped you have to understand that the boot is there to protect and seal. Like many other parts of the car that have rubber boots, they are there to keep dirt out and in some cases keep lube in. If your steering boot rips it allows dirt and crud to get into the seals and deteriorate them prematurely. This causes the pukage. If you put a boot on all it will do is just catch the fluid as it leaks out. I would recommend either cleaning all the power steering components then fill the resv. and find the leak or leaks, or find where CLEAN fluid is coming out. This will show the fresh leaks. Hope this helps.

[Florida240sx]

Just got done wither suspension and steering class.Boot is nothing but a DUST COVER. LEaks are from the hihg pressure or the rack and pinion. Other tiems can be the fornt seal or the return line which is uncommon.Where is the fluid leaking from? Find out where and go from there. Let me know. I've taken power steering out of my 240sx I like the feel better.

[Urnext]

hmm well i am leaking thats for sure but it takes about a week to leak out all the fluid.

So it can leak if your boot is ripped?

sorry for confusion.

ME

Well since your leaking like I said you need a new rack or you need to perform a rebuild both aren't very hard to do the rebuild is a little bit more time consuming and definatly harder then just replacing the rack. You only other option is to just take the power steering components out and replace just the boot so that the rack doesn't get water inside and rust or stick. Hope this helps.

[nisssan-drive]

Well thanks every one for the help i am definetly just going to replace the whole............ Rack and pinion

Its just exspensive, for those who told me to download the fsm i found it and it doesnt seem... impossible but it just i don't have any tools so i will be paying the 680

[Florida240sx]

Wait till Tuesday. Let me see if I can pull up a step by step for you off alldata or shopkey.

[Florida240sx]

At least call a couple other shops being you know what you need. an dsee what price they say.

[nisssan-drive]

Yeah i found a friend to do it really cheap i got lucky this time!