Steering Rack

It's amazing and sad that people will continue to inflict the unreliability and the time and money waste of "remanufactured" parts upon themselves again and again and again, all the while going "But...lifetime warranty! Lifetime warranty! Lifetime warranty! It can't be the 'remanufacturing' process, it must be, um, the store I bought it from! After all, lifetime warranty!".

Check with Steer & Gear, or look in your local yellow pages.

I've been dealing with my local CarQuest and its predecessor(same management) for some 26 years. No telling how many thousands of dollars. Can't recall ever getting a bad reman. part from them. The staff there is good as gold...they will tell me if what they are selling is junk or if it's good stuff based on feedback from other customers. I sure as heck can't say that about some of the others....Autozone, Checker, Advance, etc. My only steering rack experience with them is a CarQuest reman. we've been running in our '96 Grand Voyager for about 4 years and 60,000 miles with no problems. I would be looking for another source of problem....like using the wrong fluid or not adequately flushing the old fluid from the pump and lines.

Steve

ncs wrote:

leaking. Now

Could be, and it could be shitty re-man for carquest. Carquest does not make the re-man part, they buy it from a re-man facility. Which typically can be from a reputable re-builder , or a shoddy one. I suspect the re-builder uses shitty seals, or does not change the seals during the rebuilding process.

Daniel - Is this a situation where a part from NAPA will likely be better (a btter screened supplier, etc.)?

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

It might vary according to what region of the U.S. but around here, Cardone is the rebuilder for both Carquest and NAPA for such parts.

thanks for the advice. I'm wasn't aware that there could be a wrong fluid. I used Valvoline SynPower. Is there a more preferred brand that's better ?

thanks, Nick

It's tough for me to gauge which is a better part by just looking at them, which is the only thing I have to go by. True a lifetime warranty doesn't do me much good if the part keeps failing. I think the dealer sells reman. parts also and they are more expensive. Is there one or two parts chains out there that is better than most ? NAPA vs. AutoZone, CarQuest vs. local stores ? And I've never had a problem with these chains and their parts before. They are usually pretty good and cheaper.

thanks, Nick

I am lucky that I have two good independent parts stores near me, but NAPA is also usually good. I've heard good things about CarQuest but I've never lived near one. Pep Boys, AutoZone etc. I usually only go to for consumables like oil etc., although AutoZone seems to be getting a little better.

nate

ncs wrote:

My experience with replacing rebuilt steering racks from AutoZone was positive. In each case, the replacement unit worked perfectly and gave no trouble until I finally sold the car. In the case of the '86 Mark VII, it was about 40 months. In the case of the '87 Taurus, it was only

10 months. Paid $105(1/2001) for the Mark VII and $70 for the Taurus (1/1998). Stan K.

Yep: Fluid that specifically indicates it meets the relevant Chrysler spec. Not "universal" P/S fluid, not transmission fluid, etc.

funny... my power steering on my 2004 PT says ATF +4 for it, same as the transmision wonder if many more models are the same.

Pesonally, I just don't mess with the low-quality for low-bucks outfits any more. I found out many years ago that real parts stores (the kind with an ashtray shaped like a tire and fan belts hanging from the ceiling) are actually cheaper than Advance Auto. That did it for me. I used to have to put on 2 or 3 rebuilt starters from Advance to get a good one. I don't have to do that any more!

There are certain things you shouldn't buy rebuilt, but I don't really know if racks are in that category. I've never replaced the first one. I don't even look to see if they're leaking. Have you considered doing nothing? That's probably what I'm doing, because I don't know if my rack is leaking or not.

Per TSB No. 19-005-03, you are correct for the Cruiser and most Chrysler vehicles of very late 90's and later. However, Daniel is correct on the earlier Caravans that still have to use the approved power steering fluid only. The TSB has a chart that is too complex to copy here, but unless I missed something, there's nothing earlier than '99 for which ATF+4 can be used for p.s. fluid, but there are some vehicles that must not use ATF+4 for p.s. even as late as '04 MY ('05 MY is not in the chart) - that's why I say, you've got to see the chart to determine the requirements for any given vehicle.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

So are you saying to buy from the local auto parts stores versus the chains ? I see there's a site on the web, 'CarSteeringwholsesale.com' that charges about $40.00 more but says it's racks are better than the production line racks put out by the remanufactures. Anyone have any experience with these people ?

thanks

If NAPA has cheapened their line, where am I supposed to go for parts now?

My experience is that NAPA will now offer you two parts, one which costs a whole bunch more than the other. Take the expensive one.

When all else fails, read the freaking owners manual or call your local dealer.

Except that won't help on some late model Chryslers where the manual says don't use ATF, but the TSB specifically says it supercedes the manual and to use ATF+4 (certain vehicles).

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')