2008 Lexus Rx 350 rack and pinion steering boot

If it is just a torn boot/bellows, find a new mechanic that will replace this $9.00 part for a reasonable charge. Maybe a 1-1.5 hour job

Sounds like they want to replace the entire rack, which is an ~$500 part.

Kind of like buying a new pair pf shoes because one lace broke ;-)

Never did it on a Lexus, but on a BMW it's a ten dollar part, plus maybe another ten dollars for the clamps. Takes about a half hour to do, you don't even need to put it up on the lift.

Some shops will tell you that you need a full alignment afterward, and if you do that then the alignment is the most expensive part of the whole process. On my cars I have just marked the tie rod end and then reassembled so the length is the same, and it's not been off enough to notice.

Probably more than that to replace the rack if the rack fails. The boots are there to keep junk out of the rack. When the boots fail, dust and dirt get in and then you need to rebuild the whole thing and it is expensive and a pain.

So fix it now before it gets to that point.

--scott

That is a lot of money. What's the blue book on the car? (not that I object to spending more than the blue book when necessary and if one likes the car, but it's still a measure of something.

Did you get a look at how torn it is?

Did he suggest the possibllity of the kind of boot that doesn't require removing parts?

Here's an examplle:

$10 plus labor: 30 or 60 minutes.

's more on the topic. If you're lucky, there's some discussion too. ' They make boots for CV joings that go on without removing anything, also. I did that once, myself. I didn't do a great job but they are fillled with grease. I dont' think a steering boot is filled with grease, is it? If not, it should be much easier. It's just to keep stones from hitting the polished rod? So it doesn't have to hold in the grease, right????

What is he going to do for 1500. Even taking out the parts, putting in a non-split boot and putting it all back in seems like it should cost less, but mmaybe not. If all he will do is replace t he boot, put in a split boot and check it every time you change the oil to see if it's still good. Should last 10 years,

Was he referring to this too. I'm sure there is a split version

How many miles do you dirve a year

I have 130K on my 2005 solara but I don't drive much

With a previous car, when a pipe in the exhaust system separated from the resonator or the other half of the pipe, and the guys in my suburbran n'hood wanted to replace the entire system (because they are all rusted together.) I drove part way into the city to a nice looking shop and he was happy to weld the two pipes together. He put on two beads, all the way around, an excellent job, and it lasted years until I got another car for other reasons.

If you want him to put on a split boot like the link above, someone who doesn't deal with rich folks all the time will be glad to do ti.

I posted a picture of it in the first post.