how can I be sure..A rack and pinion question.

[Eddie25]

I took my Jeep to a mechanic spittle while back because the steering wheel felt loose. I know I needed an alignment because I never got one since I bought the car used with 68k. Now the mechanic told me that he found a power steering leak in my rack and pinion and that it was worn and needed replacement. This is an $850 job, I don't have the money for that at the moment. I know I should have told him to show it to me, but I have yet to find the leak.

I went and got a 2nd and 3 rd opinion elsewhere, and the 2nd guy said I just needed an alignment, it was 80 bucks so I said what the heck it can't hurt. I never mentioned what the first guy said. After I got the alignment the steering wheel felt a lot better and the handling was a lot better as well.
I went to a 3rd guy thinking the 2nd guy might have missed something and All I mentioned was the symptoms of extra play in the steering wheel and steering wheel looseness and that I recently got an alignment done. The 3rd guy said everything was tight, then I asked him if he checked the rack and pinion and he said it was good and if the rack was bad the other guy couldn't have done the alignment. He also told Mr the tie rods are good

The first mechanic put this thought into my head and its Been hard to believe him and hard not to. My steering wheel is no longer as loose I think it responds well, I heard when the rack is about to go it makes noise and the whole steering system doesn't make noise at all. The Jeep drives straight with hands of the wheel,I have checked the power steering fluid periodically and its at the full mark even though its spittle lower than before because I have slight overfilled it by accident and never took it out. And I have yet to find a leak. I don't know if its headed in the right direction but I bought a bottle of Lucas power steering stop leak just incase it is a leak and I have to buy some time before I can replace it, even then I'm still skeptical about putting that stuff into my power steering system. So, does this add up that my rack is still good and the guy was just out to get me for my money?

 

[crazyoildude]

check the track bar and look at it very closely..what jeep and year?

 

[Eddie25]

It's a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Lauredo. 4.7 V8. Someone told me the rack and pinion on these vehicles are not that great and sooner or later I would have to replace it. When you mean look at the trackbar closely, is this under the vehicle? Maybe while someone is moving the steering wheel? What is it that I'm looking for exactly.

 

[Spazdog]

Our PT Cruiser's rack was replaced under warranty because the tech said, "it was leaking."
I never added any to the reservoir. It never leaked a drop on the floor and there wasn't anything wet under the car. No noise. No popping, no play, the car drove straight...etc...
It was under warranty so we got the rack replaced and got a free loaner car.
Then we had to spend $90 to get it aligned correctly

Seems like the service writer went a long way to sell an alignment to me.

Maybe it's a Chrysler dealer thing. They have a surplus of rack and pinions to get rid of or something.

 

[senquack]

Just make sure your power steering fluid is topped off and then check it every few days and see if it is losing any. If it's not losing any, don't worry about it.

If you want to visually check for a leak, here's how. Google-search and find an image of a rack and pinion. Look at the ends. See how there's two rods coming out the left and right sides? Those are your inner tie rods, and the outer tie rods screw onto the threaded outer ends.

There is a long flexible rubber accordion dust boot sealing the connection between the end of the rack and the inner rods, one boot on each side. Cut or loosen the inner-most clamp where it meets the end of the rack. Slide the boot off the end of the rack and if there's a fluid dripping from the boot or from the end of the rack inside it, then you know you have a leaky rack seal. It's normal for there to be a lot of grease in there, to keep the mechanism lubed, but never any fluid. You can also just poke a hole with a thumb tack into the bottom side of the boot and see if any fluid comes out when you squeeze it. Clean the area and use a dab of RTV to re-seal the tiny hole.

If you aren't losing any noticable amount of fluid it's no big deal you have better things to worry about. Even if its losing a tiny bit it is unlikely that you will have a catastrophic failure of the rack, just keep that fluid topped off until you can get around to taking it back in at your leisure.

Try running a high-mileage power steering fluid with stop-leak. If the DO end up replacing your rack, be sure that they install new mount bushings while they are in there. If you are on your original inner tie rods get those replaced at the same time too. Request and pay extra for a high-quality OEM-grade replacement like Moog, not cheap Chinese jobber junk.

 

[Eddie25]

Thanx senquak, I appreciate the Details for The visual Inspection when I get chance I'll check it. eventually I'm going to get stuff replaced but if it can hold out for a few more months or Years That be great, cause I plan on keeping her until she run no more hopefully passing the 200k mark with flying colors.

Oh yeah and spazdog you have a mighty fine Dealership, maybe because they're good guys and enjoy good business or maybe like you said they wanted to sell you an alignment, but the Jeep Dealership I bought my used Jeep just sit and wait to reem the next unsuspecting victim.

 

[mechtech2]

You state that you have looseness.
This is a bad part or parts, not an alignment thing.
[Even though your alignment may also be off.]

 

[Eddie25]

It's true there was looseness in the beginning but after I got the alignment the steering wheel was tight for a few days then it loosen up a bit but never how it was in the beginning. I asked alot of people before I got the alignment if it was necessary for the time being and if I would notice a.difference and mostly all of them told Me that it wouldn't make much of a difference in driving and handling other then I would have to proactively keep the car straight when it moves to the side, but tell you the truth I underestimated an alignment cause after I got it done it felt like a whole different vehicle. The last mechanic took it for a ride after I got the alignment from the 2nd mechanic and told Me the steering wheel felt fine to him. That's also another confusion on my part I thought that when rack and pinion are worn the steering wheel gets stiff and that the steering wheel gets loose when tie rods are defective.also I read somewhere else that when the rack is defective the steering wheel doesn't return to the center after a turn and mine does no problem. The only thing I noticed weird was that sometimes engaging the steering wheel into a turn l, like if I turn it almost to the left or right lock position and the wheels keep rolling the steering wheel will follow without me actually finish turning it then it will reach the full lock.position on its own. I don't know if it's due maybe to the angle of the street maybe there's a slope somewhere or if its normal or not.

 

[rpn453]

It sounds like it's good as-is!

I wouldn't add any kind of stop leak unless the pump and rack are both shot and you have a tough time keeping the reservoir full. You don't want all the good rubber in the system to soften and swell. If you're not adding much, leave it alone.

 

[Eddie25]

Originally Posted By: rpn453
It sounds like it's good as-is!

I wouldn't add any kind of stop leak unless the pump and rack are both shot and you have a tough time keeping the reservoir full. You don't want all the good rubber in the system to soften and swell. If you're not adding much, leave it alone.


Sounds good to me , like I wasn't so much concerned, until I asked the very first guy if I was good if I kept refilling the system whenever the resovoir went low then he was like well, you could loose control of you're vehicle. That caught my attention since I drive my family around all the time. I don't know if he was trying to use a scare tactic to mosey on down into getting the work done. Like I told a buddy of mine it's a different story if someone says the rack is on its way out meaning I have some time to replace it as opposed to I need to fix it like right now. but by how I'm explaining and what most of you guys are saying it seems like I'll be good for at least the next 2 to 3 months until I can replace it, that's if I need to replace it. And even then if I have the money available does anyone recommend me to just replace it to have peace of mind or should I wait for more symptoms if any. I know being a bit bothersome but if I don't need to get work done on the rack I would like to get other stuff done on the Jeep.

 

[ahoier]

Check the steering box/pump....my 88 Aries was "feeling loose" and sure enough......I got it up on jack stands in my garage, it was being held in place by ONE screw.....supposed to be 3 holding it tight....

I can't really explain it, but when I would turn the wheel from lock to lock, the axle I guess? Wasn't moving right.....since it was only being held by ONE screw.....

Mind you, the Aries is made of Chrysler Dodge Jeep Engineering, Corp.