Hello everyone. This is my first time posting on the Avenger section of Dodge Forums and I am hoping that you folks could give me an idea of what kind of animal I will be dealing with.

I recently took my girlfriends 97 avenger 2.5l into the shop to have it aligned and the guy tells me that he would recommend replacing the entire rack and pinion as it is leaking and there is a tie rod on one side thats built into the Rack and pinion that is worn out and wont hold an alignment as it should. He wants 830 plus tax to do this. My question for you all is how difficult is it to do? I will admit that I have never worked on a rack and pinion system before but I have pulled and rebuilt engines, and other equally difficult projects. Also, will the following part be enough to replace the rack and pinion as well as the tie rod? Thanks

http://www.autozone.com/R,APP293134/...ductDetail.htm

 

That looks like a "generic" picture as our racks look different ...
It's time consuming but not a terrible job ...I think it was three hours with beer drinking included last one I did ...

 

Would I need any specialty tools?

 

It was nothing special that I can think of ... tie rod seperator maybe

https://dodgeforum.com/m_814141/tm.htm