Hey all,

I had my Dakota at the dealer today to have some fluids changed and one of the additional issues they pointed out was that there was some 'play' in my steering and that they recommended that my rack and pinion be replaced. Admittedly, I know very little about this aspect of my truck and I asked how often does that need to be done and the service rep said "usually never" so of course my next question was "how did this happen"...long story short was that they couldnt tell me how or why it came to this condition. Does this sound on the up and up to you? The truck drives and steers just as good as it did when I drove it off the dealer lot brand new 3 years ago.

If its something I need to do, fine, but these guys seemed almost clueless. Also they quoted me a price of around $1,200-1,300 for replacement.

Is there something I can do to verify if this is an actual problem Im experiencing or something else?

Thanks!

Steve in Converse

 

get a second and a third opinion asides from a blown strut ive never really had any thing like that happen if you have any friends or know any mechanics ask them they wont have a gain in it

 

Took mine in for an unrelated issue and they told me I need a new rack. At 25K! I agreed since it was covered under warranty. They screwed up the alignment real bad and claimed they had noting to do with it. I never thought there was anything wrong with the steering either.

 

Thanks for the feedback, guys. :-) Ive never owned a truck or a car with rack and pinion steering. I paid really close attention to how it drove last night and its steady without my hands on the wheel and keeps a straight line. Not sure if that means anything, but...

 

I would be more inclined to believe you need tie rod ends not a rack.

 

I am on my third power steering rack, I have about 50,000 miles. Well....the first 2, were probablly my fault because I used to have the truck lifted with larger, heavier tires.

My 3rd one has been fine.


It's pretty hard to tell if a rack is going out, until its getting close to the end. You would probably feel some inconsistency while holding a mild turn, like rounding an off-ramp for example. Thats what I felt with this truck each time. Each time a rack went on my truck, it was leaking at the inner tie rod joint, filling up the boot.

If you don't believe the shop, go to another place, and have them look it over.

 

Oh, another important thing about this truck...

if your lower ball joints are shot, a shop would have a hell of a time aligning your front end, and may chalk it up to a bad rack or bad tie rods. You should probablly have the front end completely looked over by a trusted mechanic. At 67k, you may need to do a small ammount of work to the front end.

 

Thanks again, everyone. Ill check into the issue of tie rod ends. When turning mild, the truck handles just as it did the day I bought it. I dont have to fight it, theres no noise etc. I have a shop I trust and will be taking it to them for a second opinion. The dealer mentioned that they could grab hold of the tires and there was play when there shouldnt be.