Took my truck to the dealer for an oil change and asked them to check for a (very small)leak that I could not locate. They called me back to inform me that the rack and pinion is leaking and will cost 657 for the part and 360 for labor plus tax. They also said they recommend an alignment 2 times a year. I have never heard this before. Anyway back to the rack and pinion. I am not mechanically inclined enough to do it myself, or the proper tools. I plan on taking it somewhere else for a second opinion.

But is that a fair price?? Is this something that has to be done soon?? Any advise would be great.

 

i would check other local shops to take a look and see what their prices are going for. im not mechanically inclined as well. so it still seems steep to me though.

 

Ask them specifically where the leak is. If it's the rack then its most like the top slip on hose. This is very common for these trucks (do a search on the forum). A $1 hose clamp will fix it.

 

i mean...the labor is probably more than it should be...but, that's probably not the kicker. it's mostly the dealer part cost that's killing you.

ie: partstrain has it for 215.
http://www2.partstrain.com/store/?N=...262+11921+5882

^^ don't know if that's the right part, but it can't be far off. nonetheless, it's better than 645 or whatever they said the part would cost.

 

also, i'm not riding the bandwagon when saying this....but you could never ask if it's fair. it's never fair from the dealer. some can argue that their higher labor rates are worth it, but there's no reason for parts costs to be as ridiculously high as they are from the dealer. aftermarket ****'s better anyways imo.

 

The rack and pinion is not a cheap repair. I had to replace the rack and pinion on my 1st car, total bill was $800 at just a regular shop, was the cheapest I could find.... When I first found out about it, I let it go b/c I was in Highschool and didn't really have the $800 to shell out, it progressively got worse, to the point where I was having to add an entire bottle of power steering fluid everytime I drove somewhere.... I first took it in with a very small leak, and I was adding a bottle within 3 months...

 

that would explain the 3 pwr steeing pumps i replaced.....im getting a neon thats it!!!! lol ur not havin fun unless ur fixin it

 

More info here. I checked with a local shop here and they said that they would do it for about 560, they gave me this price due to the fact that they just did one yesterday. A guy at work has a 2002 ram with about 95k on it and he said that his has been replaced twice and it is starting to leak again. Both times for him was under warranty by the dealer. I have heard that the OEM R&P are crap and it is better to go aftermarket. Can anyone verify that? The local shop said they would order after market, not the OEM part from the dealer. I will check the hose this weekend. The dealer said it is leaking pretty bad on the drivers side. Derricksmash I saw that price and that just blows me away that the dealer can charge as much as they do. Thanks for the help/info so far

 

I replaced the rack & pinion on my step fathers Toyota about eight or nine years ago. Toyota dealer wanted like $800 just for the R&P then, and that didn't include labor. I was living in GA. at the time and inquired about it from a fishing club buddy who worked at an auto parts chain store. He priced me a re-built one for like $275 (plus a core charge), so I got him to order me one and put it in the back of my truck and took a long weekend trip to Fla. and replaced it there. Carried the bad one (was leaking like a sieve) in the back of my truck, took it to the parts store and got my core fee back. Worked fine for the 3 years he kept the Toyota before trading it in.

Bottom line, if your 2nd opinion confirms it'd the whole R&P, even if you can't do the work, call around to the auto parts stores, pick one up yourself, then get a local mechanic to do the work.

 

labor is regulated, certain jobs call for certain hours, thats a national standard. if their mech does it in half the time you still pay the same amount as if it took him twice as long. The only variance is how much they charge per labor hour. I'm guessing they're doin 80 an hour for a 4 hour repair. Its up to the mech to find other crap to make up that they need to fix to charge for more time.