Rack and Pinion

[nmanuel01]

My rack and pinion is starting to fail, per my mechanic.
after my research I have confirmed that is what is wrong with my truck
I turn the wheel and it turns a little before the wheels actually engage.

My question is, what is it exactly and how hard is it to change.
I have quiet a few tools and knowledge but never tackled a rack and pinion, he is charging me 390 and im looking to save a bit.

Thanks guys

 

[JeremyH]

Ummmm....what truck? And did he give you any more info as to what was wrong?

BTW, a rack and pinion steering setup is exactly what is means.....you have a pinion (with teeth on it) and a rack (also with teeth)....as you turn the wheel, the pinion moves the rack which moves your tires.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_and_pinion
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/steering2.htm

 

[DonsATV]

Some trucks are easier to work on then others. What truck are we talking about here??

 

[nmanuel01]

its a 2005 GMC Sierra, 2 wheel drive, regular cab
He said that he recommend an alingment and if that felt ok with me,
it should be fine, so I could save up the funds to fix it later.

He basically said it has a small bump and thats why im feeling the "Play"
in the steering wheel.

Im just wondering if its something I might be able to do, the only thing that might get is having to bleed the steering lines.

I should have brought my Chiltons with me to work, its helped me save a bunch!

thanks for those links!

 

[JeremyH]

it has a small bump and thats why im feeling the "Play" in the steering wheel.

What do you mean by "it"....the rack?

Also, there is no need to bleed your steering lines. Just make sure that there is plenty of fluid in the reservoir. If there is not, your steering pump will whine and let you know...

 

[72Blazer]

My 2005 SIlverado had a clunk in the steering wheel when going around corners.You could feel it in the steering wheel. First the intermediate steering shaft was replaced.Didn't fix it so the R&P was replaced under warranty.I looked into what was invloved and it didn't look complicated at all.Just make sure that if you do it that the resevoir is full and you get out all the air bubbles out of the system.The Chevy mechanic didn't do it to mine and after about a 1/2 mile down the road there was a loud bang and my steering started shaking and grinding.They fixed it when I brought it right back to them.

 

[nmanuel01]

My 2005 SIlverado had a clunk in the steering wheel when going around corners.You could feel it in the steering wheel. First the intermediate steering shaft was replaced.Didn't fix it so the R&P was replaced under warranty.I looked into what was invloved and it didn't look complicated at all.Just make sure that if you do it that the resevoir is full and you get out all the air bubbles out of the system.The Chevy mechanic didn't do it to mine and after about a 1/2 mile down the road there was a loud bang and my steering started shaking and grinding.They fixed it when I brought it right back to them.

ok thats what I was looking, hmm well I ordered my steering shaft and replaced that myself thought GMpartsdiret dot com, really good prices for the guys with GM trucks.

 

[JeremyH]

Just make sure that if you do it that the resevoir is full and you get out all the air bubbles out of the system.

The best way to make sure that your PS lines dont have any air in them is to lift the front end off of the ground and turn the steering wheel lock to lock a few times....then refill your reservoir.

 

[eron]

i didn't know they even made racks past 1980's :shock:.

All depends on your mechanic. He a shade tree guy, or a dealership? i know that a lot of mechanics will tell you something to make them more money, than whats actually needed.

 

[dkf]

Figured it was a GM truck before he said anything. Rack and pinions are used on a lot of vehicles today. R&P are not used on trucks as much though. Honestly $390 isn't that bad for the job especially if that includes an alignment. An alignment alone is usually around $60. If you don't really know what a rack and pinion is and where it is best let the mechanic handle it.

 

[camobob]

I just looked up the labor on mitchell , and its 2.6 hours . I get 60/hour that would only be 150 in labor I dont know how much the part is but it dosent sound like a rack , more like a tie rod or intermediate shaft (very common) I would get a second opinion .

 

[JeremyH]

more like a tie rod

That was my first thought. I've never seen a rack go bad, but I have seen plenty of bad ball joints...

 

[dkf]

Put the front of the truck on jack stands with both tires in the air. Grab the tires and give them hell to check the ball joints for slop and the tie rods for play. You can then cycle the steering and see how smooth it is. Bad ball joints and tie rod ends are easy to spot, I'm assuming the mechanic was smart enough to rule them out first.

You can get a rack and pinion for a mustang for around $250 so I don't see the trucks being much more. A rack and pinion setup is fairly simple.

 

[72Blazer]

After about 6 months of having the rack replaced the clunk returned.I was pissed because the truck was now out of warranty.I thought the rack was bad because of running it without enough fluid because of the air bubbles.They assured me it wasn't the rack and that it was the frame cross brace that is under the motor.There was a service bulletin to fix it so it didn't cost me a $. They had to do it 2 times because they didn't see the bad body mount that was also causing a clunking noise the first time.Guess they didn't take it for a test ride.All is well now.
Might want to look into that first since it should be covered by the service bulletin.