I bought my car from my brother he vaguley told me the power steering was going out from when he took it to a mechanic two years ago. I got in the car one day the power steering totally out. He told me the rack and pinion was going bad. I tried the sea foam trick worked for about a week, stopped working again. I got a quote of $2000-$3000 from a mechanic so i went online scoured everything I could and decided to buy the rack and pinion from a junkyard on eBay who had money back 60 day guarantee. That was $129 I then found another mechanic asking more specifically basically demanding they only take out the rack and pinion out and put the other one in that I had bought myself. They quoted me $350. So instead of $2000 I spent under $500. Is this a good idea?
Mileage?
It depends on whether the used rack is any good. Since you brought your own parts to the shop they are not responsible for it. If the rack turns out to be bad in order to take advantage of the junkyard's guarantee you'll need to pay the mechanic to take it out, and then will have to pay again to install another rack.
Used parts are generally not a good idea unless the shop provides the part with a warranty or you install it yourself.
This all assumes the initial diagnosis of a bad rack is accurate. Was the power steering pump tested to see that it's putting out enough pressure? It would be a shame to go through all the work and expense of replacing the rack if it's the pump that is bad.
I mean I weighed in the option that it could be the pump instead. They are relatively inexpensive if I have to order that as well. I kinda convinced myself that it won't be that bad if that is the case because my car is so old replacing the rack and pinion certainly wont hurt anything.
Also if the part is a dud and i have to repay $350- $350+189+350= $889 still not $2000-$3000 another guy quoted me with warranty!!!! Say I order another rack- +350 +889= $1200 which is STILL not $2000-$3000 another guy quoted me with their parts and warranty! And a lot of those parts are refurbished so i could still go through more hassle!!!
Personally, I wouldn't get something like a steering rack off EBay Motors. You have no idea as to its true quality until you get it. Even then, it's a huge gamble, they don't always show problems until they're under pressure and are steering a 2-ton car. Less critical stuff, like interior door panels and such are fine from there, but not something safety critical, like power steering components. $350 for an install of your own parts isn't bad at all. If your rack is actually bad, pay more for your replacement parts and get good quality parts that will last. To Chuck's point, your steering rack probably isn't easy to get to and it'll be a massive hassle to pull twice in the event junkyard stuff is bad. Even the possibility of having problems with the junkyard part, paying the shop to rip it back out, sending it off to the seller, hoping the next one doesn't leak is more than enough motivation for me to spend an extra few hundred bucks and be sure it's fixed the first time. Don't over-skimp, especially on your steering. Your life depends on it and your brakes first and foremost.
