Is my steering rack going?

[sailor95]

So now ive got 324xxx on my hundy and am starting to notice some steering noise in the morning when it is cold and also ive lost some power steering fluid from the resevoir. I have also noticed that the inside of my front two tires is starting to wear down pretty well, given the tires have probably close to 65k on them and they are terra graps so i know they are at the end of thier life anyways. but ive done some research and the steering rack seems to be the culprit of the inside wearing and loss of fluid, also it doesnt drive as tight as it did 100k ago according to my dad who drove it before me. Any suggestions on what i need to get under and look at to confirm the rack going bad, me and a friend are DIYers so if we can replace this ourselves thatd be the best option.

 

[labcab]

324k is a lot of miles on the factory rack. You've gotten your money out of that one. I'd start with new bushings, a flush, and some stop-leak. It'll buy you some more time to save up for a new rack. Start shopping around for a new OEM rack. I haven't heard of anyone having any luck with the remanufactured ones.

 

[sailor95]

Alright thanks for the suggestion, has anyone replaced these themselves or is it even harder than the timing belt/waterpump job. If not then my buddy and I can tackle it as we did the TB and WP in a few days. Just normal stop leak or is tere a specific type I should get for the power steering reservoir?

 

[labcab]

Replacing the rack has been done. I haven't seen anyone rebuild one, but replacing it is DIY-able. The search function should turn up some pointers and some stop-leak results.