Hey guys I've had my 05 TL AT Base for about 8 moths ago. When I purchased the car I could tell I had some sort of power steering failure. I brought it to my local mechanic and he told me I had a hole in my power steering rack, and quoted me $700 for him to do the repairs.

I choose to wait it out and just keep topping it off, but I live in Minnesota, and with winter in full swing the problem has only gotten worse.
When the car is at low rpm's the power steering is basically inoperable until the car is fully warmed up.

What I am wondering is do these symptoms match up to what my mechanic diagnosed, and what is a reasonable quote.
Or if there are any alternatives.

Basically what is everybody's opinion!

 

dude, if your mechanic says there's a hole in the power steering rack.....
you need to replace the steering rack...
you will exponentially make it worse if you keep driving

and the steering rack IS A BIG JOB!!!! i think $700 is fair!!! as it could def. BE MORE expensive.
and it could be cheaper.

basically, get that shit done, BOY!

 

Yeah $700 to replace the power steering rack is not bad at all. especially if that includes an alignment as well. The part itself is probably $250-300.

 

the labor and taking out the stuff in the way of the rack is what gets pricey

 

I knew all this I just wanted to get others opinions on if they thought this was he correct diagnosis. it is very loud. the only thing that concerns me is there is no fluid leaking under the power steering rack boot. it is directly under the reservoir.

 

well, since we cannot inspect the vehicle, we are only going on what you say...

the TL's power steering pump likes to eat seals, so a rebuild is necessary...if that's the culprit...
the TL also likes to kill its rack and pinion/steering rack...

SOO!!!!!!! if you mechanic says "hey, your steering rack is fucked"

if you dont trust the mechanic, get a second opinion from another mechanic...
I WISH i could inspect your car over the internet, BUTT I cant.

 

Usually PS rack failure is leaking fluid and you will notice this. If it is a noise then it is the pump, I say go to another mechanic if you are not mechanically inclined and check the reservoir for debris and check the pump as well before I would change out the rack. Rack failures are common on the TL but usually they will have a leak.

 

Racks can be had for $2-300
labour around $200

 

Racks can be had for $2-300 - OEM your looking at Low $400s, Reman $2-300 certainly possible.

Labor around $200 ??? Not for the 3G TL. Complete Assembly Without Transfer Of Parts
Does Not Include: Adjust Toe-InThat job is rated at 5.8 Hours, Then add .2 hours for swapping out tie rods each side

That bring you to 6.2 hours labor, Unless your aware of shop doing labor for $30 a hour? $200 is never going to happen.
Then Add ~$80 on top of that for alignment.
$700 for this job is very fair if that included parts. If it didn't include parts, but did include alignment that comes out to $100 a hour for labor, still cheaper than dealer.

If $700 includes rack and alignment labor rate would be $50 a hour, which more than fair for a independent shop

 

$700 OTD is a very good price consider I paid $700 alone for the labor of the rack replacement.

 

Forgot to factor in $60 for alignment.
My mechanic charged me about $150 to be honest.
This is in CDN $ too. I was definitely quoted double by other mechanics while I dropped by random shops.
He dropped the subframe just a bit to squeeze it in.

 

Get this rack replaced. You dont want to have PS failure when driving. Based on what the dealer charges its a steal at 700. Make sure the tech knows these cars because they can be a bit tricky.