I was told in a previous post that I need a new rack and pinion for my 85. My problem is that I am away at college and I need a friend to buy the rack for me as I have my vette at home while I am at school. I use my daily driver here. The problem is that I have no idea as to how much one would cost and have no way of shopping around for him. I just need to know about how much I should tell him it cost so I don't pay to much as he will have to buy it for me so when I go home in a week I can be sure the part is at my house so I can do the change.

 

The price of the rack depends on where you buy it from..it can range from 100-300 bucks.
I got mine cheap from autozone and theres a 90 dollar core charge on that.

I think I paid around 130 for mine + 90 for the core charge.(cant rem. exact figure)
Napa,car quests and others may charge the same or more.
Theyre all pretty much rebuilt on the market and I think if you get a new rack from GM it will cost anywhere from 350-500 dollars but a new rack means no core charge or core needed.

Btw when you change the rack, you may have a problem getting the old tie rods off...I chose to buy new tie rods because of the age/mileage and then when I took the rack out the car, I measured it and put the new tie rods on the new rack almost in the same place as the old one to keep the alignment close enough to drive to the shop for a 4 wheel alignment.

It was still wayyy off so careful driving with that.Get an alignment asap when the job is done.
If you replace the rack and clean the pump,reservoir,lines.hoses and bleed the system of air, and it still moans,youll need the pump replaced.

Good Luck and let us know how it comes out.

:)

 

I just bought one from ZIP for my '85. They had the Sport Steering or regular. The sport was 3 1/2 turns from stop to stop, and the regular was 3 3/4 (if I recall correctly). The unit price was somkething like $280 with a $150 core.

Don't quote me exactly on these numbers since I've been buying everything under the sun for this car to convert it for racing. The numbers are close though.

 

I got mine at Autozone. The tricky part is getting the steering link on. I agree with new tie rod ends while your at it.

 

Thanks alot for your help. I will let my friend know where to go. I really appreciate your help :seeya