ToniJ1960

I had my 84 at Midas today and the mechanic said the steering rack is leaking and the inner tie rods are loose.

The highest sped I had the car at since I bought it a few months ago was around 80-85 and didnt notice any vibration.

I asked him if the steering fluid was low and he said no it isnt. I drove the car at least 1000 mile since I bought it and I can only think if its leaking it was when I got it. If the fluid isnt low after 1000 miles maybe the leak isnt tat bad. I asked about using Lucas stop leak and he said no it plugs up all the orrifices. I never heard that before just that it swells the seals, and my main concern about it is if it could accelerate the deterioration to where it definitely needs tro be changed sooner.

I asked him about an estimate to change the inner tie rods and he didnt really want to discuss it just $600-$700 to replace the rack.

It feels like hes treating me as if Im stuipid and if the rack does have to be replaced soon or later, I wont get it done there. He wouldnt even answer my question bout just changing the seals.

Anyway, any comments suggestion general advice will be really appreciated.

Are the Cardone racks worth a try or not?

xrav22

Hi there I am just curious since I am dealing with the same situation. Why was he checking it, and if you raise the wheel if your wheel doesn't shake or feel worn when you move it back and forth I don't see how it's worn. Inner tie rods are connected to the rack so I guess the ball joint may be worn. My steering was kinda hard at slow speeds and by the advice of someone here, I used my turkey baster and removed the fluid in the resiviour and put a 9.99 lucas ps conditioner in and it is perfect again. I want to refresh the whole ps system again but haven't fiqured out that one yet. Give it a try.

ToniJ1960

I was having the oil changed it was cheaper than I could do it for. I gues while it was up they looked it over a little. I dont know, they told two other peole their steering rack was leaking too while I was there and when I heard them tell them 640.00 plus ttax plus alignment I thought what kind of car do they have.

Maybe leaking steering rack is just the flavor of the day for that Midas?

qws

Do you have any power steering fluid on the ground under the car?

ToniJ1960

I havent noticed any but my driveway is so full of old crap already its hard to tell I guess I need to park somewhere else for a while and check.

leesvet

Find a new, and QUALIFIED mechanic ! ! !

That's pure ********.

Corvettes have a common steering problem called "morning sickness" where the steering has no power for a while in the mornings until the fluid gets hot and warms the system. Then suddenly, in the middle of a turn you are struggling to force the wheel to make, the PS wakes up and kicks in and you jerk the wheel and the car and look around to make sure you did not hit someone or something....the "wake up" can be dangerous since you are pulling the wheel like it was non power...

LUCAS is the ONLY thing that fixes this. The added Bonus is that LUCAS will also stop or at least slow down the shaft seal leaks that are also common to Corvette rack & pinions. I've delayed replacement for YEARS by the use of LUCAS Rack & Pinion Treatment & stop leak. $10 miracle in a bottle....

heres the deal...
DO NOT let the shop buy the replacement rack...they will GOUGE you till an organ falls out.

You can get good, warranted racks thru most auto parts chains. You can get them thru ANY of the Corvette catalog stores. I got my last from Corvette America. IIRC, about $250 exchange. there was a core until I got the old one sent back.
The hard part is the install. Its not bad BUT the avg shop that does not work on Corvettes every day will F it up and bill you $650 to do it. Its a do at home job if you have the tools and stands...
All you need is a weekend and the right tools and some skills.
BUT, if you let a shop do it,. TELL them how you want it done ! They will TRY to beat it in and they will damage it if they do that. You MUST drop the sway bar, THEN its a cake walk. If you do not take the sway bar out, its sledge hammer time...

They CANNOT be rebuilt on the car. If you have to pull it out, replace it. KNOW what rack to order,. you need your suspension code to know. There are 3 possible racks that will fit, the only difference being the steering ratio.
Replacing the rack at a shop that knows how, should be about $300..tops. Maybe less.

And if you want to know if it leaks, don't look at the rack, look at the rear bumper. You will see spots there if there is a leak. The rack often has a wet seal because the same shaft that holds the tie rod also goes inside the power head, thru the rack body...so the seal is always wet. The BOOTS are VERY important..if those are damaged the racks life is cut by years..dirt gets on the wet shaft and seal...and chews the seal away every time you turn the wheel...

Don't get screwed by the good 'ol boys that fix the Buick...Find a real Corvette mechanic or shop and let THEM do your work. Corvettes are very different and the avg shop mechanic knows just enough to screw one up real bad...and make you PAY for his education.

Good luck!

buy the LUCAS ! there are LOTS of folks here that use it as preventative maint and others as a repair. Its the ONLY repair in a bottle that works as far as I know.