Hi,
I have a leaky steering rack. It's a 2001 Escape 4WD I took it to a mechanic who quoted me 897.- for a rebuild rack new tie rods and an alignment.Is that a typical cost for this procedure or should I get some other quotes?
Is there a leak stop additive that I could put in that would not hurt any of the other components? The mechanic says he wouldn't do it to his car, but I suppose he is a little biased there.

 

I wouldn't put additives in either. I've had bad results in the past.

First I would ask where is the leak? If it's from a connector to/from the pump it could very well just be an o-ring. Literally a 25 cent job- had this happen once.

Are you mechanically inclined? If so swapping out one of these racks isn't very difficult, maybe a 5 out of 10. I would guess two hours tops. Replacement racks are under $200 and an alignment is $100 so you could save a decent chunk if you do have to replace it all and can do it yourself. I'm sure there are videos on you tube.

 

I don't think I'm brave enough to try swapping it myself. I got one quote so far and that's from a reputable shop and they are figuring 6 hrs labor. There's another shop that's going to give me a quote. He's mainly a transmission guy but he is comfortable doing just about anything on cars. I'm curious where he comes in. The rack price I was quoted so far was 285.- I'm OK with that, but 500.- labor....that seems like a bit much.

 

6hrs labor is absurd. They obviously do not want the job. That is twice what AllData and Mitchell give to do the job, with transferring all the old small parts over. Even if you add a pump/line flush and filter, it's not that much. If they are changing the pump and lines with it, then 6hrs labor would be close.