Hello all! I've got a 1999 Eddie Bauer Explorer with 193,000 miles on it. I went to get an alignment after putting on new tires, and was told by Manny, Moe and Jack that I had "play in the rack and pinion steering and that I needed new sway bars".
This was estimated to be $350.
My question is this: Is it worth it to have them do it? Or, is it something a "weekend mechanic" such as myself could do?
I'm fairly handy and don't mind getting dirty or having busted knuckles if it will save me $300.
Any advice from those of you more knowlegeable than me is always appreciated.

 

I would get a second opinion.

Sway bar is suspension, rack & pinion steering is steering. Not really related.

Take it someplace else but don't mention the previous diagnosis, just have the front end
checked out.

 

With that many miles on it, it probably does need sway bar "bushings", but not "sway bars". With over 210k on mine, the sway bar bushings have been replaced at least once, but that didn't affect the alignment getting done. Play in the steering should get fixed to help the alignment hold true but like has been said, won't hurt to get a second opinion.

 

R&P steering usually doesn't have slop in it like recirculating ball steering. If there is slop, the rack is worn, possibly at risk of binding up.

The tie rod ends can be worn out, and perhaps u-joints or rag joints in the steering column could be suspect.

Sway bar issues would be the bushings, unless the bar is broken, which would be a good trick.

If you do find your rack needs replacing, check out these parts. Note the Motorcraft unit is quite a bit more:

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/se...%26+Components)

You can find many suppliers for these--that link isn't great, but scroll down the page there and find their listings for steering racks as an example.

 

Thank you for the replies. It doesn't look all that tough to rplace the bushings, just have to be methodical. I guess that applies to most things...
I will add this: Both front tires and back tires have considerably more wear on the inner edge of the tire than the outside. Is that an indication of control arms or anything else? I had the lower ball joints replaced 2 years ago, so I'm assuming that they are OK.
Thanks again for all the help. You guys are the best!

 

If you're replacing the sway bar bushings, you may as well plan to replace the end links as well. They like to rust inside the end link bushings and break just after inspection....

For $350 I would suspect Pep Boys was suggesting bushings (or end links) as well as a loose tie rod end, followed by an alignment.

-Rod

 

This is an indication of incorrect TOE and/or Camber...

 

It just occurred to me, maybe I'm misinterpreting... It's pretty rare that I take a vehicle
someplace and pay for service (maybe that's why I forget how it can sometimes work)
but I recently took my daily driver to get a wheel alignment... the wheel aligning went fine
and they also pointed out something unrelated to wheel alignment that should be
investigated.

So, maybe instead of my interpreting the original question as:

"I went to the alignment shop but they said I need new sway bars to fix loose R&P
steering before they could do it"

Maybe instead I should be interpreting it as:

"While at the alignment shop, they pointed out some things they noticed while they were
under there:

- The R&P steering seems to have play in it.
- The sway bar (bushings) seem to be worn out.
- The estimated cost to fix those items is $350."

IOW maybe I shouldn't read into it that she shop is trying to tell this guy he needs new
sway bars to fix loose steering before an alignment can be done.

Just a thought....

To the OP, I replaced my sway bar & bushings in my daily driver this past summer when
I more or less rebuilt the front end. Some things I learned:

I broke my original sway bar by using a floor jack handle as a ratchet extension to try
and get one of the nuts off. For the other side, I doused it in penetrating fluid, rapped on it
with the impact wrench for a little while (just to cause some vibration to try and get the
fluid to seep in better) then let it sit overnight, this one came off lots easier. I still had to
replace the sway bar as I twisted the threaded portion clean off the other side, but maybe
you can avoid that....

Installing the thing can be something of a pain as it is springing outwards, the two ends
need to be drawn in so everything can be lined up & assembled.

I tried to use a come-along but couldn't find a way of attaching its cables/hooks to the
sway bar, but I found that a ratcheting, nylon, hold-down strap worked quite well. Giant
ChannelLocks came into play bolting the front of it to the frame.

 

I agree that Pep Boys likely was not suggesting that the sway bar was the source of the play in the R&P.

What kind of vehicle were you replacing the sway bar on, a 1980's Taurus, Tempo, or Escort? The sway bar on a 1999 Explorer would not have a threaded end on it. It would be held to the frame with two anti-sway bar bushings, and the ends of the bar have holes through them where a link kit connects them to the lower control arm on each side. The visual I'm getting from your description of the one you broke would be the type that goes through a bushing which is part of the lower control arm like what the Taurus, Tempo, and Escorts used years ago.

-Rod

 

1986 Tempo. My parents gave it to me in 1995, have had it ever since.

Despite the details about the bar's connections, won't it still be true that it's gpnna be sprung
outwards?

I spent most of my time in 80-86, I read this forum periodically cuz my dad has a 1998 and
ya never know what kind of potentially-useful information I may run across.

 

I agree that there probably are the two, unrelated things going on in the front end. Looking at the sway bar bushings and control arms, I feel pretty confident I could do those myself, but I know nada about R&P steering and "play" in it and how to fix it. Maybe leave that to the experts. I sincerely appreciate all the replies and not talking down to this "weekend mechanic"

 

With the setup in the Explorer you can replace the bushings quite easily without releasing the entire bar from the end links. The bushings are split so you can just unbolt both bushing mounts part way, then remove one completely, replace the bushing, reinstall part way, then the other. When both bushings are replaced, torque both mounts. Because of the way the links are designed, the bar won't really be sprung outwards as the links and bushings don't retain much tension, if any.

Loose bushings may cause a rattle or clunk noise over bumps but would not cause looseness in the steering or suspension. Similar for broken sway bar end links, but handling would be compromised if an end link were broken.

-Rod