ArmyofOne

The Rack and Pinion on my 1990 ES250 is about to snap i fear , its gotten to the point where the car experiences wheel hop when braking fairly hard (pedal about halfway down) . If you jack the car up, you can wiggle the front wheels laterally about 1/2 an inch . This is whats causing the clunk. Also, the steering wheel doesnt return to center when completeing a turn, the steering wheel will sit at nearly a 45 degree angle when going straight unless at freeway speeds, then it is level. The direction of the angle depends on the last direction turned (if you turn left, the wheel will angle toward the drivers side, if you turn right the wheel will angle toward the pass. side) If you hit a bump with one wheel and not the other, with the car at speeds greater than 35 MPH, the steering wheel will slack for a split second, then return to its previous position.

This has gone on long enough, its beginning to get dangerous. The other day on the freeway, I went to take an interchange curve at about 50, I began turning the wheel to the left, but the car wasnt turning. The car didnt respond until the steering wheel was HALFWAY through a full rotation...that's rediculous.

The movement in the column is smooth, its the rack and pinion below it that appears to be the problem. If this sounds like something else, then please tell me what you think it might be.

Jason at JPImportz quoted me $297 to remove and install a new Rack and pinion in my 1990 ES250+$59 for an alignment, and $270 for the part. Comes all in all to $650 for R&R of Rack and Pinion. This is an incredible deal. A local shop around the corner had quoted me $1300 to do this a few months ago, a shop who i now know is notorious for ripping people off. Another (privately owned) shop quoted me $750 parts and labor. They had Jason beat on the labor by $50 or so, but not on the parts.

My point is this: While you may have to pay a little more, its worth it with JP Importz. You get excellent service, a loaner car, and repairs you can rely on. Snd when its all said and done, in the unlikely event something didnt go right with the repair, you know Jason will make it right. So dont hesitate to drive a few miles and pay a little more, you will be nothing but pleased with the service.

now to the real point of this thread:

What else goes along with this repair? The R&P has been pretty badly worn for about 10,000 miles. I have had the car for 4,000. The previous owner told me it only needed brakes , my lawyer threatended to sue for not disclosing this severe saftey issue (which it turned out he knew about). I recieved a refund of $1800 and some change (after having paid $2,000 for the car). But thats another story. Question is, how many other things have been affected by this? and how many things should i be replacing while he is in there? After P&L on the rack and pinion, i will have about $300 left to play with, is that enough to install new ball joints, wheel bearings and control arm bushings?

GATO

iTrader: (1)

josh, just curious...since it's a 1990 why don't you just get a rebuilt rack from autozone for $150 and have it installed. unless you plan on putting 300k miles on that baby

ArmyofOne

Autozone wants $270.99 for the rebuilt rack. the one for the camry wont fit, too narrow.

GATO

iTrader: (1)

that sucks, the 97 01 rack is only 157

ArmyofOne

it has to do with the availability and the #'s of these cars ont he road. there are alot more (and i do mean ALOT MORE) 1997-01 ES300's on the road than 1990-1991 ES250's.