Power Steering Rack - replacement

[FastRich]

Hi all,

Ok, so last year I bought an immaculate 32k mile 450 with powersteering. The only thing wrong with the car is a SLIGHTLY weepy seal on the steering rack, leading to a single drip every now and then (I'd be surprised if there was more than 1 a fortnight). The car has been like this for 'some years' as described to me by the previous owner who I trust 100%.

So, the car has just failed the MOT on the grounds of 'leak from the power steering system' and I've been quoted £450 for a re-con part and 6 hours labour - total bill including 6k service and the MOT, £1500 from a reputable TVR specialist (who will remain anonymous for now as I have no gripes with them).

I have instructed the garage to carry out the work as then I know the car is A1 perfect and I have a good relationship with the garage which would be a shame to ruin however, I must ask you all - it seems both a tad harsh and a tad expensive....is it me being untrusting or am I being taken for a fool?


Thanks, Rich

[Mossyboy1978]

£450 for the part is reasonable. Brand new replacements can run to double that. So you're winning there.

Take off the MOT and part cost and you're left with £1k of spend. Assume the 6k service is about £300 and you have £700 for the six hour job. Which equates to £116 per hour labour rate. Which I think is high. I'd be looking at £60-£70 max for the labour so whilst I don't think you're being taken for a ride, this is the very high end of workshop labour costs.

[FastRich]

Thanks - I forgot one minor thing - it also needs two track rod end dust covers/gaitors which have apparently split - £15 each with no labour charge as they get done at the same time as the steering rack. I think he may have meant CV joint gaiters?!!

Even so, that only brings the labour charge down by a fractional £5 so at £111 p/hour it's still a lot.

I just wonder if it is actually a 6 hour job for a TVR specialist who's likely done it many times before?!

[domV8]

If the "track rod end gaitors" are the part I think they are, have they not just been added into the new MOT..? Could be wrong, but thought they had been...

Can I ask - is £450 for an entirely "new" reconned part, or the price to recon your existing part...?

Thanks,

Dom

[FastRich]

Yes, believe you're right - they form part of the new MOT which is slowly being phased in. Essentially, they're working towards the MOT being a lot more stringent with vehicles needing to be in the same mechanical condition as they were when they left the factory. Great.

£450 is for a 'new' reconditioned part. The garage have said they've put the old parts by for me to inspect so I gain better understanding of the problem. They've also offered to put the car on a ramp so I can inspect the work they've carried out. Obviously they will send my old part back to the reconditioning company for a slight refund on the price of the replacement part they bought, where it will be reconditioned and sold to the next unfortunate person who needs a rack.

[Timja]

I wouldn't have expected any longer than 4 hours to remove and replace a rack.

[pjac67]

Kiley and Clinton charged me £200 + VAT + Carriage (£253 all in) for rack rebuild with g'tee - labour will be the same whether new or rebuild... (I think I was charged £200..)

[SILICONEKID340HP]

FastRich said:

Hi all,

Ok, so last year I bought an immaculate 32k mile 450 with power steering. The only thing wrong with the car is a SLIGHTLY weepy seal on the steering rack, leading to a single drip every now and then (I'd be surprised if there was more than 1 a fortnight). The car has been like this for 'some years' as described to me by the previous owner who I trust 100%.

So, the car has just failed the MOT on the grounds of 'leak from the power steering system' and I've been quoted £450 for a re-con part and 6 hours labour - total bill including 6k service and the MOT, £1500 from a reputable TVR specialist (who will remain anonymous for now as I have no gripes with them).

I have instructed the garage to carry out the work as then I know the car is A1 perfect and I have a good relationship with the garage which would be a shame to ruin however, I must ask you all - it seems both a tad harsh and a tad expensive....is it me being untrusting or am I being taken for a fool?


Thanks, Rich

Give these a call
http://www.westernpowersteering.co.uk/

They do a lot of TVR steering racks and one man does the complete job from stripping cleaning to the finished job .Some company's do it on a conveyor belt system.

I used a so called specialist in Yorkshire ,it came off the car three times with a failed unit ..

No problems with Western power steering services..They even organise for it to be collected.

[wilfandrowlf]

As above, I was charged the same from Kiley Clinton and the quality of the work is fine.
Get the rack re-conditioned. Same as a new one at a fraction of the cost.
Those labour rates are extorsionate, I would pay no more than £40.00/Hr
Some one is taking the michael me thinks.....
Hope you find a "better value" solution.

[JonathanT]

FWIW I think my last PAS recon was about £500 all in (about half that for the recon itself, also through kiley).

[ewan221]

£600 was the rough quote for mine to get done

[SSPPGG]

i cant believe it would take more than an hour or two to replace a rack.....

and perhaps half hour to do the alignment afterwards.

the local tvr place near me charges 50 per hour.....so 150 to 200 to swap a rack seems reasonable

[taylormj4]

My rack leaked like this from the steering input shaft. I just replaced the input seal. I understand this is only an outer seal and the inner one is the one that keeps the fluid in really but it did help. Seal was a few quid.

You could do that and just wipe off the steering rack before the MOT. As long as you keep an eye on fluid level and the leak doesn't get worse, I wouldn't have worried about a drip a fortnight.

Matt

[FastRich]

Thanks guys,

When I went to collect the car, I inspected the work and spoke to the mechanic who did the work. I played dumb and asked him how long it took to do the job and he said 3 hours yet I was quoted and charged for 6.

I was told the workshop manager wasn't there and I had to pay in full before they could release the car but to call back to resolve the situation which I agreed to do. I have just called back and mentioned this forum and the advise you guys have given - the company manager completely disagreed, saying that 6 hours is their standard charge for replacing a power steering rack as 'it takes that long'.

He has agreed to look into the situation and call me back. I'll let you know the outcome.

Thanks to those who offered to complete the job at a lesser price and also to those who suggested other garages.

Rich

[v8kev]

i found something a while back when i had a power steering leak its called lucas power steering stop leak i used a turkey baster to suck out the power steering fluid resovoir which should only be half filled if you fill anymore than this when you start the engine it spills out even with the cap on checked after two weeks and leak had stopped you can put this in even if you dont have a leak as it seals the system and makes it smoother its available at most factors and ebay

Edited by v8kev on Friday 16th March 12:40

[DOODLEBENJI]

mine has just failed the mot with steering rack again 3rd one in 5 years and only about 1500 miles in total,each time a replacement unit as been fitted at a tvr garage

[FastRich]

Although plenty of time has passed, plenty of miles haven't...the phrase "not fit for purpose" springs to mind