My uncle told me to just replace the whole rack on that 2012 F-150, but I should have listened.

He said the inner tie rod ends were shot and a rebuild kit was a waste of time, but I spent 4 hours on a Saturday trying to save the customer $200. Ngl, the thing started leaking power steering fluid from a new spot two days later and I had to do the job over. Anyone have a good source for remanufactured steering racks that actually last?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_christopher1mo ago

Tell me about it. I fought a rack on an old Silverado for a whole weekend, swearing the seals just needed replacing. Got it all buttoned up, bled the system, and it was dry for maybe a week. Then it started dumping fluid from the pinion seal, a spot that was totally fine before I messed with it. That was the moment I learned to never argue with the old guys at the shop again.

grant7481mo ago

Man, I swapped a water pump once and the old belt tension somehow kept the front seal from leaking, learned that the hard way lol.

the_nathan1mo ago

Yeah, used to be the same way, always trying to save a part. Figured a seal kit was just smart. Had a Toyota rack that humbled me good, though. Got it all back together and it leaked worse than before from a fitting I didn't even touch. That was the job that flipped my thinking for good. Sometimes the old part is just tired, and you're only fixing the one spot you can see.