(sorry if this is not in the best place on this foru)

2 weeks ago I got a 2003 G35 sedan and have been loving it, but there was an issue with some oil dripping. I took it to the mechanic today (past warranty) and he notifified me that my rack and pinion assembly has a leak and needs to be replaced/rebuilt. He quoted me the following: $650 for one from a junk yard, $950 oem rebuild, $1600 dealer. Clearly I don't want to do the dealership route. Can you guys shed some light on the problem. How prevelent is it in G35's? What would you suggest I do.

I'm a DIY guy (did my own oil change on it already), but I don't think I can do this change myself.

Thanks in advance

 

anyone?

 

where is the leak? Is it from a hose?

 

If it is the rack they can be expensive and if you are not very mechanically inclined do not do this yourself.Some cars will need the subframe dropped to get the rack out so i would def not rec this to anyone to try that dosent have a lift and the proper tools.

 

Racks are very similiar across all makes and brands of vehicles.
Leaks are usually result of failure to replace PS fluid at a decent interval allowing it to turn acidic and attack rubber seals.
Using synthetic ATF without seal sweller additive as PS fluid has been known to cause early failures which can be fixed with the addition of a seal sweller.
Before you replace rack change fluid and add Lucas PS Sealer to swell seals, then after a week replace PS fluid again it might stop leak. And it might not depending on clearances already created in seals.

The point is it costs little to try sealers first.

 

Very interesting. I've been using synthetic ATF in most of my steering racks over the years and I've yet to see a leak. You would think on the reservoir it would say ATF Dextron III (which it does say), with seal sweller additive required (which it doesn't say). I would believe the synthetic ATF and the non synthetic would have the same seal sweller additives, even perhaps the synthetic would have more and may also resist becoming acidic more, since synthetic fluids are designed to be used longer anyways (higher TBN out of the box).

Just my $0.02

 

Only way to know for sure is to chemically test the different brands of ATF. The major problem is the PS system has so little capacity compared to AT [10-11 quarts] yet the PS may actually run hotter. Again only way to know is to measure PS temperature.

If a rack leaks you know for sure the seals have not been treated in a method they like.
I have 322,000 miles on my 1990 steering rack. 3 sets of boots and 3 sets of mounting bushings, inner and outer tie rods replaced but zero leaks. But I check my fluids weekly and generally repalce annually.