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car problem

post #1 of 14
10/29/06 at 1:38am
Thread Starter 
As I was pulling out of my driveway last night to put my car on the street, I noticed that suddenly, the steering became unresponsive. It became difficult to steer the car without forcefully turning the steering wheel. Additionally, there was a slight popping sound that seemed to accompany the steering problem. I am guessing that this is something with the power steering. What puzzles me, is that I just had my car serviced three weeks ago, and they replaced the power steering fluid. They also replaced the rack and pinion part. Any ideas what my problem is? I also looked under the car with a flash light, and noticed a pink like fluid dripping from the chassis on the drivers side. I plan on calling my mechanic on Monday. Ah, the joys of automobile ownership.
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post #2 of 14
10/29/06 at 11:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pink22m
I also looked under the car with a flash light, and noticed a pink like fluid dripping from the chassis on the drivers side.

That's probably power steering fluid. What's the level in the reservoir?
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post #3 of 14
10/29/06 at 12:48pm
Quote:
I just had my car serviced three weeks ago, and they replaced the power steering fluid. They also replaced the rack and pinion part.

Good thing nothing happened while you were driving. You should go yell at the mechanic who fixed your steering
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post #4 of 14
10/29/06 at 9:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragon
Good thing nothing happened while you were driving. You should go yell at the mechanic who fixed your steering
The guy likes to have recurring customers, for the same problems.
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post #5 of 14
10/29/06 at 10:25pm
what kind of car is this on? Did you have steering issues before the service? There is no reason to replace the rack and pinion (aka the steering rack, its the part that actually turns the wheels, the pinion is the input gear that is connected to the steering shaft/wheel) unless there is something wrong with it like if it was making noise or leaking.
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post #6 of 14
10/30/06 at 2:56am
i had the same problem with my previous toyota. usually they just have the oil seal on the steering rod replaced. you should have this checked as soon as possible, and forget about driving it around, i did that and the fluid dried up and this ruined the whole steering rod and cost me plenty.
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post #7 of 14
10/30/06 at 3:21am
OOOOO! Toyota, why didnt someone say earlier, Just so happens there is a Certified Factory Trained ex Toyota Tech on this forum. Did you take it to a dealership? Or a private Mechanic? Often if the rubber boots rip on the rack dirt and stuff can get up inside the rack and quickly destroy the rubber seals. That would be a reason to replace the rack (or at least if it gets to that point its usually the best and cheapest plan of action). Did they use a rebuilt rack? Was it Aftermarket or Factory? Either way I would raise hell till they fix your car for free. I would even try to get a refund and take it to a different shop.
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post #8 of 14
10/30/06 at 4:09pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I just got back from taking my car over to my mechanic. I explained the problem to him, and he thinks it probably has something to do with the rack and pinion. I asked him if I would be charged, and he said that if it had something to do with what was worked on, then I wouldn't be charged. As it says on the invoice, their parts and labour are guaranteed for 12 months or 12,000 miles (whichever comes first). However, even if it doesn't have anything to do with what was worked on, I am puzzled that they wouldn't have seen the problem beforehand, especially given that the car was just worked on three weeks ago. My service three weeks ago cost me just shy of 1,000 dollars.

The car is a 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier, with just north of 100,000 miles on it. Up until Saturday evening, I never had any steering problems with the car. I don't know where the replacement rack and pinion piece(s) came from, but I could ask my mechanic.
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post #9 of 14
10/30/06 at 4:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pink22m
Well, I just got back from taking my car over to my mechanic. I explained the problem to him, and he thinks it probably has something to do with the rack and pinion. I asked him if I would be charged, and he said that if it had something to do with what was worked on, then I wouldn't be charged. As it says on the invoice, their parts and labour are guaranteed for 12 months or 12,000 miles (whichever comes first). However, even if it doesn't have anything to do with what was worked on, I am puzzled that they wouldn't have seen the problem beforehand, especially given that the car was just worked on three weeks ago. My service three weeks ago cost me just shy of 1,000 dollars.

The car is a 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier, with just north of 100,000 miles on it. Up until Saturday evening, I never had any steering problems with the car. I don't know where the replacement rack and pinion piece(s) came from, but I could ask my mechanic.
If you had no probs with the steering, why did they replace the rack and pinion? Not jumping to any conclusions, but this sounds a bit sketchy.
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post #10 of 14
10/30/06 at 4:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
If you had no probs with the steering, why did they replace the rack and pinion? Not jumping to any conclusions, but this sounds a bit sketchy.

I don't recall the reason, but it seemed to be a compelling one. When I had the car serviced three weeks ago, he said everything was in pretty good shape, except the rack and pinion. He seemed to think it needed to be replaced, but I don't recall the explanation he gave me. I will ask him next time.
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post #11 of 14
10/30/06 at 6:32pm
I have a better question, Why did you put $1000 worth of work into a car that is barely woth $1000?
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post #12 of 14
10/30/06 at 6:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ratboycom
I have a better question, Why did you put $1000 worth of work into a car that is barely woth $1000?

I was thinking the same thing.

Jon.
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post #13 of 14
10/30/06 at 6:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ratboycom
I have a better question, Why did you put $1000 worth of work into a car that is barely woth $1000?
And the fact that it's not a vintage collectable-whether a Fiat or not--doesn't help either.

However, I've noticed many people spend large amounts of money fixing generally worthless cars--like Ford Taurus or some old Honda.
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post #14 of 14
10/31/06 at 3:12am
I mean I understand in the situation where it was a collectable/rare/sentimental Value, or in my case where I do all of my own work and need my car to handle to racing conditions (I beat my car hard enough that I wouldnt want to trash a newer car, besides used parts are cheap). That and mine is a Toyota Corolla with 200k its still worth a couple grand. Cavaliers are notoriously worthless cars. No offense or anything.
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