I have taken my car to an independant mechanic to get his opinion since I
posted this. He tells me that yes it is leaking around the bolts at the top
(he showed me where - more than I can say for the dealer) his opinion was it is
not anything to worry about at this time. It is hardly leaking not even
dripping onto the transmission yet. He says I could get away with not fixing
it just yet, and to monitor the leak for the time period. I do trust this guy
and hope he wouldn't steer me wrong so I think I may wait before I do any
repairs.
The only time I get the clunk is if I turn the wheel as far left or right as
I can when backing in or out of a parking space other wise there is no clunk.
That is why I was not real concerned at first thinking I was just over steering
but the dealer I bought the car from told me I had to replace the rack and
pinion it was bad and unsafe to drive. I have 4 kids I put in the car daily so
yes I was scared but now I am thinking maybe they were just trying to make a
buck right then and there.
You are a mechanic I am assuming? What makes the rack and pinion bad?
Without seeing my car would agree with the independant mechanic that it would
be ok to drive it and just watch the leak and when it gets worse then consider
fixing it?
Angie
Paul <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
This is, assuming the dealership is correct and the steering rack is
indeed bad.
I've had a good number of Chrysler LH cars in and out of my garage,
all with well over 100,000 miles. Only one of them (the poorest
maintained one) had steering rack issues. It would clunk in cold
weather when you turn the steering wheel back and forth. It was
a '97 with 133,000 miles. Sold it for $1700. It was more of an
annoyance than a major concern.
On the contrary, all but two had an issue with the inner tie rod
bushings. They are virtually guaranteed to go bad on these cars
often with less than 100,000 miles. But they are cheap--about $15 at
the dealer and I charge 2.0 hrs to replace them.
There is a lot of internet hype about steering rack bolts sheering
off and resulting in loss of steering control, so it MUST be true.
The same applies to the 2.7L engine horror stories about exactly why
they have a high failure rate. There's that email going around that
says if you purposely cough repeatedly during a heart attack, your
chances of survival are higher. That is also not true. Your bolts
are not going to sheer off.
When does this clunk occur? Over bumps, when turning the wheel? On
smooth, uneven roadways? It'd suck if the dealer says you need a new
rack and all you have wrong is tie rod bushings.
>
> Well it seems this Intrepid I so graciously bragged about back in
> June has become my worst nightmare! I had it in the dealership
> garage 6 times for repairs on warning lights and engine and
> transmission problems all before I made car payment #3 on it. Now
to
> top it off I had a clunking in the front end - thought it was made
a
> tie rod because in the last Intrepid I had, I had a clunk and sure
> enough that is all it was. Nope not this time......I a told it is
> the rack and pinion. That is going to cost me $1300 to replace.
> Then I get on the internet and find that this is a known problem
with
> these cars......the bolts can shear off while driving causing the
> driver to lose control of the steering. The dealer won't stand
> behind this 5 Star Certified Dodge vehicle and evidently Dodge
won't
> either therefore the $1300 is at my expense. Has anyone else
> encountered this problem? If so did you just suck it up and pay
for
> the repair or were you able to get Dodge to help or stand behind
> their vehicle? This has left a bad taste in my mouth with this car
> and I find myself grateful I didn't trade my old Intrepid in for
the
> new one because I am back to driving the old one because it is
safer
> and more dependable. So sad I have put more money into this new
> Intrepid in the first 3 month of ownership - in repair bills not to
> mention the car payment and insurance ontop of it - than I ever had
> to put into the old one and it is going on 200,000 miles. Maybe
> newer isn't all its cracked up to be?
>
> Would love and comments or suggestions............Angie
>
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