Leaking Steering Rack - Carina E

[Wombleman]

Another niggle is the Power Steering Rack on my 1996 N Carina E is leaking - keeping it topped up weekly as replacement seems to be around £300+

According to the Telegraphs 'Honest John' this appears to be one of the 3 expensive problem areas on a Carina. A h well. :(

[~Rach~]

At least you havent had an O2 sensor fault yet :D

[Wombleman]

I guess it's just a matter of time before I complete the set!

Tell me - when the sensor is going does the car still run (or with stuttering as described in other threads) or is the main problem a dead cert MOT failure on emissions?

All the problems we are getting in our "early" computerised cars - 2nd hand cars of the future are going to be a nightmare - not even the mechanics amongst us will be able to fix things. I wonder why they make 'em like that.....

Working in computing the speed that components go out of date and the difficulty in obtaining non-servicable parts is horrendous.

If car manufacturers could make the whole engine bay non-user servicable, they would!

[ma109]

Hi Wombleman

with an O2 sensor failure the car stills run fine (mine seemed to feel better than normal ?) but according to my mechanic the O2 sensor stops the car from overfuelling. If too much fuel is used then it can knacker the catalytic converter.

[bigmark]

I've just had a new steering rack on my 1996 Carina E 2.0 - the old one leaked slowly, but I got fed up with fluid all over my drive - the cost was £650 - ouch!!

:(

[Wombleman]

Ouch! If I hadn't had other problems with overheating (traced eventually to leaking water pump) my local independent garage has quoted £300. How long did you persist with the leaking rack bigmark?

[carina2005]

I've changed my steering rack 2 years ago at 60K with a reconditioned one, cost £200, plus £50 labour to fit, 2 hour waiting time. 90K now, still running.

[~Rach~]

Toyota are renowned for rip off prices for parts, always best to go for reconditioned parts or used from a scrappy. Saved loads of money doing that :D

[bigmark]

Ouch! If I hadn't had other problems with overheating (traced eventually to leaking water pump) my local independent garage has quoted £300. How long did you persist with the leaking rack bigmark?

←

It was leaking slowly for about 2 months - needed topping up about once a week. The garage that fixed it wasn't a Toyota dealer but a local independent - I think the part was very expensive. Mustn't grumble though - I have 2 Carinas and this is the first major expense incurred on either in several years - lets hope this is a "one off"!

Mark ;)