PS Rack on OBW

[John]

00 OBW, on a scale of 1-5, how difficult is it to replace the steering rack
w/o the use of an air wrench, a lift or garage?
I do as much maintenance on my cars as possible but I need to weigh the
labor cost vs the time I'd spend doing it. Last major mechanical repair I
did was an axle on my 95 LS.
Autozone has a rack for $229 plus 115 core, what do suspect the labor/time
would be in a shop?

 

[johninky]

00 OBW, on a scale of 1-5, how difficult is it to replace the steering rack
w/o the use of an air wrench, a lift or garage?
I do as much maintenance on my cars as possible but I need to weigh the
labor cost vs the time I'd spend doing it.  Last major mechanical repair I
did was an axle on my 95 LS.
Autozone has a rack for $229 plus 115 core, what do suspect the labor/time
would be in a shop?

Well, if anything like the older models, 4 bolts hold the rack.
Steering column needs separated, one bolt. Two power steering lines
and two tie rod ends. I would just replace with a newer used one.
Probably all up to the current models are identical. A used low-
mileage used one will probably last lots longer than the rebuilt
unit. I replaced the rack in my 85 XT a few years back in the
driveway. Took maybe 3 hours.