suicideking

I had my truck at the dealer and they were going to do an alignment. They said the power steering rack is bad and didn't do the alignment. $1600 to fix. I didn't do it, just confirmed I should have it looked at and what would be a reasonable price?

I do have 35" wheels, so realize they can take a toll on the steering.

Chad Walker

Welcome to EPAS since I assume you don't have a 6.2 or the NA 3.5

That price sounds about right. Is the "Service Advancetrac" message on?

vtoy1

First...what reason did they give that the rack was bad? I had a shop tell me that once and it had nothing to do with the rack but the part which joins to the rack from the steering wheel which has u joints and tends to rust out and get loose over time.
Second...$1600 american dollars??? You gotta be f'ing kidding me. You can get a rack from a wrecker for $100 buy some beer for $20, call your buddies over on the weekend and have a grand old bullsht session, football, politics, bitch about the wives...all while getting some serious wrench on replacing that rack. For smiles and giggles you could replace the inner and outer tie rods, then take it back to that BS alignment shop and have them line it up for you.
If you're not up on mechanical stuff they got this thing called the "you tube" on your google machine. Lots of friendly people with too much time on their hands to show you in ridiculous detail how to change out a rack i'm sure.

chris2013

That rack needs to be programmed once installed

suicideking

They didn't really explain what was wrong with it, just said they couldn't do the alignment and if I don't get it done, it will contribute to earlier tire wear.

I don't really have the skills or time to fix this myself. I have friends that might be able to help if I was broke or in desperate need, but I'm not going to ask them to help. I want a qualified shop to do the work. My friends are more the type to hit it with a hammer if it doesn't fit right...

So I'd like to get this done if REALLY needed. What are the dangers of waiting a few months/year to get it done? I really don't notice any problems steering. What should I be noticing with this problem?

TJPlatinumEB

Find out why they can't do it. Ask for specific reasons or diagnosis that they deemed to be the reason that they can't do the alignment. Your truck has EPAS, therefore the entire rack is electronic. There are sensors everywhere on that thing that would set off warning lights if something wasn't right.

If that didn't happen and the warning lights didn't go off, then I don't see what their reason would be. If they can't make it work, then go to a decent place who works with larger tires like 4 Wheel Parts or someone like that. I've had them do alignments for me for years and never had an issue.

RLXXI

This^ no warning lights usually means the system is working normally, maybe you have a bad inner or outer tie rod, both of which can be replaced without changing the entire rack. If they refuse to tell you specifically what's wrong, then run, don't walk to another shop.
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suicideking

It was one of the local Ford dealers. Also my first time taking my truck to this dealer. I wasn't impressed by their service. I brought it in for one minor thing (leak in the back seat) and they had it for 3 days.

I'll probably just take it to a shop I somewhat trust (not a Ford dealer) and just ask them to do an alignment, see if they say anything. Or should I tell the shop to check the rack?

RLXXI

Just take it in and tell them you want an alignment, any alignment tech worth his weight will do a thorough steering/suspension check before they hook up the machine.
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