One of my soldier's wife's was 11 grand.

 

So how do you know if the rack is gone.. mine has a little leak around it in spots.

How do you know if the bushings are gone.

I had mine in for an alignment at the dealer.. still drifted left.. took it back and they at least straightend the steering wheel.. maybe I got a some worn bushings in the rack? (although you would think the dealer would tell you that)

do they wander on the road?

 

A rack generally should last longer. That is why power steering fluid flushes are recommended, and same goes for every other part that contains a fluid where regular flushes are recommended.

3.4L timing belts/waterpumps are very simple, I encourage you to read up on it and try it yourself. The valve cover gaskets require removing the upper intake manifold. If you conquer the t-belt, these will be a snap.

The rear axle seals are also pretty simple. Jack it up, take off the rear wheels, unhook the e-brake cables, clamp the rubber brake hose leading the the rear axle, disconnect the brake lines, take off the 4 nuts on the end of the axle tube and slide the drum/axle out. Pop out the seal, pop in a new one, and reverse.

 

Yes the way technicans are paid would lead one to believe that we are always lying. One thing people dont really understand is that if a customer brings in a car with a complaint, the complaint is fixed and then, the customer has another issue. Most likeley it will be something else, but in the customers mind, that wasnt broke before they brought it to be serviced. Thats why in most cases, some items are brought to the customers attention that they probably had no idea about.

In other cases, it may be recommended that multiple parts be replaced to fix one single problem. An example would be a check engine light. Say, a code P0302. Most of you are familiar with this, a misfire detected on cylinder 2. Now would you go and replace ONLY that one spark plug? No, your going to replace them all, and possibly your spark plug wires if they are old and brittle.

Even in the Prius', if one HID bulb goes out, you should replace BOTH bulbs. If you dont, they will burn differently and burn up the headlight ECU's. Both bulbs with run around 600 buckaroos. But burn up your ecu's and expect to pay upwards of 1500 for headlights, and Toyota will not warranty them anymore.

/rant over

 

On my Honda accord, the dealer charged me an even grand for a replacement. Dealers are not cheap-and the don't intend to be.