V70 Steering Rack Replacement

[sierraman]

Hi

I have a 2000W V70 classic that appears to need a new steering rack.

Does anyone have a rough idea of what this will cost to get replaced at an independant garage or volvo stealer?

I have seen a reconditioned one on ebay for £135 + £15 carriage from a company in Tamworth.

A friend of a friend has said that he will charge me £200 for a recon steering rack and £200 labour...cash in hand (he works at a garage and will do it in his spare time)

Has anyone had this rack replaced on their volvo and is there anything that i should look out for and avoid?

Any advice...very welcome

Thanks

[Lmason]

i had mine done on my volvo s70 1997 t5.

i cant remember exactly how much, (i think it cost me £180 for a recon at my local aoto suppliers) and £200/£220 labour at my local vauxhall garage.

it was much cheaper than buting a new one from volvo.

i will get my receipt out possibly tomorrow and have a look how much it cost me. it was approx 2 years ago.

[sierraman]

Originally Posted by Lmason

i had mine done on my volvo s70 1997 t5.

i cant remember exactly how much, (i think it cost me £180 for a recon at my local aoto suppliers) and £200/£220 labour at my local vauxhall garage.

it was much cheaper than buting a new one from volvo.

i will get my receipt out possibly tomorrow and have a look how much it cost me. it was approx 2 years ago.

Hi
Many thanks for your response. I took my v70 in to be done last friday by a machanic friend of a friend "cash in hand" which was probably a bad idea and i regret it now.

The price was originally £200 for a refurb rack and £200 fitting. The price of the refurb rack has now gone up to £250 and alarm bells are ringing. I told the mechanic that i could get one from a company in tamworth for £135 +£15carriage with 2 years warranty. He said he would see if he could match the price and in any event phone me first before doing anything.

On Tuesday night i get a call from the mechanic telling me that he has had to send my rack off to be refurbished as he was unable to get a rack anywhere for my car. Apparently there are 5 different racks available and it has been a nightmare trying to sort one out. I have since looked into this and found that there is only one rack design for my v70 classic. Adding to this,my car has been left jacked up in a compound behind the garage and its not what i expected.

I have since checked with the tamworth company (acs power steering as listed on ebay...they list 2 as available but have none!) they confirm that they don't have them on the shelf but offer to collect mine, refurb & return with in a few days.

Anyway i am now angry with the mechanic over the increased cost and the fact that i wasn't phoned first. In my mind the trust has gone out of the window as he could be fitting a £38.00 repair kit to my rack and charging me £450.00 for the privilege. Madness...i will only use a volvo specialist or dealer from now on!

[Lmason]

it could be a difficult one to get refurbished. my type are quite popular, so wasnt a problem, but when i ordered i was told at times there can be a shortage of reconditioned ones on certain types and when the availability is difficult to get one, the price could be higher, due to demand.

look on the bright side, he is doing his best for you, im in business to, repairing appliances, and at times i have promised people items at prices and next day or so, when ordering, there is no stock left from the suppliers/wholesalers, and they think im messing them about.

i dont like having jobs "stuck pending on the shelf" i want to do the job, get paid and make room for the next job.

i can understand this problem arising for you, he may of had to take the old one off to match it up with the recon or have it reconditioned, i know its a pain, but its better than paying the full price from a dealer, i was told by my vauxhall garage who does the jobs i dont do, ie steering rack, mainly cos at times i dont have the time, if they got a new volvo one from volvo, parts and labour would of been approx £900.

i was luck with mine, with older models there is more reconditioned parts available.

i know from mine the reconditioned unit is much cheaper, and still as good quialty.

[sierraman]

Originally Posted by Lmason

it could be a difficult one to get refurbished. my type are quite popular, so wasnt a problem, but when i ordered i was told at times there can be a shortage of reconditioned ones on certain types and when the availability is difficult to get one, the price could be higher, due to demand.

look on the bright side, he is doing his best for you, im in business to, repairing appliances, and at times i have promised people items at prices and next day or so, when ordering, there is no stock left from the suppliers/wholesalers, and they think im messing them about.

i dont like having jobs "stuck pending on the shelf" i want to do the job, get paid and make room for the next job.

i can understand this problem arising for you, he may of had to take the old one off to match it up with the recon or have it reconditioned, i know its a pain, but its better than paying the full price from a dealer, i was told by my vauxhall garage who does the jobs i dont do, ie steering rack, mainly cos at times i dont have the time, if they got a new volvo one from volvo, parts and labour would of been approx £900.

i was luck with mine, with older models there is more reconditioned parts available.

i know from mine the reconditioned unit is much cheaper, and still as good quialty.

Hi
Thanks for your input. My rack has been sent off to be refurbished and it is costing more because of this.....don't know why but hope to find out on collection of car!

I was originally told that he would be in contact first regarding the cost of a refurbished rack or having my old rack done....or any additional costs.

What's annoyed me is that he had already sent the rack off to be done at additional cost without asking me first. Adding to this he claimed to have contacted the company ( that i gave him the details of ) and they were unable to help. However i since given them a call and yes they didn't have any in stock but they would collect my rack. do a full refurb and return it in a couple of days for £150 all in.

So he has me by the meat & veg. I can't complain now or he could tell me to do one or f... o.. and do it yourself. My car is un-driveable without the rack and i feel missled. When he had problems sourcing another rack.....If he had contacted the company that i gave him the details of ..i would be £100 pounds better off....perhaps he did and is having an extra £100 profit?...perhaps he has sent off for a £38.00 kit and is doing in himself?
Unless i get a receipt for the part...how will i ever know?

If the cost to refurb my rack was genuinely £250 and he offers to prove this...then i guess that is ok and at least there would be no doubt on the honesty side of things.

Obviously i just hope that my refurbished rack is a complete success and that the refurbishment work has a warranty should i need to use it. At least then i would only have a bill for labour and not another £450!

Anyway hopefully my car will be ready later today and i will see what he says at the time of collection. I just hope that we don't fall out over the costs or the paperwork connected to the warranty on the repair to my old steering rack . If everything is above board...then he will have done what he thought was in my best interests...so fine and i can be happy with that....... But if not....and the rack repair then fails within say the next 2 years i could be left with egg on my face.


The moral of the story is stay away from cash in hand repairs unless you get the parts yourself and pay labour only.

If anything goes on my car again...it will be main stealer or specialist from now on!

[Clan]

I would stay away from this kind of thing too , you will spend a fair chumk of money to have this job done , it's only half a job when you find the rack develops play or a leak again ( which is likely with a "reconditioned" rack ) after a year or so . How can anyone recondition a rack for £130 AND Make a profit and even test it .. ...
They will cut corners , Its £100 alone just for a pair of steering rods , will they replace these ? no , or fit a pair of cheap quality ones , All they want is a fast profit . your long term well being is not in their mind .
Was your rack leaking or was it just play?

[kby69]

my c70 has just develop a masive leak of power steering fluid, i've tried to find the leak but this proved almost impossible due to the massive leak. does anyone have some idea as were to start to resolve the leak help appreciated

[Stuh1981]

Originally Posted by kby69

my c70 has just develop a masive leak of power steering fluid, i've tried to find the leak but this proved almost impossible due to the massive leak. does anyone have some idea as were to start to resolve the leak help appreciated

Hi mate. MY C70 just failed its MOT for a small leak in the power steering rack. I was advised to replace the rack, but prices seem to vary quite dramatically from £130 to £700 After much shopping about I bought the replacement rack from
acs power steering It is a reconditioned rack but you get a two year warranty. It has not been fitted yet (next Wednesday) but I will keep you updated

[foggyjames]

...had a slight copy / paste issue earlier...sorry!

I bought a cheap re-con rack for my S70. It was £145 (plus the dreaded...) or so from Andrew Page, and came in a "Driveline components" box (or something like that anyway). I fitted it myself, and all was well with the world...except that I discovered later that the replacement PAS pump I fitted was just as faulty as the previous one (a common 850/70-series problem...), and the rack wasn't to blame at all...! I had a shiny new rack, anyway...

I then sold the S70 and bought a V70R. This is on its second PAS pump, having suffered the usual problems with its original, but has also suffered intermittent loss of assistance from cold when turning left. It's not been bad enough in the last 12 months to warrant replacement, given how busy I've been...but on the odd occasions it gives trouble, it is an irritation.

I started looking into it, and came across the SMI / TRW issue. The other interesting information is that it had a rack not *that* long ago (circa 2004? something like that)...and the bill was £200 all-in. There isn't a breakdown of parts/labour, but that seemed astoundingly cheap.

As I see it, you have three options:
1) Dealer - expensive, but you know it will be right. Unless it isn't, but you have some serious leverage.
2) Indy specialist - normally cheaper, and the job should be right if they're worth their salt.
3) Do it yourself - If you feel so inclined, none of this stuff is *that* hard. I could do a rack with a £100 Halfords kit and a big £100 jack from Machine Mart...plus a pair of stands for about £10 each. At least you know you've done your best...

Mates of mates are always dodgy territory. At the very least you want someone who knows the cars well. I know first hand you can save a *lot* of time on almost every job if you've done it before on that particular car.

For what it's worth, £200+ for labour, especially for a "bloke on the drive", sounds like a bit of a laugh. I managed mine on my back on the drive in an afternoon, and I wasn't going nuts, speed-wise. It's not a fun job, but it wasn't *that* bad, either. You can get a clutch done for that sort of money!

cheers

James

[wildy]

hi. new to this but very fond of my v reg v70 xt which has struck a leak on n/s end of steering rack. its a 2435cc 20v 140hp (i am 98% certain) and i bought a second hand rack for £50 off ebay but now realise it may not even be the right one!! so was going to put it to YOU, foggyjames, to maybe give me a brief rundown on how to remove the offending item? any help greatly appreciated as i wont be using a garage, just some tools and choice swearwords!