A few weeks back I finished up swapping in a rebuilt steering rack I purchased from AutoZone. While I haven't gotten the car aligned yet (waiting for my front M030 Koni struts to come back from being rebuilt first - I put my old stock struts back on temporarily so I could limp the car around), steering feels fine and so far it isn't leaking, which I'm going to take as a small miracle!
My question is, does it matter that the rack I got from AutoZone, while it did fit, does not look exactly the same as my original one? I'm thinking maybe the AZ rack is a 944 rack? Would there be any difference in steering feel, boost weight or turns lock-to-lock between the two? I hope not, cause I do NOT want to do that job again. Thanks for any insight.
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How much was the AZ unit compared to OEM? How much compared to a rebuilt OEM? Thanks in advance.
I went with the AZ rack and it was the same one in the picture(944 style). The steering wheel did not line up with the centering dimple on the rack so I readjusted the steering wheel. Then after 5 months the rack started leaking everywhere. I did not give them my core so I rebuilt my original one using the Rennbay kit and couldn't be happier. I did however get a full refund from Autozone for their leaky rack.
The AutoZone rack is a rebuilt OEM ZF rack and will come out to about 200 bucks once I return my core and get credited for it ($143). I don't know how they make any money at that price. I've heard some people haven't had good luck with the AZ rack, but some people have, so I thought I'd give it a try. I wasn't sure I was competent enough to to a reaseal job myself. The warranty is good for some peace of mind at least. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I might just hold onto my original rack, just in case.
My steering wheel did not line up as well, so I'll have to pull it and straighten it out.
[quote name='bombfactory' timestamp='1310513768' post='112484']
The AutoZone rack is a rebuilt OEM ZF rack and will come out to about 200 bucks once I return my core and get credited for it ($143). I don't know how they make any money at that price. I've heard some people haven't had good luck with the AZ rack, but some people have, so I thought I'd give it a try. I wasn't sure I was competent enough to to a reaseal job myself. The warranty is good for some peace of mind at least. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I might just hold onto my original rack, just in case.
My steering wheel did not line up as well, so I'll have to pull it and straighten it out.
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Agreed.... you can't beat their warranty but changing racks is a pain in the a&&. Oh I kept their rack on my car while rebuilding my original unit then returned for the full refund. Kind of like a loaner. Good luck.
Your old rack looks strange, haven't see one like that. Perhaps it was replaced at some point before with an older style rack or something.