Nct fail, rack and pinion

shamrock55

My 04 megane failed the nct this morning with a worn rack and pinion, could anyone tell me how much this might cost to repair.

shamrock55

Any ideas?

michael999999

shamrock55 wrote: »

Any ideas?

Have you rang a garage?

maudgone

.About €150/200. You might get a 2nd hand one for €50ish. + labour costs.

keithg89

Isn't a worn rack and pinion just an inner tie rod? The part could be anywhere from €15-30. Simple job. Less than an hours labour.

Kenny Logins

Did it actually say the rack or just one side (steering linkage), which I guess could be a tie-rod end or something?

shamrock55

Well the lad at the nct said it was only a bit worn,didnt exectly say what, its just down as steering linkage/rack and pinion/worn/nearside front
i went to my garage but he said he would have to lift it up to see exactly what it was so i have it booked in for wed, i just hope its cheap

slimjimmc

I bet it's just the ball joint in the tie rod end as they tend to wear out in the Megane, I've had both of them replaced
in recent years. It's a cheap enough job and one any mechanic or decent DIYer could do. You may need to get the tracking rechecked afterwards.

shamrock55

slimjimmc wrote: »

I bet it's just the ball joint in the tie rod end as they tend to wear out in the Megane, I've had both of them replaced
in recent years. It's a cheap enough job and one any mechanic or decent DIYer could do. You may need to get the tracking rechecked afterwards.

Id say this is it alright, the lad at the nct said about the tracking too how much am i looking at to get it sorted?

slimjimmc

shamrock55 wrote: »

Id say this is it alright, the lad at the nct said about the tracking too how much am i looking at to get it sorted?

Between €20-€30 for the part from a motor factors, and I guess half an hour's labour. No special gear is required and all is done from underneath with the car on a hoist or over a pit.

If your mechanic counts the threads he may be able to put the new one on in the same position without affecting tracking but it's usually worth getting it tracked just to be sure. 4 wheel alignment would be €40-€50 depending on where you go.

Some garages charge for the whole hour so it might be worthwhile doing both sides if it's just the price of an extra part.

Renegade Mechanic

Speaking from experience here:
Renaults in particular suffer with steering problems and the Megane and Scenic are the worst. It is very often the inner tie-rod on either side thats gone. But the rack itself is prone to play on the passenger side as the nylon bushing on the rack itself wears out. This feels, when shaking the wheel, exactly like only the tie-rod is gone and only becomes visible as a fault when it is stripped as far as the tie-rod itself, leading to a very easy misdiagnosis to make. More often than not, both are gone!

shamrock55

It was a tie rod end that was the problem, anyway its sorted now cost me 90 euro, thanks for all the replies