Am shopping for a reliable, affordable Power Steering Rack for Wife's 2000 Golf

[Jackbear]

Hi all. Been years since I posted anything. My old 97 B4V has just not been a problem for over a decade.

But my wife's favorite 2 - door, 2000 Golf [ added: heated leather seats, cruse control, power window on passenger side, +more ] has been a load of issues that we address as they come up.
The latest:
The power steering rack seals leak that abruptly happened last week has grounded her car. I can do the work in the drive but am stumped to cut through the chaff of all the sites claiming lifetime warranty and OEM with their racks.

Am not set up to rebuild the rack myself using a seal kit so I am seeking opinions on what replacement power steering rack may be the best for price / reliability.
Can't see paying over $1K for a dealership rack when her car cost us less when we got it.
I am being confused by what is being advertised on eBay, Amazon, and my favorite tdi parts houses over what is best.

My old ETKA parts list shows the rack P/N as: 131-422-055-AN

Any one have good experience with one they installed?

 

[oilhammer]

Racks on these are not high failure items, and any A4 platform car (save for the Audi TT) can supply a good used rack that will work. That's the route I would take. Find a good used one. Gas, diesel, Jetta, Golf, NB, German, Mexican, Brazilian, makes no difference. They'll all interchange.

 

[Jackbear]

Yeah. Used racks were my first thought as well.
Had looked in the several Pick N Pulls around the bay last weekend but came up empty handed. All gone from any viable candidate car.
Also, my wife does not want used parts when it comes to drive train stuff. Her bookclub circle of friends advise her to get re-manufactured [ versus: rebuilt ] but they don't say where from.

Not too sure I wish to get used racks from eBay. My parts buying from eBay has been quite an issue with not getting what is advertised, so I am a bit lost here.

 

[intro]

IDParts has them. It's where I got mine a few years back. About $350.

 

[BobnOH]

Parts buying has become an art form, some would say black art. ID is a safe bet. My 1st TDI got a rack around 2008. Needed it right away, went to Autozone $135. Never had issue, did get a few TTY fasteners at the dealer. Get the VW fluid, flush and fill is quick and easy if potentially messy. Low mileage used rack is a good option. I avoid ebay, Alibaba and Amazon, although ebay is a potpouri, individuals will sometimes have what you need. Listen, nod, but pay no attention to your partners advise.

 

[Tdijarhead]

I went with a used part about 7 years ago and it's been fine ever since. I think I paid $40 for it. idparts is a good choice or a used one with no signs of leakage especially in the inner tie rod boots.

If you have a question about english or word usage you should consult the book club, other wise.....

 

[Jackbear]

Quote:...., went to Autozone $135. Never had issue, did get a few TTY fasteners at the dealer. Get the VW fluid, flush and fill is quick and easy if potentially messy.....


Good leads: Intex. IDParts, Autozone all have rebuilt steering racks/pinion ranging from $850 down to $ 399. But none of them can tell me what the difference is.

Have any of you heard of the Rack Doctor of Hemmingway, SC? They say they can match VW OEM Part number and sell me rebuilt equvalent for $210 plus core.

 

[Shenandoah]

Jackbear,

I replaced the rack on my 2000 Audi TT -> TDI conversion last year. I went with a new rack from RockAuto (I know some folks don't like shopping there). The brand was AAE (Atlantic Automotive Enterprise). The rack came with inner tierod ends. So far so good.

Eric

 

[oilhammer]

Rebuilt steering racks (in general, across all brands) seem to be hit and miss on durability. As I stated already with regards to the model(s) being discussed here, steering rack failures are pretty rare. I work on these cars every day, have owned probably 50+ of them over the years, many with well over a quarter million miles, and I can literally count on one hand how many steering racks I have encountered that were bad. And we either installed a used one, OR used a NEW one which was I am pretty sure was the AAE brand mentioned above. Which looked like a reboxed TRW I think (TRW is one of the OEM suppliers, along with ZF and I think one other one).

With non-VAG applications, ones that DO have a higher failure rate, the rebuilt ones (Cardone, Maval etc.) have a really high failure rate. We even had a rebuilt one on a newer Ram 1500 that came from the dealer that failed almost immediately.

 

[Jackbear]

.... with regards to the model(s) being discussed here, steering rack failures are pretty rare. I work on these cars every day, have owned probably 50+ of them over the years, many with well over a quarter million miles, and I can literally count on one hand how many steering racks I have encountered that were bad. And we either installed a used one, OR used a NEW one which was I am pretty sure was the AAE brand mentioned above. ....

_____________________________________________________..

Thanks for the sound advise. Rebuilt it is.

Looked into the Atlantic Auto Ent. brand. They suggest I get the P/N off my leaking rack to better match what will work.

I am not ready to pull the steering rack out to read the part number, Need the driveway clear till the weekend. I will water blast the underside of the car today and see if I can see the p/n after I clean off all the oil and grime.

-----------------------------..
Another related matter...

Will I also need to replace the bolts that I take out?
Most UTube how - to vids show re-installing all the bolts save for those that break.

A few write ups here at tdiclub suggest buying all new bolts from the dealership as well as OEM steering fluid.
Most sites just said they reused what they took off and just added locktight on everything.

New nuts and bolts from the dealer seem to come in around $105. Amazing! $18 for one bolt as an example. No wonder most re-use what the take off.

 

[Shenandoah]

Jackbear,

Yes, you'll need new subframe bolts. Check with IDParts or MetalManParts for the bolts. They'll run about $50 for what you need: the rack bolts, the two front subframe bolts and the two rear subframe bolts.

I also use Pentosin powersteering fluid.

Eric

 

[BobnOH]

....................................snip......................................New nuts and bolts from the dealer seem to come in around $105. Amazing! $18 for one bolt as an example. No wonder most re-use what the take off.

That's goofy, hopefully you have another dealership nearby. When I did mine, my dealer only had 3 or 4 of the replacement bolts. I needed the car immediately, re-used some of the old green ones, no issue after 10 years. But I usually replace whatever's called for.

 

[UhOh]

Anyone have a replacement list of the required bolts for the steering rack and cross member?

I have zero time to be rummaging around in a wrecking yard, in which case I'm going with a new rack from IDParts.

 

[JDSwan87]

Anyone have a replacement list of the required bolts for the steering rack and cross member?

I have zero time to be rummaging around in a wrecking yard, in which case I'm going with a new rack from IDParts.

IDPARTS will tell you if you email or call them. They really do drive diesel and know their products.

 

[UhOh]

JD, yes, I'm a long-time customer (nearly all my TDI parts come from them) :

It is looking like it's the hard lines on my rack that have kicked the bucket: no significant signs around pump lines or the tie rod boots. One can get replacement hard lines but I am not seeing where people have actually replaced them, if it's readily doable and if so how.

 

[JDSwan87]

JD, yes, I'm a long-time customer (nearly all my TDI parts come from them) :

It is looking like it's the hard lines on my rack that have kicked the bucket: no significant signs around pump lines or the tie rod boots. One can get replacement hard lines but I am not seeing where people have actually replaced them, if it's readily doable and if so how.

I actually just replaced my brother power steering line, the common "rust prone" one that makes a loop under the engine on the left side of the vehicle. I suggest buying an extra set of crush washers, you'll inevitably lose one. The line I bought came with a set and I bought a spare set... I believe the cradle bolts are TTY also.