My 2006 Chrysler Town & Country with 56,000 miles was making a moaning, whirring noise, so I took it to the dealership, as usual. They said rack & pinion was leaking and it needed replaced for $700 within a month. Just wanted to know if this is a reasonable time for this to happen and the cost. They have always been honest but wanted to check on this one.
I’m no expert, but that seems awfully early for that to go. What condition are the roads you drive on?
Well it is a Chrysler product so it’s not suprising…half joking. Anyways. If you are losing fluid your power steering pump will make noise like you described. And if it isn’t under warranty you may just have to bite the bullet on this one. If you doubt the integrity of the dealer get a second opinion.
First try having the power steering system flushed. A friend has a Chrysler van, and when his started acting this way, the flush fixed it.
Tester
The price sounds about right. You can get a remanufactured one on line for $300 to $400 if you want to put it in yourself. You will loose an afternoon (maybe more if you have not done anything like this before). You will probably have to buy some tools you don’t yet have, and then spend another $100 to get it aligned after you are finished. In the end, paying $700 might look like a bargain.
This is a very unusual thing to have happen on a car this new. Racks usually last 150-250k miles unless they get damaged by something.
I would verify for myself that it is really leaking. Changing old fluid will help to quiet a mildly noisy old pump, but your pump and fluid are not that old.