Rack and Pinion Catastrophic Failure

[crocodileguy]

Hello all,

So I had taken Princess Aurora into a shop at the end of March, and as part of the identified repairs they replaced my rack and pinion under warranty, as this was an AAA shop with a 2-year warranty on work performed. I was surprised, but thankful I wouldn't have to pay much. Picked her up 4/5/2019. Unfortunately, for other reasons related to the quality of service, I had decided not to return to that shop again, especially since I moved away and it was no longer convenient. Today, my rack and pinion suffered a catastrophic failure and the front passenger inner tie rod also broke as I was trying to leave my garage to go to work. According to the techs at the new local shop I took her to, they have never seen anything like this, and were asking me what recent accidents or curb hopping I have done recently; I told them the truth--nothing of the sort has occurred in the last few months, and they also said they were perplexed too, as they couldn't see evidence of any other damage that would cause such a catastrophic and sudden mechanical failure.

Interestingly enough, I had noticed over the weekend that the steering seemed off, and had already been planning to call this shop on my lunch break to schedule service for Friday, but I guess Princess was impatient.

Tell me, does anyone have any insight on what could have happened? I'm trying to figure out if I should contact AAA because a properly-replaced rack and pinion should surely last a hell of a lot longer than 3 months! Shouldn't any potential issues with the tie rod (i.e. fatigue) been examined by the previous shop at this time, too?

I have pictures...annotations are from tech at new shop.








Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

[Marc]

My guess......Although it is rare, it could be a defect in manufacturing.

[RCA1186]

I don't recall ever seeing anything like that posted on here. I do recall one member having trouble with the R&P but it was related to the mount for the rack shearing off from the assembly. That was related to faulty subframe bushings. Here is the thread for reference.

[crocodileguy]

Thanks for the feedback!

UPDATE: Mechanic called today to inform me they found my engine crossmember is bent, and this is why they think the R&P failed the way it did. Said this needs to be replaced or else it is bound to happen again.

Again, I was asked about any accidents or curb hitting, and I'm still stumped on this one as I haven't had anything recent. Do you think a bad pothole could do that? 1.5 years ago I drove in an alleyway that was in such bad condition I ended up having to get new struts despite going at a very low speed through that war-zone. It's the only thing I can think of.

[tigger]

Jul 11, 2019 14:42:23 GMT -6 crocodileguy said:

Do you think a bad pothole could do that? 1.5 years ago I drove in an alleyway that was in such bad condition I ended up having to get new struts despite going at a very low speed through that war-zone. It's the only thing I can think of.

If the pothole is deep enough to make the car "bottom out", then yes, damage is possible.

[crocodileguy]

Thanks, everyone!

So I have some great news -- she's back, and she feels a hell of a lot more "solid" than she has in years. My new mechanic is also a keeper -- he's just as excited about Princess Aurora as I am! He told me that there were a lot of bolts missing from various work done over the years and lazy mechanics, which, I have suspected for a while as I always felt she seemed a little less "solid" after each time she got back from the shop for various things.

This mechanic is *eager* to work on her, says he's always loved these cars, and is so glad I'm keeping her on the road. Okay, so I think I'm gonna stick with this new shop now, especially since he offered to try and find the source of my electrical problems over ayn extended weekend or other time I might find myself being out of town and/or not needing her.