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My 1996 Nissan Primera has developed a leaking power steering rack and apparently it's going to cost me $700 - $800 to repair.

Any ideas on why this happened to a car that only has 50,000kms on the clock and is this a common problem?

Dan

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 20 Novemer 2008

Leaking power steering racks are not uncommon and depending on what needs to be done the costs can rise significantly. Often the piston (or shaft) that the main seal fits around needs to be re-chromed due to pitting or corrosion and it is this type of work that increases the costs.

Without doing this repair properly you run the risks of the rack continuing to leak.

By the time the rack is removed, overhauled and refitted it is not hard to spend the $700 - $800 you have been quoted from my experience.

Regarding the odometer reading; 50,000km's on a twelve year old car is very low indeed, but age as well as distance travelled can be a factor with these sorts of problems.