First off I wanted to say thanks to all the helpful advice yall offered me on how to pull the transmission out of my 89 Olds Delta 88. So now back to my question I asked above. So when I pull the transmission out I am wanting to pull the rack & pinion out due to it is leaking on the driver side due to the seals are out. I half to put a quart in it about every week depending on how much it gets driven. Also the power steering pump wines really bad. the sharper the turn the louder it gets. So I was looking threw the Autozone website and found the rebuild kits for both the rack & pinion along with the power steering pump. Would this be a good idea to go with to save myself some money or would it be a better idea to just to buy a new rack & pinion along with a power steering pump. So any and all advice on this would be helpful. Thanks.

just my opinion but I've done several rack and pinions. I wouldn't rebuild them, you risk goofing up and gouging the mating suffices and you're nearly doing the same work to get to it as get it out. Buy a GOOD one and not have to do it for a LONG time.. Not from Autozone or Advanced.. Go to a Napa, Carquest or RockAuto dot com.

Cheap parts that fail easily with a lifetime warranty are more annoying that good parts with a limited warranty.

If you're going to keep the car a while. Invest in it. If you're not, maybe do the rebuilds. I have 3 cars, 1 97 Camry with 167K, 1 2000 Regal with 233K, and 1 VW Passat TDI with 347K. I haven't had a car payment for a loooong time and don't plan to.

Contact a local salvage yard. Swapping it out is easier.

I am planing on keeping the car but my parents are wanting my to get rid of it. They have tried to sell it out from under me a few times since it has been sitting for little over a month now. So since I am gonna fix it I am hoping I can due all the work because I am gonna **** of my parents on fixing it. They don't understand that it is an older car and it will have problems. Also my parents sold me the car when I rolled my truck after I hit a big buck in it. My parents are really hard on there cars and he drove the one I have now really hard and did little to no maintenance on it. All the work that has been done to it was all from how he treated the car.

Dude.... when you do the math it'* almost always cheaper to fix a car than to ditch it. I have 4 cars... Mostly because I'm stubborn. I hate car payments and new vehicles (they're worthless). I just bought my wife a '04 Lexus Rx330 for 5 grand less than blue book so that'* our nicest car. The car I drive everyday is a 97 VW Passat TDI with 347K miles, my alternate car is a 2000 Buick Regal with 233K miles (I dropped a used engine in it 7 months ago after the original died and it'* still kickin), and a 97 Camry with 168K miles (will go to my Son next year as his first car). I haven't had a payment in 10 years. Any idea how much money that'* saved me? Wanna bet what I've paid in repairs is MUCH less than what I would have paid to buy new each time a car made me want to get rid of it? You'd win.. Cars are the WORST investment in the world especially for the low/middle class. They are likely the second most expensive thing we'l ever own and also the thing that has the least value on day one of the purchase other than some goofy warranty backed comfort level...

Heck, maybe you don't keep this one, but remember. These machines will take a LOT of abuse and will run longer than people think. I expect to get 500K (that'* my goal) on the VW.. and I'll keep fixing the Camry and Regal until I get tired of them, i can't get parts, or rust is causing the motor mounts to fall though the frame. Fix your car issues, and spend your money on real estate (long term).

My first car was a 87 Volvo 240 DL. I sold it for $100 bucks with 260K miles on it just because I hated it and wanted someone to pay me to come get it.. That car was tough as nails though, it developed a hard tranny shift at about 190K miles and I drove it another 70K. Durable as heck.. The guy that bought it off me, drove it for a couple years before he wrecked it..

Take it for what it'* worth my friend..

B

I have done all the work to the car myself. The only shop time it has seen is for inspections to renew my tags and exhaust work that it needed. I have learned allot since I got the car. I have only had to put about 1,100 into the car and I have had it a little 2 years and they say that it to much to sink into a 23 year old car but it has a strong motor in it with about 154k on it. I just don't know how it keep my parents off my but about it since it is at there house. My apartment complex won't allow me to have it towed to my apartment.

I feel ya man.. $1100/24 months = 45.83 a month.. Drive a new car for that! I'd just like to encourage you, whatever car you own, buy a factory service manual and just dive headlong in a learn how to fix it. Sounds like you're doing great in that department. Maybe you pay a shop this time just to get it rolling it'll still be less than going out and buying something of preserving capital is your primary goal. Yeah a $1-2K repair is a hard hit all at once, but if you drive it a year that $2K hit becomes $167 bucks a month.. Not bad..

Also, if the PowerSteering pump whines but hasn't given way yet.. maybe leave it in there till it dies.. Durn thing may last longer that ya might expect.. Been my experience anyway..

Well it get allot louder when you half to make sharp turns. I could just wait till it dies like you said. I also could just fix the radio it the car to drown out the whine. I due see your point on that. I may also try running a flush threw it after I get the new rack in it. The fluid in the power steering pump is very thick and it has a dark color to it. It is pretty close to being black in color the fluid is.