# Steering rack failure...



## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Folks, my steering rack has an internal failure and I'm going to have to replace it.

Unfortunately, the warranty ran out on my Octavia VRS in December. I've contacted SKODA, who have offered to pay for 20% as a goodwill contribution, and are awaiting my thoughts. Obviously they would need to carry out their own diagnosis first (so don't know what their price for the job would be)

What I'd like to have is some kind of position to bargain from to try and increase their contribution.

To do this, it would be helpful to have some knowledge of other folks experience and what the amount of their contribution was.

Obviously, if others have received more in similar circumstances, then it may increase the chances of me asking / receiving more by using those examples.

What's your thoughts / experiences guys?

This is the invoice from the independent VAG specialist:



This is the email from SKODA:

"Good afternoon Mr XXX,

Sorry to hear you have issues with your steering rack.

Having checked the criteria for a goodwill contribution for your vehicle, I can offer 20% towards the repair.

We would need to carry out a diagnosis to confirm the fault before we could take this forward.

Please advise me of your thoughts.

_*Regards, *_

_*XXX *MIMI CAE_

Warranty Executive"

Cheers folks.


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2015)

i wish you luck, there are so many things that can cause issues like that, like mileage, damage from road surfaces etc. thing i would be worried about is what skoda would charge for the job, 20% could be very small portion of a very large bill.

i would search for the parts required myself and find a reputable garage to fit. the prices you are quoted are scary and that's just an independent, you could also consider getting your rack reconditioned, but you obviously would need it removed first. check eBay there are plenty of vrs parts on there and as everyone always says: buy the seller. i would be surprised if you couldn't get the job done for way way under £1000 with a little research..........B


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

write to the Daily Mail complaining it ain't good enough I did regarding my Jag XJ and they rebuilt it for me free of charge. You shouldn't have steering rack failure at 41k...poor


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Cheers, one of the issues mate is it needs to be coded, so requires a garage VAG / Skoda gear. It's an electricaly powered rack...

Car's only got 41k, never even kerbed...


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Ouch !!

Have you tried some of the Skoda forums such as Briskoda.net, you might get some help there.


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## Iceblue (Sep 4, 2013)

Ooohhh sterring racks , my Vauxhall 2009 antara steering rack gave up and with my trade (cost) discount it was £1900 and lucky for me a work buddy had one he gave me ,so it's fair to say it was my lucky day , why it gave up the ghost God only knows one of those things I guess


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Yeah, got a post on there mate, just waiting for replies...


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2015)

it will be interesting to hear how you eventually get on


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Cheers, one of the issues mate is it needs to be coded, so requires a garage VAG / Skoda gear. It's an electricaly powered rack...
> 
> Car's only got 41k, never even kerbed...


good luck electrics gone mad on modern cars...they're built to fail. I only buy old Jap stuff now for bout' 500 quid a throw and scrap at the end


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2015)

Nigelp said:


> scottishcammy said:
> 
> 
> > Cheers, one of the issues mate is it needs to be coded, so requires a garage VAG / Skoda gear. It's an electricaly powered rack...
> ...


its supposed to prevent car theft and the sale of stolen car spares...does it work? who knows, but its a pain in the butt


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Bruce said:


> Nigelp said:
> 
> 
> > scottishcammy said:
> ...


not worth nicking by the sounds of it looks like the thief is beat...good point though


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2015)

Nigelp said:


> Bruce said:
> 
> 
> > Nigelp said:
> ...


not sure the coding is all that secure, only needs a slightly dodgy auto electrician with the right gear to re-code,its been going on for many years, all started with immobilisers being built into ECU`s and has expanded exponentially from there and will continue to , even some actual steering locks are coded , i think a lt was a result of EEC directives to reduce crime, maybe its reduced it to an extent, but is still a huge money making business


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Well new Range Rovers and most Bmw's can be started without a key in less than 30 seconds............ a lot of insurance companies wont touch them now........

Anyway re: the steering rack, i was going to jump in and say it should last the life of the car............ then you said it was an electric one........ so it's a new one on me.......... will do some digging........... if it's a common failure then at least you can say it was not made / designed to do its original purpose, ask if the engine is supposed to last longer than 41k...........


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2015)

Nigelp said:


> scottishcammy said:
> 
> 
> > Cheers, one of the issues mate is it needs to be coded, so requires a garage VAG / Skoda gear. It's an electricaly powered rack...
> ...


i think what you are doing is the most efficient form of car ownership so good on you, look at the money you save to buy more watches :yes:



harryblakes7 said:


> Well new Range Rovers and most Bmw's can be started without a key in less than 30 seconds............ a lot of insurance companies wont touch them now........
> 
> Anyway re: the steering rack, i was going to jump in and say it should last the life of the car............ then you said it was an electric one........ so it's a new one on me.......... will do some digging........... if it's a common failure then at least you can say it was not made / designed to do its original purpose, ask if the engine is supposed to last longer than 41k...........


its only the power assist thats electrical as in the pump being driven by an electric motor instead of from a pulley/belt system, the actual racks are pretty much standard , scary thought for today........Nissan currently have one model{ i forget which] that has "fly by wire" steering. IE no mechanicals between the steering wheel and rack/road wheels :scared: , cant imagine what would happen with electrical failure


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Yes just got that, some types are ECU linked.......

Your best bet is to argue with the Main Dealer to get the best possible discount.......

If it is the electric pump unit then these can be bought from a factor, it should still be Delco-Remy or Lucas......... but wont be in an expensive "skoda" box

Sounds a crazy question but is the oil level been checked? If it is notchy / noisy then that is an indication of air in the system, but am sure the specialist would have checked that, you need special tools to check the flow of the fluid and pressures........

Amazing these new cars, far too complex, far too much to go wrong............

Hope it all works out for you.............


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

As always, great replies and appreciate the time you guys have taken to answer


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Most of the electric steering racks in N.A. do not have a pump, no hydraulics involved.

Later,
William


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

William_Wilson said:


> Most of the electric steering racks in N.A. do not have a pump, no hydraulics involved.
> 
> Later,
> William


A quick bit of google and you find that maybe the price quoted from SC's specialist guy maybe isn't that out of order, seems as with most modern cars these days there is a bit more to it when it comes to replacing these things.



Quote said:


> Had a real saga with this. Tried to replace the steering rack on the cheap by sourcing a recovered rack and it's gone miserably downhill from there.
> The price for the part from Skoda varies enormously from £650 to £800 and you probably need to replace the wiring at the same time and this costs between £60 and £100. Then there are the single use "stretch" bolts; another £50 or so. The quote from Skoda is £1,500 NOT including the wiring, bolts etc and, significantly, wheel alignment is additional too. Another £35 to £70. None of these prices include VAT.


From what I've read the VAG type is just a conventional rack but with a hall sensor which I guess integrates with the ECU to detect steering angle as part of a stability control package ??? and the pump whilst electric is still hydraulic.


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Has anyone here ever had a 100% contribution out of warranty? I'm wondering how that conversation went!


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Thanks chaps, great replies in a time of need!

I've also tweeted to Skoda UK.....here's the link to the tweet folks, would be really helpful to getting something positive if you guys could comment & share?

Thanks in advance chaps,

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/632503681787797504


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

I'll add to the tweet - I have used my twitter account to good ends with complaints, most recently with Bosch. Put the dirty laundry out in public!


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Much obliged mate!


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

Can't really help Cammy, tweets could be Chucklevision as far as I'm concerned, haven't a clue, but hope you get something better sorted. I'm going bACK TO KIA I reckon (maybe Hyundai) for the next one in june next, they now appear to be the only makers left that are using fairly standard conventional auto gearboxes - - the rest have these "guess a gear" electronics or DSG or whatever. :nono:

I'm completely underwhelmed with my current Pugiedjot 3008, the gears are a lucky dip in serious situations where you might need some get up and go and on hills, of which Edinburgh has a few or so! The dash display gets/needs reset every few months when it freezes up - - and that's just the start of the list!

as others have said - - to much sh!te going on elecrtonically to be safe in sone cases, cheap yes? safe - maybe?


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Ok, update:

The tweets worked well, got loads, and received a phone call from their customer service this morning. She said they'd make a goodwill offer once the fault had been diagnosed by the Skoda garage. Annoyingly, she wouldn't budge of a free diagnosis, even if the diagnosis is a confirmed failure of the rack (it's £95), which means I will have paid three bloody garages for the same diagnosis, all telling me the steering rack is knackered.

The car is booked in for the diagnostic at West End Skoda in Endiburgh on Monday.

While this was all going on, the West End dealers offered me 20% as a goodwill gesture, and have said that's absolutely non-negotiable.

Their reasoning being;

the car has a full Skoda service history.....except for the last service, which I had done at Autohaus Edinburgh (an approved VAG indie garage), who stamped my book accordingly.

Because that service was done at an independent, the chap at West End says he can't go above 20%, and it's non-negotiable.

To be honest, I'm a bit pissed off as all the servicing has been done at Skoda, bar the last one, and it's hardly a cowboy garage that did it! The servicing will have been done properly.

The car is three years old, a few months past it's warranty, has 41K and all, bar one, a skoda main dealer service history. It's not like it's 2 years ou tof warranty with no service history...

We'll see what happens once it's been diagnosed at the Skoda garage. I certainly would like, and feel as a customer deserve, more than 20% but I'm not getting the impression they're up for any movement on that.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2015)

i still believe you are better in the long run to source the parts yourself and find a good garage to fit and if necessary code the parts, it could be no coding is needed if you can just get a mechanical component fitted or even reconditioned, i think you are in for a major shock with skoda uk even with a discount, i understand your frustration though, but after all you are just a number to them, i wont bore you with the details but i have 30+ years experience in the motor trade, i could tell you stories that would make your toes curl, unfortunately most of my contacts have either died or gone on to greater things or i would phone them for you, sometimes you have to take a hit, but good luck :yes:


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Thanks Bruce.

As an aside, Autohaus have been excellent in their communication and they seem very decent. This is the breakdown they gave me:

"the steering rack comes as a complete unit, with the electric motor attached, it also doesn't come with tie rods or track rod ends so they were also in the quote which ive listed below

steering rack £852.61
tie rods an dtrack rod ends £67
labour £270

total including vat £1427.53

its 6 hours labour to do the job, ive confirmed with the trade parts centre that it is a complete unit and ive attached the parts illustration so you can see for yourself, the tie rods and track rod ends are serviceable so we could reuse them if you wanted but not a great saving, I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions at all? the price above is for the original equipment rack"

Here's the parts illustration he's talking about


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

I'll agree with Bruce !!! A main dealer is most likely to have your eyes out and whilst and you may be as well biting the bullet with the Independent then sending the old rack off to Skoda and take it from there. From a bit of google it doesn't seem to be a regular occurrence otherwise it would have been all over social media like the current Audi using more oil than petrol issue thing so maybe you have just been unlucky. And as Bruce says there will most likely be someone in a shed somewhere that could get it sorted for you, it's just knowing where to go.

I had the same with Panasonic, they wanted me to pay I think around a hundred quid for them to have a look at my TV which was just out of warranty, seems to be standard procedure.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2015)

have you looked for a recon rack or someone to carry out a recon, their labour is pretty good i think [these days] the individual components are clearly available, you just need a in-depth diagnosis to see what you need, but thats a complete strip down, could be its just a track rod [item number 23], they are usually the weak link in a rack. if that's the case it may be a simple thing ,but i would still have the whole rack stripped and recond, i dont know what others feel about recon components..i have no issue as long as its done correctly to spec. may be worth your while tracking down a rack specialist, there are plenty around, if you get a name or recommendation do a net search for any good/negative comments about them, its frustrating though especially when there are so many opinions out there...including mine ..just as an added point ..avoid sheds, its like buying from eBay you buy the seller, in this case you want to buy the specialist, we can all say we are experts or specialists.. so be carefull mate


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Thanks for your replies chaps, and taking the time do so. Lots to think about!

Assuming it is the rack, this is what the Skoda garage quoted when I asked them:

"...your servicing at Autohaus is irrelevant as regards any goodwill contribution offered by Customer care.

Autohaus are correct, you do not need to have your vehicle serviced with a main dealer to keep your manufacturers warranty valid.

Now your vehicle is out of warranty and we are dealing with goodwill which is different. One of the criteria looked at when offering goodwill is - has the vehicle been serviced in the dealer network, which in your case is no.

Costing of this repair is difficult at this stage until we determine exactly what parts are required, (the steering rack comes without the arms and ends etc and if they have not failed then we cannot replace them as part of the goodwill contribution).

With that said and the Autohaus diagnosis is correct, ( which I have no reason to disbelieve). I would assume that you will only need the main rack body. the cost to you with your 20% discount included would be £1041.71 including part, labour and VAT + the diagnosis charge of £90, would bring a grand total of £1131.71.

Without the discount: £1527.37"


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Just as an asides have you tried some of the local boy racer VAG forums or facebook pages you might be surprised how knowledgeable and helpful the lads on them can be. Although you might need to be a bit undercover.

:laugh: :laugh:


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2015)

still a lot of money, worth a web search and couple of calls to some rack specialists, if its mechanical as it probably is there should be no need for any coding, these days i would avoid dealers at all costs, even with a brand new car, as long as you use a reputable legal service center and work is done to manufacturers spec then all warranties are binding shockingly even Kwik Fit qualify :scared:


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## Elliot_243 (Jan 15, 2014)

You will probably find its the pressure relief valve gone in the rack, they don't cost a fortune but most likely have to take the rack off anyway, most garages will not be able to a) diagnose this and b) have the equipment to change it, it would need to be sent to a remanufacturers to get it done who would also strip the whole rack down and recondition it, the cost of this won't be far off £500, and that's just saying there's nothing else wrong with the rack.

the main dealers quote is a very good one! Personally if I couldn't do it myself I would seriously consider it.

at three years old rack ends and track rod ends shouldn't need changing but for the cost of them as its off its good practice to change them.


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

Get a copy of the vehicle technicians checksheet for the last service carried out at the independent garage. As a former mechanic I'd guess it will mention a visual inspection of the steering rack to check for leaks, and any mechanic would spot those regardless of where they work.


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Well they are not going to change the steering fluid on a service.

Tell them you are going to contact DVSA ( formally VOSA ) and get them to monitor steering rack failures as your car has failed at three years, and as steering is a major part of the safety of the car, DVSA may be inclined to monitor the situation and could force VAG into having a recall on it as this is a safety related issue which could affect the car in normal road use.

That should give them something to chew on......... 

I raised a similar issue with the MGF Rover, if you held the throttle at 2,500rpm when it was stationary to do the emissions test for 30 seconds it would blow the fuse for the electric power steering.......... i had everyone in knots!! :laugh:


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2015)

i think nothing can be done about anything before a proper confirmed diagnosis is carried out , i would never ever attempt to diagnose ANY fault over the forum, it could actually be something very very minor, but nobody knows, the danger here is too many red herrings for Cammy, i have had and still get people, friends, relatives phoning me for a fault diagnosis over the phone, i just wont do it.................my car wont start..whats wrong with? really ?


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

harryblakes7 said:


> I raised a similar issue with the MGF Rover, if you held the throttle at 2,500rpm when it was stationary to do the emissions test for 30 seconds it would blow the fuse for the electric power steering.......... i had everyone in knots!! :laugh:


 :biggrin:

I'm not sure the VOSA thing would work if it had been an ongoing fault of that sort of proportion I'd of thought Skoda would have been all over it already


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Well just looking at an angle to put pressure on Skoda to support.......

£1427 is a lot of money to fork out...... a hell of a lot of money.........

There is a second hand steering rack for a Skoda Octavia on the 'bay for £40............

Up to you............you need to weigh the pro's and cons.............


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

harryblakes7 said:


> Well just looking at an angle to put pressure on Skoda to support.......
> 
> £1427 is a lot of money to fork out...... a hell of a lot of money.........


yep it certainly is and it probably won't be any much different from the run of the mill VAG's. I thought the bit's for my old Merc were expensive.


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Ah my mistake, £150 on the bay.............

Its not fair on a 3 year old car............ there is always Ann on Watchdog 

I've been lucky with Beemers, fairly reliable, just tyres.......


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2015)

harryblakes7 said:


> Ah my mistake, £150 on the bay.............
> 
> Its not fair on a 3 year old car............ there is always Ann on Watchdog
> 
> I've been lucky with Beemers, fairly reliable, just tyres.......


problem is scottish roads, firm suspension, low profile tyres and front wheel drive,modern mega powerful brakes and ABS, that poor little steering rack has an awful lot to live up to, just needs a pot hole at the wrong speed and the wrong angle while braking. should be able to cope, but shoulda woulda coulda...sh*t happens


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Ah you should drive around Oxford!! So many potholes its like an army tank course.

All four of my alloy wheels got buckled............i broke a back coil spring on one pothole, not the cars fault.......... i got the paperwork from the council to claim, all 14 pages of it......... i gave up after the third page............hundreds of questions with no relevance............ then they wanted me to stand in the middle of the road taking pictures of the pothole with a tape measure showing how deep it was and how wide it was.......... what am i supposed to do stop all the traffic??

Nightmare.........


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## Guest (Aug 18, 2015)

harryblakes7 said:


> Ah you should drive around Oxford!! So many potholes its like an army tank course.
> 
> All four of my alloy wheels got buckled............i broke a back coil spring on one pothole, not the cars fault.......... i got the paperwork from the council to claim, all 14 pages of it......... i gave up after the third page............hundreds of questions with no relevance............ then they wanted me to stand in the middle of the road taking pictures of the pothole with a tape measure showing how deep it was and how wide it was.......... what am i supposed to do stop all the traffic??
> 
> Nightmare.........


designed to put you off claiming :angry:


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## Orange monster (Aug 20, 2015)

Iceblue said:


> Ooohhh sterring racks , my Vauxhall 2009 antara steering rack gave up and with my trade (cost) discount it was £1900 and lucky for me a work buddy had one he gave me ,so it's fair to say it was my lucky day , why it gave up the ghost God only knows one of those things I guess


haha so I'm a work buddy now?


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Well, the car went into Skoda yesterday, and, surprise surprise, it's the steering rack.

So, £90 lighter for them to tell me that, and I'm waiting on Skoda UK getting back to me with their goodwill offer.

As an aside, they do a #health check', with a sheet showing any concerns.

I had one done at Skoda on 16/09/14, 30,000 miles, and everything was 'green', including the brake discs/pads.

The one from yesterday: 24/08/15, 41,000 miles, shows;

"Front Brake Discs Excessively Lipped/pitted replace with pads & Rear Brake Discs heavily Corroded/scored replace with pads"

at a cost of £500.

I'm not expert, but is 1 year & 11,000 miles not rather quick to go from "Green - no issues" to "Red - pitted/lipped/corroded replace immediately"?


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

I'm looking at a new steering rack, three new tyres, a major service and new pads and discs all round.....ouch (though would be less painful without the £1,500 steering rack of course) :-(


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Well that sucks............

My friends BMW 520d has been called into the Main Dealership before the warranty runs out to have everything checked over, ask them why they dont do that??

Ask them would the rear brake disc's pass an MOT test, as it's only the friction surface that counts, does seem a bit ott........... think they are after your money......

Front brake discs being excessively lipped is not a reason to worry about. The disc's will have a minimum thickness stamped into it around the edge. The only reason they wear is due to asbestos brake pads being now banned and the new asbestos free pads are so strong they wear the disc out rather than the pads.

Again i would ask if it would pass an MOT test in the current condition...........

£2022 repairs on covering 41,000 miles is not good..............


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Thanks mate.

Actually, the break down is even worse! (if I follow Skoda's advice)

Steering rack: £1522.50

Service: £259

Tyres: £300

Pads/Discs £500

Total: £2,581.50

For a 3 year old car that I've driven a total of 20,000 miles in myself :-(


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Well an oil service on my BMW M3 was £140, at the main dealership!! and it got a valet clean & wash n wax with a tin of sweets!! Just sold it sadly......

When i bought my M3 it had 30,000 on it, i sold it with 108,000 on it, and it was still on the original brakes and discs.............engine untouched, just had a new battery on it in 7 years that i had it............one set of tyres............the only money i lost was depreciation.......

I would have thought Skoda with the VAG background to be bullet proof!!

Others on here might be able to help............ you could shop around for tyre prices...............


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Thanks mate.
> 
> Actually, the break down is even worse! (if I follow Skoda's advice)
> 
> ...


looks very much like they are clawing back any discount :angry: no surprises though


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

I found some good tyres through black circles, Vredestein Ultra Sessanta, the three tyres coming in at £253.38 fully fitted, £206.58 just delivery.


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

The discs can be scored easily by a stone getting trapped at any mileage to be fair. Why not get the rack done by them and the service/brakes and tyres elsewhere?

Although I agree you wouldn't expect those kind of costs on a three year old skoda.


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Oh definitely mate, sorry, I should have made it clear I'll just be getting the rack through them.
Everything else is going to have to wait I'm afraid, and, when I do get it done, it'll be through an indie.

Still though, there's a lot of haggling to come with skoda re: the rack first!


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Hmmmm, the more I think about it.....seriously considering sourcing a rack myself (reconditioned possibly) and getting an independent VAG specialist garage I know to carry the labour/coding out.

I've been quoted £270 for the labour.

There are a couple on ebay from looking just now (would need to confirm they are definitely the correct part no of course, but gives an idea). One of them is £350, so, all in, I could get the job done by going this route for around £620. Which, whilst still painful, s a lot better then £1550.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201078306696?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171820820105?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Hmmmm, the more I think about it.....seriously considering sourcing a rack myself (reconditioned possibly) and getting an independent VAG specialist garage I know to carry the labour/coding out.
> 
> I've been quoted £270 for the labour.
> 
> ...


having been involved in the trade for many years this is exactly the route i would go :thumbsup: just do your home work in regards warranties/ reconditioned, used etc. i would avoid the dirty second hand one. the seller of the new one has a contact number, i would have a talk to them,you can tell a lot from a phone call :yes:


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Sounds alot better than £1550!!

If you do go for the Skoda garage doing it you need to check your getting a full 12 months warranty with the new rack, it sounds silly but if they are giving you money towards it they may only warrant it till the cars 4th year, i.e. this December, you would be surprised the tricks they can pull..........


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

run a million miles from the used rack - it looks like it has been chewed off the donor car and most cars are written off for front end damage, meaning the rack may have taken at least part of the shunt. That definitely hasn't been cleaned and crack tested. The left hand track rod looks bent too

I used to have a second hand car spares business, salvage search, and I would walk away from that one.

Plus, as a general rule, never buy used spares from Birmingham. The amount of problems I had with idiots in yards there were immense. If the scrapyard had an 0121 number i never called it after i had learnt my painful lessons!

The new rack looks like the deal. I fully agree with calling them first as harryblakes7 suggests, but they have 99.9% feedback from nearly 10,000 transactions and specialise in power steering. Sounds like a good find :thumbsup:


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Cheers guys

Phoned these guys

http://www.acspowersteering.co.uk/ (which is the ebay link above fpr the new unit)

seemed very decent on the phone, they can do me a brand new unit delivered for £349.99 with 2 years warranty, and I send them my old steering rack (delivery paid for by them) within 14 days.


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Cheers guys
> 
> Phoned these guys
> 
> ...


i dont think you could do better than that unless you go second hand with all its pitfalls, thats a damn good price, all you need to do now is find out whether the garage you propose using can recode the new unit if its required, hope it all works out for you :thumbsup:


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2015)

interesting that the add says this is a common problem


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

> seemed very decent on the phone, they can do me a brand new unit delivered for £349.99 with 2 years warranty, and I send them my old steering rack (delivery paid for by them) within 14 days.


Cam that seems like a win win all round. Hopefully your local garage will be able to fit that and get you up and running again.
PLEASE bear in mind, that with the current rack your front tyres will be taking a bit of a hammering so watch the tread depth on them.



> interesting that the add says this is a common problem


Interesting point Bruce. Given that that this is supposed to be German engineering courtesy of VW, one would have thought that the rack would have lasted far longer than this. It reminds me of the Mercedes C240 thread with the rust problems. Do German car manufacturers build in decay and wear so that you have to lash out money to keep their industry going?

David


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Well, Skoda have made their final, non-negotiable offer of 25% of a £1552 bill.
Absolutely refuse to move on that. Also, turns out if you try and escalate your complaint, it just gets sent back to the same person!

https://clyp.it/bpxnlz21

Folks, if you agree this is pretty poor, and can be bothered to tweet sharing that sentiment to https://twitter.com/SKODAUK, I'd be much obliged to you.

Here's my twitter profile

https://twitter.com/TaitCammy?lang=en-gb

Here's my post to Skoda UK about. Again, feel free to comment folks, cheers.

http://xflive.thewatchforum.co.uk/?app=core&module=system&controller=embed&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSkoda.uk%2Fposts%2F923231007744776

Thanks again in advance (better get saving, no hols for the family now!)


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Well, Skoda refused to budge an inch, case now closed. The whole experience was crap, never returning calls, taking days to answer queries. Very disappointing. If their customer service message is, "We couldn't give a *hit about you now we've got your money" they succeeded!

So, buying the rack from ACS Power Steering and having the work done by Autohaus Edinburgh the 8th. Will report back here so folk know what ACS & Autohaus were like (though all my experiences of Autohaus have been excellent so far).

Cheers.


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## Guest (Sep 1, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Well, Skoda refused to budge an inch, case now closed. The whole experience was crap, never returning calls, taking days to answer queries. Very disappointing. If their customer service message is, "We couldn't give a *hit about you now we've got your money" they succeeded!
> 
> So, buying the rack from ACS Power Steering and having the work done by Autohaus Edinburgh the 8th. Will report back here so folk know what ACS & Autohaus were like (though all my experiences of Autohaus have been excellent so far).
> 
> Cheers.


best move IMO, indies have too much to lose by not doing a good job, your car will be fine :thumbsup:


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

So, the car is in the garage just now getting the rack changed.

The mechanic has just phoned me to say where the track rod end pops into the hub, the hub on the nearside is different from the offside, he can see a twist and a bend.

He reckons someone has worked on it previously as there is a tie strap on the inner the boot?

He's concerned that if he puts the new rack on, the bend is what may have caused the last rack to fail, and may happen again.

He's suggesting buying a new hub, which he reckons is pretty expensive.

I'm not in then least mechanically minded, and, despite his best efforts, the foregoing doesn't really mean that much to me.

I'd be grateful if anyone here could maybe just explain the foregoing a bit better so I understand what he really means, does this sound reasonable. and are hubs pretty expensive?

I've never had a bash in the car, but it had a previous owner. The mechanic reckons the pressure involved to bend a hub would be huge, and definitely noticeable. I suppose I'm wondering if, whatever caused that, damaged the rack internally at the time, or if this 'bend' would have done it over time.....

I'm waiting on him phoning me back with a quote for a new hub, then I'll need to decided what to do...


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> So, the car is in the garage just now getting the rack changed.
> 
> The mechanic has just phoned me to say where the track rod end pops into the hub, the hub on the nearside is different from the offside, he can see a twist and a bend.
> 
> ...


that would absolutly damage the rack, but the forces involved that would cause that sort of damage sounds linked to a serious RTA, i am not saying that your car was involved in an RTA , but its possible and more than likely the hub was and was taken from a right off for whatever reason, possibly your car has had a light thump or maybe a bearing fault and its was considered easier to change the hub..who knows? and you probably wont ever know. a replacement hub should not cost much, all you want is the bare hub and no ancillaries, contact the rack suppliers and see if they can provide a good used one, failing that Ebay should provide the answers, i would have no hesitation using a second hand hub [ providing it wasn't in an RTA ! ] as its just a cast unit that holds everything, bearing etc and should not wear out or show signs of wear, i hope that helps some, you must be sick to death of all this and i am sure its starting to put you off your car, but hopefull get by this hurdle and things will be fine


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Thanks Bruce, very helpful. You're right, my head is a bit down with it


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2015)

good luck :thumbsup:


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Garage phoned, to supply and fit new hub carrier and bearing is £480...


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## Guest (Sep 18, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Garage phoned, to supply and fit new hub carrier and bearing is £480...


personaly i would use a second hand one, but thats just me


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Hi Cammy, I've just read this & am sorry to hear about all the pain/stress you've had with a seemingly reliable & well respected manufacturer like Skoda/VW.

My wife used to own a Mercedes 280 SLK - went like a scalded cat - which had a full Merc service history & only 30,000ish miles on it. It developed a fault with the gearbox (wouldn't change gear & would only work in limp home mode = very very slow). A bit of internet research indicated that it was a faulty valve within the gearbox & not an uncommon fault at all. Merc in their infinite generosity offered to pay half (despite the car being relatively new, low mileage & serviced *only* by themselves). We had the work done - car was virtually undriveable - & gave it back to Merc (it was on finance unfortunately) & walked away. My wife now has another Merc (C180 coupe) but now gets it serviced at an independent garage.

Similarly my friend has just had to fork out £1500 for a new turbo for his 06 plate BMW 3 series diesel.

Cars go wrong - end of - & on modern this can often result in a big bill  It doesn't matter how old they are or where they're built, if they didn't go wrong we wouldn't need garages or recovery services (AA/RAC etc) would we? I've never bought a new car & don't intend to unless I win the lottery, in which case I'll buy myself a Ginetta G40 (as long as I can still get into the thing)! I'm currently driving around in an £850 Y reg Ford Focus - It's fast enough for me, comfortable, practical & everything on it works apart from the air-con - I'm hoping it'll last me a couple of years after which I'll either scrap it or sell it & get myself another old "banger" to get around in. The most I've ever spent on a car (apart from the Reliant SS1 in the garage) is £3,000 on the Alfa I owned before the Focus. I'm not really intending paying that much on a car again. Parts for the Alfa were expensive, & it wasn't the easiest car to work on for a home mechanic (or for a garage for that matter), so I'm hoping that the Focus should be pretty easy to fix should anything go wrong with it (which it probably will) - there is at least a Haynes manual for it unlike the Alfa & parts should be affordable!


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## Guest (Sep 18, 2015)

there are a couple of second hand hubs on eBay so they are out there and not expensive either


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Yep, going to have a look at the second hand ones. I feel I may end up selling the car after all this to be honest.


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## Guest (Sep 18, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Yep, going to have a look at the second hand ones. I feel I may end up selling the car after all this to be honest.


common feeling, but you take a bit of a hit as you wont get your repair costs back, i would wait and see how it drives after the repairs, you never know it may drive better than before your problems especially if the steering geometry was out


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Probably just belted a kerb, I've done it a couple of times on icey roads with the same sort of damage. If you do go for one from a breakers make sure that the threaded holes for mounting the brake calipers aren't stripped or that they haven't been helicoiled.


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Hi chaps. Trying to source a second hand part, what am i asking for here? Is it a wheel hub carrier, or wheel hub assembly, or something else?

Sorry guys, not up on this sort of thing!


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2015)

go for wheel hub carrier as you don't need the bearing assembly, it bolts to the carrier as its a self contained unit, that's assuming your wheel bearing is ok, its likely the same unit is used on a variety of models,not just the VRS, hope that's of help


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Thanks Bruce. Goodness knows what they were going to do that would have cost £450! The carrier doesn't look that expensive


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Thanks Bruce. Goodness knows what they were going to do that would have cost £450! The carrier doesn't look that expensive


a brand new one wouldn't be cheap, consider what Skoda were going to charge you for the rack, but you should be able to pick up a used one reasonably cheap, good luck :thumbsup:


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Phoned Skoda, aand it's £246.19 for new one 

Found this on ebay, new part. Sorry to be a pain, but will I need anything else? Don;t want to end up with it on the ramps and it needing something else!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281595169543?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2015)

good find and a good price too, :thumbsup: there is no way of knowing if you need anything else without seeing the car, but if you do it shouldn't be much as long as the old one comes apart ok IE sensors etc then you should be ok. nearly there mate.. :yes:


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Ha ha, true matey!

I couldn't afford the garage quote of over 400 after everything else and needed the car, so the rack is on. Just sorting out the carrier now and getting it replaced through a mechanic I know.

Weird thing is, prior to the steering rack being replaced, the car drove straight as a die, now it pulls significantly to the right.

The garage did a second wheel alignment but just the same, the garage said it's because of the bent hub carrier.

Not sure how it drove straight prior to the rack change though! Nearly there pal


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Ha ha, true matey!
> 
> I couldn't afford the garage quote of over 400 after everything else and needed the car, so the rack is on. Just sorting out the carrier now and getting it replaced through a mechanic I know.
> 
> ...


it may be worth trying to contact the previous owner to find out what happened to it, i doubt you would have any claims etc , but may give you peace of mind, it could even be that someone jacked it up on the bent part of the carrier some years ago..seems unlikely though and i am still thinking RTA..who knows?


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Hi chaps,

finally got a picture from the garage of the offending article. Its the front near side (so this must be taken standing underneath the front passenger seat, looking out towards the front of the car if you see what I mean).

Means bugger all to me! Does it look particularly bad to folk that do know how it should look?

Cheers


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Hi chaps,
> 
> finally got a picture from the garage of the offending article. Its the front near side (so this must be taken standing underneath the front passenger seat, looking out towards the front of the car if you see what I mean).
> 
> ...


nasty twist spotted it right away and can honestly say i have not seen damage like that on a driving car, it looks like a recent replacement as well, if you look at he bottom arm its nice and corrosion free, look at the hub carrier....its been sitting in a breakers yard for a while IMO, that twist would do some long term damage to the rack as the mounting point for the track rod end is way off, i assume you must be getting close to a repair now?


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Thanks Bruce, good to have the opinion of someone reliable I can trust.

Yep, booked in to garage, on the 14th, so couple of weeks. It's bizarre though, the car drove pretty straight before the rack replacement, now it pulls like buggery to the right (though it definitely had wheel alignment after the rack was replaced)! You'd think it would have pulled on the old rack.

Hopefully ok to drive carefully until then. The mechanic who's doing it reckons I'll need new wheel bearings though, as he says they usually can;t be transferred over. I'm just looking forward to getting it done.

You're right about the corrosion, the rest of the car has no corrosion whatsoever, I was really surprised when I saw that.

Bit worrying to hear you say how bad it is. Which bit is it that;s twisted Bruce? (And thanks again for your input, been invaluable through this)


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2015)

the part within the red circle is bent, the red line shows the current angle, the yellow line shows how it should, the forces that angle is putting on your new rack is enormous, i would be very cautious about driving it as you may end up requiring a new rack again, i wouldn't drive it . i actually thought it was still in the workshop. reading between the lines, i think a previous owner has had a failed wheel bearing and bought a replacement complete hub including disc from a breakers yard and the hub came off an accident right off , the tracking was obviously adjusted to compensate for the damage and now its been adjusted to spec its showing the fault. again i wouldn't drive as is and not because its dangerous, but because of the potential to do the damage all over again


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Wow! The car is staying on the garage unti it goes into the garage....bloody hell


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Wow! The car is staying on the garage unti it goes into the garage....bloody hell


sorry didnt mean upset you, i would rather be straight with you, from a hassle point of view alone its just not worth the chance IMO


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

Oh no, not at all mate, I really appreciate you telling me. I just feel a bit stupid.....some detective!


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> Oh no, not at all mate, I really appreciate you telling me. I just feel a bit stupid.....some detective!


i`d make a crap detective :laugh:


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## scottishcammy (Jul 11, 2003)

We'd be a great team though!


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2015)

scottishcammy said:


> We'd be a great team though!


 :laugh:


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