Hi Guys,
The steering rack on my 2000 KJ wagon is leaking and I need to keep topping up the pump reservoir once a month. I can buy a rebuilt rack for $270 exchange on eBay and I'm wondering if it's easy swapout or best left to the pros?

Also is a remanufactured unit the best way to go or are there alternatives?

They all leak eventually, as the car ages. Usually, from the top of the steering rack where the steering shaft joins it. It does no harm and in SA there is no regular vehicle inspection, so I just leave it and check the reservoir on a regular basis. In NSW the car might fail a roadworthy inspection on it though. I would only change the rack if it gets picked up at an inspection.
Have a look where yours is leaking from. If it is one of the hoses or the rack ends, it will need fixing.

You can always use some "power steering stop leak" - I've used it on a few cars and it usually works for me - costs about $14 so you've got little to lose if it doesn't work. Usually takes 2 weeks or so to swell the seals to stop the leaks. Even if you replace the rack yourself you will still need a wheel alignment so the cost can climb.

Reco racks can be a risk, personally I prefer not to use the reco ones as they often are bad from initial install and then have to be taken out again and swapped yet again

I have several secondhand racks here which have come off cars and come off nice can clean

Personally I would not hide a rack leak with some bottle solution and no leaving it will cause harm especially when that seal blows out all together, a member recently with an AWD had no warning, the rack suddenly started pissing fluid out everywhere

My experience echoes Mal's comment about the risk of reco racks. A local steering specialist replaced the leaking rack in our KJII Verada with a reco unit. The original rack was leaking on the left hand side and within about 3 months the reco unit was leaking on the right hand side. The cost to supply and fit the reco rack was $925. Another reco rack was installed and so far it's gone twice as long as the first without any leaks. My fingers are crossed.

Sorry to zombify this thread. In my Search to find out more information about steering racks I stumbled across it. Recently, I went for a RWC here in NSW, and was told that the steering rack is leaking fluid everywhere and could go at any time. When I went to the mechanics the car was up on a hoist, and he showed me exactly where the leak was, citing that a second hand unit replacement and labour would cost in the vicinity of $1000 including labour to fit.

I got a second quote from another bloke, who has his shop set up next to repco and his quote was substantially smaller coming in at $890 exactly and he would take the old steering rack [presumably to recondition via repco and resell to recover costs/profit]. I read this thread before getting that quote and was wary of reconditioned units so queried him about a warranty, to which he replied- "repco have a 12 months warranty on reconditioned steering racks" .

The second quote was from a mechanic who has taken care of me numerous times and there is a good amount of trust with the Verada [2000 KJ model-Sedan] being taken there for repairs.
Of course, the car has other problems but this is the most immediate and foremost on my mind. I don't have the tools or knowledge to replace such a thing myself so a mechanic is the only go for now. My question is, do you think this total quote price [for labour and parts etc] is fair? I feel like I won't find a better deal around here [Northern NSW].

Personally, I am happy with quote number two and haven't been able to source any parts myself on here so far, but let me know your personal opinions.

Thanks for reading

The $890 quote appears fair based on my experience of relying on a steering specialist to supply and fit a changeover rack. The 12 month warranty should give some piece of mind. My warranty was also for 12 months and the second rack replacement didn't cost me anything.

The second rack hasn't given any trouble to date.

Thanks Parsha,
The warranty does give piece of mind that's for sure. I will go ahead with the changeover, the car has 260,Xxx kms on the ODO I do expect these things to happen so I'll see how it goes.

I took my TJ to NRMA MotoServe in Liverpool, it was $700 for reco rack, installation and wheel alignment. They have a 12 Month / 20,000 kms warranty.