how angry am I?

answer...VERY.

Went to get my Rodeo inspected in maryland so I can finally get it registered. I went in not worried at all, not is wrong with my rodeo. Well after waiting for two hours they finally get back to me and the news is bad. I have a slight leak in my rack an pinion. It needs to be replaced or it won't pass.

This is rediculous, I do not need to add fluid ever, it has been weeping for over a year now. But, by law, it needs to be in original spec. The thing is, you only need to get your car inspected once in this state. That makes no sense, you can buy an old car and get it inspected once and never have to worry about it again. Not real safe in my mind.

The estimated cost of repair is $1000. That is a lot of money I didn't think I'd have to pay. I am not sure what I am going to do yet. The kicker is, this a repair that doesn't need to be done. If it was a few hundred I'd be able to swallow it a lot easier, but this is serious money. Also, you never know what kind of repairs will be needed down the road. It's nice not having a car payment, but surprise repairs are worse than a known monthly payment.

You add the horrible gas mileage, the $1000 repair bill and any repairs down the road and a lease on a new car looks like a good idea. I'm not sure what I want to do yet, I love my Rodeo, but this power sreering issue has got me steaming. I don't want to sink money into this vehicle at all.

marc

Can't you just power wash it it, clean it up and smile and bring it in again and say it is better then new? Or does someone make a power steering fluid leak stopper?

Can't you just power wash it it, clean it up and smile and bring it in again and say it is better then new? Or does someone make a power steering fluid leak stopper?



that's what I was thinking too. I don't think it would clean up well enough. Also, I am in the system now having a leaky rack. If I knew I'd of cleaned it first.

Scrub down just the R&P, not anything else around it so its nice an shiney, or as much as possible, and if they ask tell them you bought a good used one or had yours rebuilt. If its not leaking enough to need any fluid added then it shouldnt leak before you get to the inspection place.

I'm so glad they got rid of the inspections here in the early 70's. Never had to worry about those stupid things. They seem to go way overboard on whats not acceptable. I wonder how harleys, fords, and land rovers ever pass. Everything on those leak from the time they leave the factory.

I forgot the steering system uses transmission fluid. So I don't know if this stuff is worth a shot:

http://www.barsproducts.com/product.cfm?id=29

No inspections here in FL. Left that all behind in Massachusetts and Connecticut. If you decide to do it, post the DIY!

No inspections here in FL. Left that all behind in Massachusetts and Connecticut. If you decide to do it, post the DIY!


no way I could do this job myself. I am thinking my savings is going to take a hit. I am still mad about this. Even the shop agreed that my my rack would be fine for a few more years. I don't see anyway around it. I went to a Mazda dealer, but I don't think I want to have a car payment. I just paid the Rodeo off in May. New steering rack, here I come.

Do a google for steering racks for isuzu. You can find rebuilt ones for $300-400. No idea what labor would cost.

I had a slight leak in my Troopers power steering box, the fluid with sealant stuff fixed the problem overnight.
A good pressure washing, a little masking tape and a can of satin black paint....
It will ook like brand new. for added authenticity ou can even chalk on a bogus part # with a yellow wax pencil and scratch the paint off of the edges of the bolt heads.
I'd do it just to spite the state inspection office.

Where's it leaking from. Are the boot(bellows) in good shape? If not, and the leak was from there, you could replace the bellows easily to prevent leaks at least in the short term.

How many miles you got on that thing?

I definitely agree no car payment is NICE - recently sold the brand-new Xterra to my sister, and car payment free once again.

But, seems like your rodeo has had a lot of issues, and a lot of repairs at only 6-7yrs of age.

I know mine did for the first few months of this year, but mine now has 161k miles and is 9yrs old, and had never had any kind of repairs other then regular maintenance before this - and it's had a hard life.

I'm beginning to agree with you on the whether or not it's worth it; you've been contemplating that for quite some time, as you've had some of the strangest things needing for repair at it's young age. For a while, I really wanted you to hang in there, but man, you just keep getting lashed.

Feel bad for you. Let us know how it turns out.

Marc, if you are not constantly having to add P steering fluid, your rack is fine & that shop is trying to scam you. I know states vary in their requirements, but I dont see how this can apply? If the tires, brakes, steering and suspention components are tight and functional, you should be good to go. I too would degrease her and go to another shop.

Joel

for added authenticity ou can even chalk on a bogus part # with a yellow wax pencil and scratch the paint off of the edges of the bolt heads.
I'd do it just to spite the state inspection office.

Bishop - you're always welcome to come to Maine and give advice on screwing the inspection stations. The yellow wax pencil trick I hadn't heard of before - and I've been driving old cars since 1984. I've heard and done many tricks myself - including using cut-to-size duct tape, thick coats of spray primer and color match paint or undercoating spray to cover up body rust holes and floor panel rot. Chipped windshields - get a sticker on a rainy day with wet glass to hide it. Drive over some dogsh*t right outside the station to hide a worn balljoint/tie rod end (they won't grab the wheel to rock it up and down on the lift). Muffler putty over small holes, then drive on a muddy road to coat the pipes. We are fortunate enough to not have a failure logged in a computer. Just fix the problem half-as*ed and take it to the next station a couple of miles away from the first one for a new attempt.
Marcre - it sounds like it's worth a try to mask the 'problem' they found. If you can pull it off, take some pictures for us of the handiwork and post back here to inspire us all who live in the states that require inspections.

I've talked to a few people and they all agree, I'm being taken for a ride. I am going to take it to a friends mechanic from work. We'll see what happens.

marc

not angry anymore.

I finally got around to dealing with this. I was back home in Buffalo a few weeks ago and I cleaned the heck out of it. Yesterday, I bought some more brake cleaner and sprayed it down real well again. truthfully, I couldn't even tell where they were saying it was leaking.

I took it to another shop today and it was fine. They did fail the Rodeo on the condition I took it to the MVA/DMV to have a state trooper scan my tint. That was a bit of a pain because I had to go half an hour away to do that and then back to the shop, but it was a small price to pay. It passed after that and I am now officially registered here in Maryland.

Now I have to mail my NY plates back to the NY DMV and wait for a reciept and i can finish up the insurance. It cost me $240 to register, that was a bummer.

I will say this, the process to register from out of state is a lengthy annoying deal. But, whatever, I am golden.

marc

Glad I'm on colorado where we dont have to deal with all that (my tint would fail for one thing). Think I'll stay here. Dont even have to give up the out of state plates when its registered.

Glad you got it all worked out without having to replace something that wasnt really a problem to begin with.

Got the smog test today, went on without a problem. Pretty easy actually. They don't hook it up to the tailpipe on 96 and newer, just plug into the OBD2 port. Took about 4 minutes and $14 of my money.

The pamphlet says it's about keeping the air clean, looks like they were making a lot of money there though. 5-6 bays open and the lines were about 4-5 cars long at each. Went fast though.



marc