Steering rack and pinion failure
 

It's been a while since I posted.

I took my '07 into town today and picked up a few things. I have been noticing a "thump" in the steering for a short time now. Didn't happen often so I could not track it down. When I got home I pulled into the driveway and stopped, went to move the car a little bit and no steering at all.

I checked under the hood and got the wife to move the steering wheel a bit and everything seems to be turning just fine, all the shafts including the one that enters the rack and pinion unit itself, except the wheels wouldn't turn. I am 99% sure the gears in the rack and pinion unit have left the building. I think the thump was the gears inside slipping a bit. It only happened 3 or 4 times before the steering failed all together.

It's going to be an expensive repair, thankfully it didn't happen while driving down the road.

I am a little upset at the build quality of the car. I have had it since new and have changed rotors on the brakes 5 times I think. Just did the 5th set myself. The switch on the power seat only works intermittently when trying to move the seat backward only. The little aluminium strip on the door is starting to peel off. Bubbles in the paint on the drivers side rear door and the bottom of other doors. Lots of little things. I love the car, the quality, not so much.

It is a ten year old car, things wear out, the steering rack is easy to swap out.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-...ng-rack-58948/

If she doesn't find you handsome, it's better to be handy.

Remember those cars in the sixties, when Chrysler was in such bad condition they offered the 5 year/50,000 mile warranty; and the broke at 5 years and a day/50,001 miles. 10 year old used cars could not be sold because they had fallen apart 5 years before.

Now 10 years is young. As long as the body is good an HHR is relatively cheap to keep running forever. It is one of the simplest cars to work on, the problem is that everyone starts out afraid of "those new fangled computers" that have been standard equipment in the US since 1996 (that's over 20 years).

Oh, I am not replacing the car. I intend to be driving it when it's a classic (like me). I am unable to some of the work, so I am letting my mechanic do it. He's a good guy, small town, local guy, has a nice little licensed shop and has a couple of other good guys he hired.

Just bad timing, I just did the front brakes myself. Pads and rotors. I think this is the 5th set of rotors and trying to do some house renovations. Naturally, I got the destruction phase done and I am just about ready to order materials for the reno when this pops up. Do things ever work out any other way?.....lol.

Nope! Life is what happens while we're busy making other plans, the trick is to keep on keeping on!
I had my rack changed out in a short period of time, no air tools used!

It disturbs me that it went so fast, with so little warning. I would have thought it would have given more indication as it wore out. My car only has 127,000 km on it and has been babied all the time I have owned it. The shop has ordered a new rack unit for it and will get it towed in when it arrives. My days of crawling under cars are past me, it is just too much for me to physically handle any more.

It did give you a warning, the thumps you mentioned!

Mine did and rattled

Mine thumped about 3 or 4 times and died before I could figure out where it was coming from. Very little warning, no other indications, and impossible to track down before it failed completely.

Got the new rack put in. Going in monday for a lower ball joint that is a bit off and an alignment. Ball joint isn't totally gone, but what the heck, may as well stay on top of it while I am at it. Turns out the seal on the rack wore out and the rack got full of crud.