2013 Yukon XL - loose steering. BBB brand rack and pinion? Gear box?

[dictum]

Mechanic thinks it's the rack and pinion, and has the BBB brand. I never heard of it. Rockauto has the same thing. How does it compare to the ACDelco brand?

Also do I need to replace the gear box as well, in addition to the rack and pinion?

2013 Yukon XL, 180K on the body, 40K on the engine.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@dictum I don't think there is a separate gearbox on these, I believe the gearbox is integrated into the rack and pinion.

It should be easy to see where the slack is coming from as the steering shaft enters the rack and pinion

 

[donjetman]

Rack & pinion is the steering gears box.

 

[swathdiver]

Mechanic thinks it's the rack and pinion, and has the BBB brand. I never heard of it. Rockauto has the same thing. How does it compare to the ACDelco brand?

Also do I need to replace the gear box as well, in addition to the rack and pinion?

2013 Yukon XL, 180K on the body, 40K on the engine.

Stick with GM OE of ACDelco Professional/Gold if at all possible. Same with the inner and outer tie rods. A new rack and pinion ought to come with inner tie rods, from GM anyway.

But! Why do you think the steering is loose? How is she driving? How are the tires wearing?

 

[petethepug]

BBB is the rebuild company, not the manufacturer. If it is the manufacturer, then run. As stated use only GM parts as the junk cores and low quality seals and machinery used to tool the knock offs are a huge waste of labor $ when they die shortly after the install.

I used a GM reman rack on our 08 Denali and it was great. The only issue was the fluid. DO NOT use OEM GM fluid. They’re having issues with it causing cavitation. Use an aftermarket fluid that’s more costly because it has more conditioners in it.

Unless your talking front (differential) gear box, the rack & pinion is your steering gear box. Then Gen, with a few exceptions uses all rack & pinion steering.

Questions to ask your tech ..: Is it leaking? Does it bind? Is it noisy? Do not allow him to put in a Chinese knock off rack in your truck just because his local supply house has it or on sale as the last one at Rock Auto. BBB industries = Cangzhou Xinlida Hardware, a supplier based in China.

I sent u a message with more info.

 

[Doubeleive]

rack n pinion is hydraulic
any play should be from tie rods or tie rod ends
at any rate if it is funky just go grab another one from the junkyard, slap it on and get a alignment

 

[Geotrash]

+1 that if you have any play or wandering in your steering, that it's likely the inner or outer tie rod ends on either side, or both. A bad wheel bearing, worn control arm bushings, or worn sway bar links can also cause a wandering feeling in the steering.

 

[petethepug]

Technician said he needed a new rack, until we hear otherwise, that’s it. Good sense and good advice does say replace most everything attached to the rack because the labor to put it back together is already paid for.

I’m scratch’s my head. What’d the technician say condemned the rack?

 

[dictum]

He is pretty good, has always been right on the money

Question is what brand to get

 

[Doubeleive]

He is pretty good, has always been right on the money

Question is what brand to get

I would just grab a used oem one, you can get them to your door for $125 or go grab one from a yard for probably less, last time I bought one it was $80
if used is not what you want and if a new one is not available for a half way decent price then I would get a cardone they have been rebuilding parts for over 50 years

Rack and Pinion Assembly - 22-1145​

not cheap though, $340 on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/A1-Cardone-22-1145-Remanufactured-Hydraulic/dp/B01N759GLT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1AGAXD17W4PTP&keywords=22-1145&qid=1698070430&sprefix=22-1145%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

 

[Geotrash]

He is pretty good, has always been right on the money

Question is what brand to get

Yes, but since the inner tie rod ends are inside the boots and ship as part of the rack, he's likely referring to the rack and inner rod ends as a unit. Of course, they're replaceable independently from the rest of the rack. The innards of the rack are a gear that meshes with a toothed rod and both are immersed in power steering fluid, so it's very unlikely for play to develop internally. The failure modes are usually leaky seals, a loose tie rod end ball/socket, torn dust boot, or loose/worn rack mount bushings, but not the geared parts.

So, if it were my rig, I would want to know exactly what's loose because it's a lot easier to replace a worn tie rod end than the rack.

 

[dictum]

I would just grab a used oem one, you can get them to your door for $125 or go grab one from a yard for probably less, last time I bought one it was $80
if used is not what you want and if a new one is not available for a half way decent price then I would get a cardone they have been rebuilding parts for over 50 years

Rack and Pinion Assembly - 22-1145​

not cheap though, $340 on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/A1-Cardone-22-1145-Remanufactured-Hydraulic/dp/B01N759GLT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1AGAXD17W4PTP&keywords=22-1145&qid=1698070430&sprefix=22-1145%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Thanks for the link, this looks promising.

 

[dictum]

The above does not come with outer tie rods, that' the problem.

 

[Doubeleive]

The above does not come with outer tie rods, that' the problem.

pretty much none of them will come with outer tie rods, you have to buy those seperate.
that has always been that way, for any rack n pinion
some do not even include the inner tie rods

 

[dictum]

I see, so Cardone is a reasonably good brand?
In terms of rack and pinion?

 

[Doubeleive]

I see, so Cardone is a reasonably good brand?
In terms of rack and pinion?

they have been rebuiliding them for like 40 year's so ya
even if yours was super rare you could send it to them and they would rebuild it and send it back

 

[dictum]

Does the Cardone rack and pinion rebuild the inner gears?

Referencing this post:

Steering rack: looseness between rack / pinion gears

I'm posting this because I didn't find anyone else discussing it, and it may help someone else. My theory is the steering racks on these trucks develop play between the rack and pinion gears somewheres after ~ 160K miles. The truck is a 2008 GMC Yukon XL Denali. The OE steering rack (190K...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

 

[Doubeleive]

Does the Cardone rack and pinion rebuild the inner gears?

Referencing this post:

Steering rack: looseness between rack / pinion gears

I'm posting this because I didn't find anyone else discussing it, and it may help someone else. My theory is the steering racks on these trucks develop play between the rack and pinion gears somewheres after ~ 160K miles. The truck is a 2008 GMC Yukon XL Denali. The OE steering rack (190K...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

no gears on a rack n pinion it's hydraulic, it has valves and seals.
sometimes the exterior mounts on these wear out but there is a fix for that.

 

[Geotrash]

no gears on a rack n pinion it's hydraulic, it has valves and seals.
sometimes the exterior mounts on these wear out but there is a fix for that.

I very rarely disagree with you my friend, but there is indeed a rack gear and a pinion gear in our steering system on these rigs. The hydraulics are only for assistive purposes.

 

[Geotrash]

Does the Cardone rack and pinion rebuild the inner gears?

Referencing this post:

Steering rack: looseness between rack / pinion gears

I'm posting this because I didn't find anyone else discussing it, and it may help someone else. My theory is the steering racks on these trucks develop play between the rack and pinion gears somewheres after ~ 160K miles. The truck is a 2008 GMC Yukon XL Denali. The OE steering rack (190K...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

Nope. AFAIK, they only check the tolerances and if it fails to meet spec, they toss out the core. I have a BBB reman rack in my '07 and I'm happy with it. My original rack had 230K on it when I replaced it and the play was coming from the inner tie rod end on the drivers side. And there was also some movement happening at one of the rack mounts. The rack mount bushings are a known weak spot on these. Febest makes a repair kit for them.