1999 V70 Cardone PS Rack part - Important

[JeffHicks]

Last fall I ordered and installed a reconditioned Cardone steering rack, from FCPEuro, in my '99 V70.

Up until this week it had been working fine. It has not been leaking fluid, and it has never been run dry.

On Monday, as my wife & I were out and about, the steering rack yanked the steering wheel loose from my grip as it turned the tires sharply to the left, then LOCKED. I've never before had anything like this happen. It was NOT a "loss of power steering." It was a complete and total lock-up of the steering rack AFTER it turned the tires sharply to the left.

Had we been going 70 mph down the Interstate (as I was the day before), this would certainly have pulled us through the median and into oncoming traffic lanes.

FCPEuro has offered to send me another unit, after I send "said suicide unit" back, but I'm pretty sure I'm not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice.


I'm not sure if I intend for this to be a warning, or a "WHAT THE !@#!$#@!" rant, but if I can save potentially save somebody's life - as a result of not making the same mistake I did - these words of warning will be well served.

[bmdubya1198]

Interesting. Glad you guys are safe and it didn't go worse! So, stay away from Cardone racks!
That's why I like FCP. Everything is lifetime warranty.

[JeffHicks]

Interesting. Glad you guys are safe and it didn't go worse! So, stay away from Cardone racks!
That's why I like FCP. Everything is lifetime warranty.

I appreciate the lifetime warranty as well. But somehow it feels like installing a "free replacement" would be nothing more than continuing to play Russian Roulette.

It'd be different if it wasn't such an enormous PIA to replace the rack, and it'd be VERY different if this wasn't such a severe near-fatal deal. But there are some things a guy just doesn't want to repeat!

[bmdubya1198]

Interesting. Glad you guys are safe and it didn't go worse! So, stay away from Cardone racks!
That's why I like FCP. Everything is lifetime warranty.

I appreciate the lifetime warranty as well. But somehow it feels like installing a "free replacement" would be nothing more than continuing to play Russian Roulette.

It'd be different if it wasn't such an enormous PIA to replace the rack, and it'd be VERY different if this wasn't such a severe near-fatal deal. But there are some things a guy just doesn't want to repeat!

I can't blame you at all. There are definitely jobs you only want to have to do once!

[JeffHicks]

^ Haha - ain't that the truth! In 40 years of DIY wrenching I don't think I have EVER done a job that looked easier but was more difficult than replacing that stupid steering rack. It was so horrible it was almost funny. Almost...

[erikv11]

FCP's warranty is awesome, but it won't coax me into buying junk parts. Steering racks I go rebuilt (Jorgen automotive), axles I will never buy one of the Chinese pieces of crap.

[JeffHicks]

Interesting side note: I wrote an honest review of this part on the FCPEuro website. It was not profanity-laced rant, nor a doomsday tirade. I just said that the thing failed, and explained how.

FCPEuro won't let the review post.

[bmdubya1198]

Interesting side note: I wrote an honest review of this part on the FCPEuro website. It was not profanity-laced rant, nor a doomsday tirade. I just said that the thing failed, and explained how.

FCPEuro won't let the review post.

Hmm, that's interesting. Maybe they're getting full of themselves with all this advertising and how they're pushing their warranty now? Honest reviews are important!

[j-dawg]

I always see these conspiracy theories about how xyz website is censoring my review or comment right above the original post they intended. Probably just takes a minute to shuffle through.

[June]

Interesting side note: I wrote an honest review of this part on the FCPEuro website. It was not profanity-laced rant, nor a doomsday tirade. I just said that the thing failed, and explained how.

FCPEuro won't let the review post.

Hmm, that's interesting. Maybe they're getting full of themselves with all this advertising and how they're pushing their warranty now? Honest reviews are important!

What good is a warranty if the parts are substandard potentially causing the car to be wrecked possibly causing death because correct me if I am wrong but a immediate complete left turn at interstate speed likely would cause the car to flip over?

Also that warranty does no good for the loss of use while waiting for the new part and then time for you to put it in plus aggravation. I wouldn't trust a replacement from them because that failure sounds terrifying.

On a side note when I was young my uncle had a 1973 Ford Thunderbird which I absolutely loved. He lived in a one traffic light town which happened to be in front of the only car lot, Ford. We were stopping at the light when the steering column snapped. What luck as the steering wheel was no longer connected to the tires. That was in 1974 and Ford fixed the car. Shortly later my aunt got out of the car at a newspaper box while it was still at fast idle and the car jumped into reverse and flew down the street ramming through someone's living room wall.

Six months after that Ford Motor Company sent notice to my uncle to immediately bring his car in to replace a potentially defective steering column. I am not sure what they called recalls back then. My uncle traded the car in immediately. Many times he would cruise us to Little Rock in excess of the 120 mph speedometer. He talked about what would happen if we had been on the road at that speed and it had broken then. We built such graceful looking, luxurious, powerful cars here in America back then, but the quality was sadly lacking. As that company who rebuilt your part sounds just as bad.

So really what good is their warranty if you are dead or minimally the car is destroyed? Would they replace the car? Or pay for your injuries? If anything this post should warn people that the brand rebuilt rack-and-pinion they sell should be avoided. June