Steering Rack Leak due to lift?

Marlin crawler sells a beefier 3rd gen rack if I remember correctly.

 

Why is everyone assuming the whole rack needs to be replaced because of a leak? How bad is the leak? If it is minor, can you not just ignore it? If it is bad enough to cause grief, can the seal(s) not be replaced? How was the fluid level at the time of the leak discovery?

 

Automotive Repair Rule #43 (c): Minor leaks will always become major leaks.
Automotive Repair Rule #43 (c) (1): This will always occur at night, when you are on a lonely stretch of highway with no tools, supplies or cellular service.

Replacing a rack is an [relatively] easy job, and can be done by most shade tree mechanics in the driveway with a fairly basic tool set. Rebuiding a rack requires considerably more skill, specialist tools, and has a lot more room to go wrong if not done perfectly. It will also take a LOT longer, and probably not save a huge amount of money.

 

I might have also done this.......... FYI you can find the clock spring for $29 on ebay...

 

The leak isn't terrible, just some seepage on the boot. It's not dripping on the driveway or anything. Still an annoyance though that I would like fixed. I emailed the dealer today, they called me while I was at work so I missed it. I'll have to call them back tomorrow, I'm not holding out much hope though but we'll see what they say.

 

For that small of a leak, if you can’t get a dealer to bite on doing it under warranty I’d run it till it fails.

 

Just a quick update for anyone interested or who may come across this thread in the future. I contacted my local dealer and after a bit back and forth they dropped the price on the initial quote ($2400 CAD - $1700USD) and offered to do the work for $1463 CAD ($1080USD) plus tax with the alignment included. I may take them up on the offer just for convenience and peace of mind.

 

I usually call them once they are far worse than that, honestly I wouldn't change that on my own truck.

I tried to warranty a 2018 rack last week, but their extended expired

 

IMHO they should take care of it but I'm not surprised they want you to pay for it either.

If you have to spend your own money get the part number, buy OEM online from wherever it's cheapest and either do it yourself or get a local shop to take care of it for cash.