steering rack leak/new rack

Well my local dealership service dept drop a bomb on me when i went in for a oil change and several recalls. The guy tells me my steering rack is leaking on driver side and it will be $1,099 to replace it plus $150 for fluid flush. i think he said 150, was still in shock over the $1,099. I didnt believe the guy since my truck only has 84,000 and NEVER been off road. Only off road place my truck has ever been is my yard. Well get truck home and look for myself and sure enough power steering fluid has covered the A frame and just dripping away.
So any thoughts or opinions about this? Ive told a couple of friends, 1 of those works in service dept at a dealership and is a certified mechanic, they all feel the same way i do and feel like a rack should not fail within 84,000 miles. Ive owned a few cars and trucks and put well over 100,000 miles on each of them myself and have never had to replace a rack.

 

You could have gotten a bad rack or something happened when installing it? It shouldn't but unfortunately sometimes it does

 

A rack seal kit is under $50.

A full rebuilt rack can be had for around $250.

Prices from RockAuto.com

There is no reason to flush anything, regardless of the repair method.

If you are not DIY inclined, find an honest independent mechanic. Total bill should be 1/3 to maybe 1/2 your quote. (Did the dealer at least offer to kiss you first?)

PS, off road has nothing to do with it. Sometimes stuff just fails.

 

I have some diy smarts plus i have a true 1,000+ page factory manual for my truck but im not sure i want to try to take on the job. I know my dealership is bending me over the fender with the price. They offered me a battery terminal cleaning service for $24. I couldnt keep myself from at the guy. This dealership charged me $10 for 1 minute of work and a fuse, after i specifically asked the service tech on the phone if there was a fuse for the problem and i was told no, there is not a fuse, a specific switch is bad.
A honest independent mechanic or even a honest service department is very few and many inbetween.
I strongly believe the conditions of the roads in my county has alot to do with it. Ive drove ATVs on dirt trails through the woods, across creeks and rivers and had a smoother ride then driving a couple miles in this county.
I also believe toyota is not the quality vehicle that toyota once was. Based on what ive seen on forums and from my personal experience.
If anyone knows how to go about filing a claim to my county DOT and what may be required, id sure appreciate any info or direction. I know this can be done because it was a story on the news a few months ago the roads are so bad in this county