2001 300M Question

I have a 2001 Chrysler 300M with 45,000 miles on it. I just replaced a steering
pinion gear for $650.00. Has anybody else had a problem with this? It started
out with a lot of freeplay in the wheel when going down the road.

 

Have owned a 300M since they reappeared in 1999 Model - now have 50,000
miles and no such problem. Only problem was the electric window which I
fixed myself.
And a transmission problem early on which Chrysler fixed. Steering pinion
gear should last much much longer -

 

No.

 

i have done 4 in the last 6 months

 

Is gear failure related to how much wheel-turning is done when the car
isn't moving? Say, lots of parallel parking or close-quarter
parking-lot parking?

 

hell i don't know,hell don't care as long as they keep paying the bill

 

You might want to check at the 300M ezBoard. There have been some
threads by people that had to replace the rack and pinion (one recent
thread - within the last 3 months - I believe). Unfortunately all
ezBoard search engines suck really bad, so you might be best to start a
new thread - maybe someone can answer you directly or point you to a
recent appropriate thread. I think that you'll find that this
particular problem is not unheard of, but is not rampant. Some people
have problems with the inner tie rod bushings (connect the tie rods to
the rack) wearing out that can cause similar problems - I'd certainly
rule that out before replacing the rack (though it sounds like you've
already done it).

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")