[sickened1]

i dunno if this will help or not but my wifes car needed a new rack and pinion. the main symptoms were no power steering bc all the fluid was gushing out from behind the tires. it started as a slow but noticable leak but within weeks power steering fluid gushed out as fast as we put it in. if your car isnt gushin p.s. fluid from behind the wheels and pw steering is out then its prob not rack n pinion.
now, my pt cruiser is starting to make a knock/thump sound from the front wheel wells (mainly passenger) whenever i accelerate or turn. a mechanic thats never done me wrong so far inspected it and told me its the lower control arm bushings and the tie rod ends needing replaced and that it happens quite a bit on pt cruisers. id rely on mechanic number 2! tie rods are pretty cheap if you can do it yourself or know someone who can do it for you, you'll save a few hundred. my mechanic wanted $200 for parts and $500 for labor. i found a friend of a friend whos gonna do it if i buy parts. my part total from oreilly auto parts was $70. either way mechanic number 2 is right inmy opinion, i hope this helps