Hi guys,

and thanks to George,Bob and Joel and all others for the detailed answers -
I do appreciate that you took the time! Well, once I figured from Joel's
message that I'd have to pull back the rubber thingies from the tie-rods, I did
so - and will remember the oil shower for a coupla days (Bob's warning came
too late ;-). Sometimes I am just stupid, but as Calvin and Hobbes figured some
years ago: Scientific Progress Goes "BOINK".

Well, tomorrow I'll start looking for the new steering rack. I decided
against a seal kit since this will not take care of the wear and tear of the unit
and we plan to keep our Westy for years to come. Bob's hint regarding a check
of all front joints and bushings to safe the money for a second alignment is
very insightful.

I have called AutoZone for a quote, since they've been mentioned in the
archive a couple of times. They ask about 220 bucks plus 150 as deposit: I forgot
to ask whether it's the long or the short rack. Murray's has two different
suppliers - one price is 650 $, the other about 260$. I'll give the BusDepot a
call tomorrow and will check as well with Parts Place up here in Auburn
Hills, MI as well. Since I am on vacation this week the first thing will be to
bolt a hitch on my wife's Blazer - we planned to take the catamaran to the
lakes a couple of times this week but the hitch is on the Westy (one of these
"Class I - bolt to the towing loops - hitches" which absolutely does the trick
for a 300 pound boat/trailer combination.).
Again, thanks a lot and have a great week.
Cheers
Chris

--
GMX - Die Kommunikationsplattform im Internet.
http://www.gmx.net