Need an original GMC rack

[1967 - 1997 Riviera]

Hello all Riviera owners or admirers. I have a 1997 supercharged Riviera that I have owned since new. I ordered it from the factory in March of 1997 because I could not locate one sitting on a dealer's lot in the color I wanted and with the features I wanted. I took delivery on April 17, 1997. It has served me well these almost 15 years to a total of 186,000+ miles on the original engine and transmission. It is still in outstanding condition and delivers about 27.0 - 29.5 miles per gallon on the highway, depending upon conditions, and thanks to that 5th gear overdrive. It is a very confortable road car that I've driven as far east as Clarksburg, West Virginia, south to Louisville, Kentucky, north to Sault St. Marie, Ontario Canada and west as far as Minot, North Dakota. I have every confidence in this car, having driven it even through hair raising blizzards and blinding downstorms. The only breakdown that ever occurred was when the electric fuel pump stopped working at about 115,000 miles near Cambridge, Ohio. Other than that, it has been a very reliable car that I've maintained in top mechanical condition.

Which brings me to my current problem and why I'm posting here. Original GM parts for my 1997 are getting harder to find because so many have been discontinued over just the past two years. The steering rack is now leaking and needs replacement, but the only thing available through the Buick dealership parts department is an aftermarket unit. This will not be the first time the rack needs replacement. When it was first replaced about 4 years ago, both an original GM rack as well as an aftermarket unit was available and I stayed with the factory rack despite the added expense. I want to replace with an original GM factory rack this time again, but the dealer's computerized parts search turns up nothing available - original GM was discontinued about one year ago.

Does anyone have a handle on where there may still be a new-in-the-box, original GM steering rack still sitting on a shelf in a parts department that I could purchase and have shipped to my regular dealer for installation?

Thanks in advance!

[1967 - 1997 Riviera]

Bump to top.