First as a general note, the factory skid plates do not protect the rack & pinion steering. If you wheel in large pointy rocks (like I tend to) you could in theory take out the rack on a poorly placed rock. They same could happen to the oil pan too. I've never heard of it happening though.
If you could still drive the vehicle, nothing was broken. You may very well have blown the seal out or even broken a line. But if the vehicle steers ok other than not haveing the power assist, the rack is physically ok.
The bad news is that if a seal was pulled out, as far as I know, its not replaceable, and you do need a different rack. Please correct me if I'm wrong here.
As far as the dealer goes, tell them they took the truck apart, they WILL put it back together, and you're taking it elsewhere for repairs. Keep moving up the chin of command until you get results. Remain polite, calm and curteous, but be demanding, and don't take no for an answer. IF you drove it in, you can drive it out.
Lessons learned, don't take the vehicle to a dealer unless its bone stock with a warranty. Becarful wheeling your daily driver, and do as much of your own work as you can.
FWIW I picked up a rack & pinion that was complete from the tie rods to the joint in the steering column for $100 so I could get the tie rods. Now I need to install the rack <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />
Good luck.
Mike W
PS the rack & Pinion in the 98+ Amigo/Rodeo/Passport/Axiom is nothing like the recirculating ball type steering foround in the other Isuzu's. It is more complex and expensive than the ball type. Around here the racks at a JY start at about $100 and go up to about $350. The old style boxes are all under $100 pretty much.
