Vantucky

I've got a 98 Taco (4x4) with almost 230K on it. I need to redo the suspension and am leaning towards going with the Sonora Steel stuff. Anyhow, as I plan the project I've got a few questions.

I thought I would do U/L ball joints and I/O tie rods at the same time. However, after checking around, the dealer wants as much for the inner tie rods as an entire rebuilt steering rack costs aftermarket. So should I stick with the dealer parts? or do most people here use aftermarket steering components? If you do use aftermarket, what brands should I avoid and/or stick with.

My CV joints appear to be in good shape (I have manual hubs), although with the mileage the truck has I'm thinking it might be good to do some maintenance on them. Should I rebuild the old ones or maybe just open the boots and change the grease, or should I replace them since they are so old, even though they show no visible signs of boot cracking etc.?

Also, what other items should I replace since I'm in there? Any bushings I should replace or other things besides the tie rods and ball joints that I'm not thinking of?

Thanks Guys, I'll post up pictures once I do the project, although it wont be until the end of the year as I just had to redo the drive line and radiator and that eat into my suspension upgrade fund.

hross14

at 230 miles you might want to buy new lower arms. They come loaded with bushings and ball joints. I might also look at seeing if you can find some Upper Total Chaos or Camburg arms with 1" uniballs. Dont try to replace the bushings in the lower A-Arms, it is a royal lent licker and the labor alone would be the same as buying new ones.

I would leave the Front shafts alone and carry a spare for off roading. And when it comes to the Rck and pinion and etc....i guess it depends on where you buy them. I am not very satisfied with the reliability of aftermarket parts. But i would definitely do the inner and outer tie rods (Moog). Does the R&P feel sloopy or loose?

Vantucky

Thanks hross, so you would suggest Moog tie rod parts instead of factory, or are the Toyota tie rods and such made by Moog?

hross14

Moog has a good reputation--if i recall correctly they are made in Japan anyways HHaaaaa.

But with your miles you need to rebuild the front end less you suffer the lower ball joint failure and its correspondong additional costs.

On the R&P--look at the cost of the inner and outer Tierods and what they cost. Then compare to a completely loaded R&P. Best you might be sursprised on the cost difference.

SoCal

I just rebuilt my whole front end with Moog parts I ordered online from O'reilly they are one of the few that come with grease fittings on everything which I like. In my opinion if I keep them properly greased they should last a good long time.

Moog parts weren't the cheapest but they are definitely a quality made piece compared to what I took off which were from Autozone.

Vantucky

I noticed the price gap between factory tie rods and an aftermarket R&P. I can get an aftermarket R&P that includes both tie rods and a life-time warranty for the same cost to get inner and outer tie rods from Toyota. However, I just don't want to be swapping it out all the time.

SoCal,

What all did you replace with your front end rebuild? Did you go as far as replacing bushings to? If so how did that go?

SoCal

I replaced the Pitman arm, Idler arm ,inner and outer tie rods, ball joints,All Moog. New Rancho Stabilizer. I did not do the bushings. Just tore a inner cv boot and getting new CV half shafts with a new set of gears tomorrow.

I bought the CV's from Kragen, Master pro select with lifetime warranty 80 bucks a piece no core charge.