Putting in a new steering rack.
09-21-2008, 01:08 AM
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Putting in a new steering rack.
From the beginning of time, I have been having suspension problems, and tire wear problems with my 96 tacoma. Every project has fixed the problems a little, but tire wear continues to exsist in the nature of new tires every 8,000 miles. the inner 2-3 inches of the tire wears very fast. so far I have...
4 allignmnets
new rack and pinion bushings
new shocks/struts
not to mention...
new drive shaft
wheel bearings
left front lock out
next up to bat is the steering rack. I can tell the right front inner tie rod is bad, and the shaft coming out of the left side of the steering rack has 1/8-1/4 inch of play, and is leeking fluid. I know the rack is bad, but i sure wish i knew this was going to be the final problem that fixes the tire wear.
anyways, how easy of a swap is the rack for the aveage joe? I have been down the raod and changed the bushings, so lossening it should not be to bad. I will still need to disconnect the hoses and have to reprime them. is this tough to do? also i will be disconnecting the inner tie rods from the outers? any expierence there?
I wish i didnt have to ask such dumb questions, but i want to avaoid any mistakes that could be learned from you all. the $1000 for the shop to do it is just too much. every time I fix another thing on the truck, i get pissed and say "next time i am paying for someone to fix it" and everytime i get an estimate, i talk myself into trying the next project.
you input is appreciated.
thanks
4 allignmnets
new rack and pinion bushings
new shocks/struts
not to mention...
new drive shaft
wheel bearings
left front lock out
next up to bat is the steering rack. I can tell the right front inner tie rod is bad, and the shaft coming out of the left side of the steering rack has 1/8-1/4 inch of play, and is leeking fluid. I know the rack is bad, but i sure wish i knew this was going to be the final problem that fixes the tire wear.
anyways, how easy of a swap is the rack for the aveage joe? I have been down the raod and changed the bushings, so lossening it should not be to bad. I will still need to disconnect the hoses and have to reprime them. is this tough to do? also i will be disconnecting the inner tie rods from the outers? any expierence there?
I wish i didnt have to ask such dumb questions, but i want to avaoid any mistakes that could be learned from you all. the $1000 for the shop to do it is just too much. every time I fix another thing on the truck, i get pissed and say "next time i am paying for someone to fix it" and everytime i get an estimate, i talk myself into trying the next project.
you input is appreciated.
thanks
09-21-2008, 08:01 AM
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Did you have the front end of the truck checked properly before you began
with the repairs?
When dealing with front end suspensions, if more than 1 part is bad, its best to replace all the bad or marginal components at the same time.
Could have saved some money on tires and such if the front end had been checked by a certified suspension and alignment shop before you started throwing money at it hoping to fix your problem.
The loose inner tie rod would have been the first component to be replaced, then possibly the rack itself to repair the leak...
with the repairs?
When dealing with front end suspensions, if more than 1 part is bad, its best to replace all the bad or marginal components at the same time.
Could have saved some money on tires and such if the front end had been checked by a certified suspension and alignment shop before you started throwing money at it hoping to fix your problem.
The loose inner tie rod would have been the first component to be replaced, then possibly the rack itself to repair the leak...
Last edited by DYNNOMMYTE; 09-21-2008 at 08:04 AM. Reason: hind sight better than fore sight
10-11-2008, 07:04 AM
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well for those that are like me that did the search for this and did not come up with too much info, I thought i would post my results...
I debated buying a new rack from toyota, or a rebuilt. after deciding on a rebuilt, i had to decide again how much i wanted to pay and what brand. as a risky move, I bought on off ebay for $286. that included the shipping for both the rack and sending back the core.
one bad thing is that it came with the original bushings. luckily I had replaced the bushings a year ago, so i put in those poly bushings. the ones that came with the rack showed quite a bit of wear.
putting in the new rack was not to much of a problem. the problem came when i got the rebuilt rack in and the steering wheel was 180 degrees off (too far to fix with an allignment) so i had to take it off again and adjust it so it was able to be fine tuned with an allignment.
all in all a easy project compared to the $1500-1700 quote i got to get it done at the dealer.
so far I have had no problems with the rack.
I debated buying a new rack from toyota, or a rebuilt. after deciding on a rebuilt, i had to decide again how much i wanted to pay and what brand. as a risky move, I bought on off ebay for $286. that included the shipping for both the rack and sending back the core.
one bad thing is that it came with the original bushings. luckily I had replaced the bushings a year ago, so i put in those poly bushings. the ones that came with the rack showed quite a bit of wear.
putting in the new rack was not to much of a problem. the problem came when i got the rebuilt rack in and the steering wheel was 180 degrees off (too far to fix with an allignment) so i had to take it off again and adjust it so it was able to be fine tuned with an allignment.
all in all a easy project compared to the $1500-1700 quote i got to get it done at the dealer.
so far I have had no problems with the rack.
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