etc.

I will be honest and say this 97 Limited is my newest vehicle and have ever had to deal with a steering rack before.

I have been looking at Rockauto.com just to try and get part names to help with my research.

Well my journey for a dependable DD continues. I have been under the truck recently replacing all fluids and filters, alond with greasing the certs/zerts?

It came to my attention last weekend that I had a leak on the pass. side and goes as far up to the starter. I'm wondering if the trans lines are two pieces at this location? I checked the color of the fluid and it appears to be brown, but didnt feel like trans fluid. However, whos to say its not.

I want to think I have another leak...

I followed the drips down to the pass side boot for the ball joint. Knowing it would have to be replaced, I had an AWESOME (sarcastic) idea and poke the boot/bellow with a razor blade. About a cup of fluid came out. I assume its power steering fluid? Looking around some more, it also appears the unions are leaking. Or maybe its just transfered over? When I copied the idea on the DS it was dry...

I have tried to track it down by degreasing the whole underside, but thats not so easy. Its being hard to chase it down.

But with 205,000 I want to be on the safe side and replace the wear parts on my front end.

I have read and from a friends experience is to stay away from MOOG ball joints...

So far, I came up with...
Rack guides
Rack bushings
DS/PS bellows/boots
OEM Ball joints
Sway bar bushings... theyre in sad shape now.

Suggestions?

I have a question about TC and FD actuators, but I will wait till after I search around a bit more

etc.

Just so I know, the boot is supposed to be dry inside?

Looking for a replacement rack till I hear different...

etc.

Since I cant delete this thread to save face, I will continue on...

I found the leak this evening after coming home from work. I looked under the hood with a flashlight and unstrained eyes. The leak is indeed coming from the valve covers. I knew they were leaking from day one and even ordered the Fel-Pro kit. However, I didnt think it was as bad as it was...

It was a blessing (if you can call it that) because for whatever reason it made me slit a hole in my tie rod boot to find a leak.

SOOOOOOOO this leads me to my other questions to go unanswered

Option 1:
I found a steering rack rebuilder on ebay... I know. I know. Stay away. But I was thinking, if the guy is legit, I could send him an OEM gasket kit to have installed. I'm sure for the $239 he charges, he uses off the shelf cheap parts. I have also read how people end up changing them out for other reman units just to get have a leaking unit again. Is this due to the builder or cheap parts or maybe a combination of the two?

Option 2:
Find a used low mile unit. If possible, what year Tacoma or 4runner rack can be used?

Option 3:
Buy a new OEM unit for $700+. I would really hate to do this as many of us would. The piece of mind that comes along with it would be worth something. From a cost standpoint, that would be my tire fund and over the budget. I had all intentions of staying in the neighborhood of $4000 total investment for a daily driver.

Option 4: Buy a magical bottle of Auto RX.

I think I will go with option 4.

I will keep you up dated

effexed

How did the rack fare? Is option 4 still holding up? Did you find answers to option 2? I'm in the same situation!

habanero

effexed:
etc. had a lot of stuff going on in his posts so....
Which situation....a rack leak? Something leaking onto the rack boot? Or???
and what year/make/model are we talking about?

effexed

My steering rack is leaking fluid from the rubber boots on both sides of the rack. (the boots between rack and inner tie rod end).

I just bought the vehicle (I have yet to make the official introduction here) and missed this issue when I bought it. 2000 4runner Sport 3.4L Auto with 18" rims. I have some troubleshooting to do yet, but I am thinking the worst. I was hoping to hear if he had gone with the "used rack" or "rebuilt rack" options and if the "new" rack was holding up well.

I've read much on the whole OEM/rebuilt/used rack options, and financially cannot do much. In my mind, if I can go with a used rack (looking at a rack with 60,000 miles on it) and get it installed for around $300, then perhaps I would save myself some time and money in the short term. If it lasts another 60,000 (or more!!!) I can do the job right 3 years down the road.

Thanks for the reply! I wasn't trying to spill my problems here, but since you asked...

habanero

Tell me about it! I bought an A1 Cardone reman rack but it wasn't that long ago so I can't tell you how it's going to work out. All's peachy so far. While I was at it I also replaced the outer tie rod ends with Toyota ends since they're already off as part of a rack r/r (inners come with on cardone and some other racks- they're under those boots with just the ends of 'em sticking out). No extra labor there, just parts. I can tell you my boots leaked a little for years before the tie rods wore out but was otherwise the rack was good, steering good, no noise from it. I had to make sure to check the power steering fluid early and often but the leak was small with very little fluid adding until the last 6 mos or so before I replaced it. I do my own work because that's how cheap I am...and oh yeah...'cause I like to. You may want to check with your mechanic in the event the rack you go with has an early fail, don't want to pay for more than one r/r.

So what caused you to look at the rack in the first place?

effexed

That's good to hear! I like how you think, but unfortunately, I'm not all that experienced with a wrench and I don't have great access to a garage. With all of that piling up on me and not to mention a valve cover job looming over my head, I'm opting to fix a really bad leak quick (and so I can get new tires) and being patient with the not so bad leak until I get the courage to do it myself...

When I bought the Runner I had looked under the vehicle. Not knowing much about the rack (and being enamored by my first yota purchase) I trusted the seller when he said, "it doesn't leak at all." He either lied to me straight to my face or the seals blew right after I gave him the money. Either way I was stupid to trust him and even more stupid to look at the fluid on the ITR and not suspect something was up.

Since I bought it, I've driven it 500 miles and practically watched the PS fluid drop from Full to Low. I've been told to inspect the High Pressure Hose but I can't imagine that the hose would leak on both sides of the rack. I'm also a little suspect of the larger rims that I bought with the truck. The sticker codes says 15", but as far as I know the sticker is wrong and 16"'s came stock. Either way, I might be ditching the 18's, keeping my costs lower for tires, avoiding more wear and tear on the suspension and getting the stock 5 stars, which IMO is the best looking rim! For all I know the previous seller just sat in his driveway parked, cranking the steering wheel from left to right cause he had nothing better to do. How else does an OEM rack go bad under 150,000?!

habanero

When I did research on the subject as you are doing now I noticed a lot of racks being replace earlier than I would expect in a yota given the longevity of the other parts. I even tried Lucas power steering stop leak but yeah, no love there.
You're right about the 18" wheels. I think my 99 has a sticker that says 15" but it came with the 16" wheels/brakes. You'll see a 4Runner with 15" wheels every now and again. I agree, the 5-stars are awfully cool. I was originally looking at those when I opted for Land Cruiser rims instead.
With the fluid disappearing so quickly it wouldn't hurt to look for other leaks while you're at it. Just follow the lines connected to the driver's side of the rack on up to the power steering pump. Agree that's likely not the problem but all it takes is getting your back and hands a little dirty.
When you replace the rack, inner and outer tie-rod ends if they need it don't forget the lower ball joints should be at least checked too. Just do a search on lower ball joint failures to get your blood racing a little. You know, since you have to disconnect the tie-rod ends from the lower ball joint- though there are 4 more bolts and the ball joint itself which would likely be some extra labor.