I've been thinking of trading/selling for a Taco but I've heard bad news about the rack & pinion. Is it that bad or is this a myth. I really love my 4runner and it runs excellent but right now a taco would suit me better. Thanx

ps it would be a 96-99

 

Rack and pinion sucks. I wheeled my '98 for a couple years and then the rack went. Bflooks and Lone4runner (both on this forum) wheeled for about a year each on their '98 and '01 4runners and the rack went and had to be replaced. Rack and pinion is nice on the road, but just doesn't hold up well off road IMO.

 

We just broke the cast Aluminum bolt hole on my brothers 02 taco but replaced it for $75 pulled at the local junk yard, priced out $180 ish from yotapartsales. So even if it sucks it's cheap to replace. And for sure steers better that my 95 pickup. I do agree seems to be a bit vulnerable but thats just an excuse to get more armor


Aaron


Aaron

 

I've heard that the r&p assembly can be expensive to fix. I would be modding it to do light to medium trails, maybe tellico but mostly a dd. It would have to survive an abusive 2 mile dirt road that has claimed my Sentra r&p and many others. If it would be trouble then I can stick with the 4runner.

 

It can be, but you can usually find them used on the boards or from junkyards, around $100-$200 usually. I don't think a dirt road would kill it, but if you continually abused it over it you might start o wear out tie rod ends.

 

I've always loved the ease of maintenance of a R/P over conventional steering for everyday and light off-road use, but the factory units won't hold up under serious adventures like alot of the guys on here go through. If you plan on seeing some off road parks on a regular basis then you'll probably have some repair bills to llok at that would be cheaper with conventional steering. If you're like me and all you really ever see is dirt roads and some fields with a little mud, then you'll be fine.

 

I have an axe to grind on this.

The rack and pinion steering is fine.

Time and time again, on the same trails on the same days, my pre-Taco IFS steering would crap out while 3-6 of my buddies with 96's and newer kept going down the trail.

Buy the Taco. It will be great for you. When it craps out, you will know it is time for better steering.

 

I have had no issues with mine and I have def put it through its loops. There are a few guys on TTORA that have replaced their R&P with new units/parts but mostly due to a noise from it that they didn't like.

You can always do the Heim steering upgrade pretty easily on these too.

 

I think the rack and pinion will hold up just fine with the factory wheels and a modest increase in tire size....like going from a 265 to a 285 tire(32" to a 33"). That's about the biggest tire to fit in the front wheel wells without mods anyway.
I think going bigger than that and wheels that push the tires out farther(3.5" back spacing) cause the rack/pinion to work quite a bit harder.

 

Mine, along with the other two I mentioned, went with stock tires. Mine had a 3" lift, but the other two did not.

 

I side with Cheese on this one...

I have wheeled mine for 3 years on 285's, 295's and now 315's with no issues to date.

 

I read your other post about your probs with the steering components on your rig, that sucks. I just want to make sure that I wouldn't be getting rid of something in good shape and getting something that I would have to toss a bunch of money into for maintenence. I'm still loking around at Tacos and I may post my rig in the classifieds for sale or trade.

 

My torsion bar IFS went through idler arms every six months--haven't had a problem with the R&P yet...I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

For what it's worth, I have a '98 IFS taco with 33" tires and a 3" lift. It's been wheeled since it was new. It's original owner bought it new to wheel around Moab and Canyonlands. I bought it from him in January and have put it through its paces in Colorado and New Mexico. The steering is all original, as far as I know. It works great and doesn't make any funny noises. If the R/P craps out, I'll replace it with an upgrade, but there's nothing to indicate that I'll be doing that any time soon.

Of course results may vary with individual use. I don't think that my truck has regularly been put through anything worse than Elephant Hill in Canyonlands and Poughkeepsie near Ouray, Colorado.

What sort of thing puts the worst strain on R/P components, anyway?

 

Rock Crawling with lockers and 35's...

However, one can mitigate some of this risk by adding a power steering cooler.

 

i'm gonna jump on the bandwagon here too. been fine with my setup on my taco, just be sure to protect it with some trail armor.

 

yep. same here.
i added a ps cooler too.

sure i've read stories of this steering system crapping out, like any other, but i don't think it's to the point of classifying the system as one to avoid.