Okay, I need someone to do me a favor:

1. Jack up the front of your 4runner (preferably 3rd gen 4wd) so that both front and right tires are off the ground

2. Grab a hold of the driver's side wheel, and wiggle it back and forth (left to right).
3. Do the same thing on the passenger side.

Does the driver's side wheel have any play? I can wiggle mine back and forth a little bit, but I can also see the steering wheel shift left and right the same amount before it hits the steering lock. The passenger side wheel is solid, no wiggle room whatsoever. I'm trying to figure out whether the rack is bad or not. I've got everything pretty well dismantled, the rack does not make any clunking noises or any thing, but I'm concerned about that wiggle. The fact that the steering wheel moves when I wiggle the tire seems to indicate that everything is pretty solid, but I'm not sure. I've got the tie rods on both sides disconnected, as well as the steering shaft. If I turn the shaft by hand and feel the rack, I don't feel anything unusual.



Thanks!

 

My driver's side has NO play in terms of the tie rod end or the steering arm. It's tight enough that doing this shows the slop in the rack bushings.

The passenger side has at least 1/16" of play in the tie rod end.

From what you say, I think you're fine.


And, before the thread gets hijacked..

Yeup, I have new bushings but can't get that one bolt loose (but I haven't tried in a long while and have more ideas), and I have a new tie rod end but I've broken two pullers now trying to get the old one popped out.

 

Yeah, I convinced myself that the rack is fine. When offroading, the front end still seems kind of "loose" and I'm not sure what the deal is. I do have new bushings as well. Maybe balljoints, but I'm not hearing any clicking noises. Maybe I'm just paranoid? I bolted everything back together, all in all about 4 hours wasted for nothing, but I did do a "once over" while I was under there to see if anything else was loose.

Mark- where are you living at the moment? If you wanted to stop by some time next weekend we could try to knock both jobs off at the same time. I've got air tools and a puller that has been working like a charm for me.