Rack and pinion swap, how hard is this project

It appears that I have a pin hole leak in my rack and pinion at the right hand side rubber bushing. It looks like the hole is from rust. 2 questions; 1) what is your opinion on using stop leak until I can get the parts in to swap out the bad part?
2) how big of a job is this?
Also it's difficult to find any YouTube videos on this. I guess bc of the massive recall from the frame rust issue. Any links would be helpful.

 

I don't know about stop leak in steering components but found this link in the DIY maintenance sticky. May help give an idea of the project

Edit - the link is only for the guide probably not too useful for what you're needing

 

In my opinion:

If it were a "pinhole leak" in the rubber boot, then not much would be seeping out, and the boot would leak mostly when stretched during turning. In that case I doubt that stopleak would do much for you, but you could try it.

Like any job, the difficulty increases as one's experience and the number of available appropriate tools decreases. If you don't have much experience working on vehicles, or only have the basic tools, then you probably would be best served by having a competent mechanic replace the rack & pinion.

 

Thnx guys!

 

not hard just have to take allot of other stuff to get it out andnot much space to work. If you buy a rack, inner and outer tire rod ends, rack bushings and boots should be replaced unless they are new

 

Well I finally got the old rack and pinion out and the new one in. Not as hard as I thought but deffinatly a 2 person job

 

For future readers- I used stop-leak in the power steering system and it worked great. The leak was at the input shaft seal of the rack. I would plan on a replacement long term, but if the rest of the seals on the rack are good, why spend almost $600 on a new OEM rack?

 

Very good! It's always nice to see somebody do a little work and save a bundle!

 

I wouldn't put anything like stop leak type stuff *ANYWHERE* as that doesn't actually fix the problem, it just masks it - like those cartoons where they plug the hole in a boat with their finger. It's not leaking, right?

I could see something like needing a trail fix and using that stuff, but likely any sort of critical leak where you'd NEED to address it immediately, stop leak probably won't fix it anyway. If you end up using that stuff as a stop gap measure, I would drain/flush that junk out when you actually fix the leak (new seals, etc...).

 

Well, if its leaking into the boot than the rack is leaking itself, no?

 

I'm not saying I would put it in a brand new car...but these trucks are getting old and it's hard to justify a $600 rack (OEM rack is the only way to go if you are replacing!). I think some of the people on this forum are made of money...or only spend money on their trucks and nothing else. PS/ATF stop-leaks work by swelling the seals. So it will work great if you have a worn out seal. It will work once...can't really use it a second time. A power steering pump has seals and vanes...it will not damage the vanes as they are a phenolic type material rubbing against a metal cylinder. The rack has plenty of seals but nothing else that it could fowl up. I think a lot of people mix it up with radiator stop leak. Bars, etc will definelty mess up your radiator or block, so I'm not advocating using it there.

Just my opinion.

 

I don't know any other way for fluid to leak into the boot.

 

I didn't say you have to replace the entire rack, but replacing the seals are a good start...

Although you can get a reman rack from Low Range Offroad for less than $450.. Steering racks are an interesting bird, as they are relatively hard to rebuild DIY, and it seems like it's pretty hard to find replacement parts for them, most people just replace them.

All I'm saying is that you're not actually "fixing" the problem when you add stop leak type stuff. Just masking it.

 

Agreed, stop leak will probably make it worst

 

It's on a 3rd Gen 4runner but it's pretty much the same for you 1st Gen Taco folks.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/wZoRP5ogrK0

 

So basically there was a pin hole leak (due to rust) behind the large rubber bushing that is in between the bracket and the rack. The hole was on the main body of the rack. Thnx for the info guys.