Leaking power steering rack

Took my truck into the dealer a couple weeks ago for an oil change and they noted that there's a small leak from the power steering rack. Not enough to worry about right now but something to keep an eye on. I haven't looked under the truck yet to pinpoint the leak and the underside is covered in oil undercoating so who knows if there is really a leak.

Truck has only 115k but it's almost 10 years old so I guess I shouldn't be surprised if I need to replace the rack at some point in the future.

How much does an OE rack cost? How bad is the job to replace it? Should I even bother with an aftermarket rack?

 

My advice is to degrease the underside so you can see if there really is a leak. Twice now the dealership has told me that our 4Runner's driveshaft is leaking but it's actually the grease from the zerks as I just greased them. They also said it's due to the "lift" when it's was stock height with 5100 shocks. Also note that the techs that do oil changes are just that, techs and most are newbs that graduated from being porters.

 

A new OEM rack is about $800. Aftermarket rebuilt racks are much cheaper, but some people have had problems with rebuilt racks. If the PS fluid is not going down by a significant amount, I wouldn't worry about it. Also, keep in mind, in areas where they salt the roads, it's pretty much a for sure thing that when you attempt to disconnect the pressure hose from the rack, you will twist the pressure hose steel tube in a knot. So, rack replacement is also going to include pressure hose replacement. Toyota only sells the pressure and return hoses together for about $300. Aftermarket suppliers sell the pressure hose separately for much cheaper.