05+ V6 Tacoma Steering Rack Bushing replacement

Sounds like you've got all your ducks in a row. The rack job took me two days, but could have easily been done in one. It's a pain in the ass. The difference between my roached OEM rack and the A1 Cardone rack is night and day. You might want to inspect your intermediate shaft before you take this all apart as well. I'd hate for your downtime to be extended once you drop the rack and realize the u-joint in the intermediate shaft is junk.

 

I thought about that, but those things aren’t cheap... buying a replacement will run me another $200+ based on what I’ve found online so far. I’ll bite the bullet if I have to but I’m hoping I really don’t need to.

 

You can replace it with this one for $20. I grabbed one just in case when I did my rack. Didn't need it, but have it for when mine fails.
https://www.allballsracing.com/u-joint/19-1010.html

 

Oh, interesting, I didn’t even think about just replacing the U joint. I assumed it was all one piece and the entire thing would need to be replaced. Although, I’d have no idea how to even go about swapping a U joint. And I haven’t looked at the shaft yet but I have to assume it’s covered in rust too...

 

$50 on eBay if you're willing to gamble with aftermarket... https://www.ebay.com/itm/222848567902

 

Forgot to mention, I did not come up with that fix for the u-joint. That credit goes to @Jon G, as seen here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-lower-steering-shaft-rebuild-diy.543377/

 

Yeah... after scrolling through that thread, I’d be much more likely to just suck it up and spend the $215 or whatever for a new shaft if I need it.

 

Meh, to each their own. U-joints are easy enough to replace, and the All Balls unit is serviceable. That’s the fun part about modifying vehicles, we each choose a different route.

I can certainly understand why some would prefer to replace rather than rebuild.

 

Well, that wasn’t too bad. I used a small flathead to get under and bend the outer metal sleeve before I used a pickle fork to pry them out. Three out of the four popped out without much trouble but the fourth decided to be a PITA...



I can definitely see how on a used rack it could be much harder and I can’t imagine how anyone could possibly do this swap with the rack still in the truck. Either way, the new Cardone rack is ready for poly bushings, now I just have to get my old rack out of the truck.

 

Yep, new bushings come out pretty easy. I'd imagine, as you said, that old bushings that have been in there for years would be a bit of a PITA. I used the same method to remove the new bushings from my rack (also A1 Cardone), worked like a charm. New poly bushings go in really easily. I greased mine a bit to hopefully prevent squeaking. So far, so good.

 

I’ve got some Energy Suspension grease that I’ll be liberally applying to the poly bushings before they go in. I want to take a metal file to the new rack first and clean up some of the damage the flathead and pickle fork did to the metal. Then I’ll probably spray some rustoleum on there to prevent any future rust from forming around the bushings.

I just got the truck into the garage and on jack stands yesterday so the power steering rack swap can begin as soon as I finish up a few other things. Still not in a huge hurry seeing as I don’t really go much of anywhere right now...

 

I've got a quick question for you guys, or a favour if you will.

Would somebody with the rack reinstalled mind measuring, as precisely as possible, how far the bolt extends past the nut at final torque?

Like this, top of the nut to end of the bolt.
(I know this is the wrong rack, just a clear picture)



Thank you to anyone that can help out!

 

Why do you need this info? What are you trying to accomplish?

 

I'm running the rack bolts back in from the bottom with a castle nut and cotter pin on top. I need the measurement to drill the hole in the bolt. I already pulled my bolts so I just thought I'd ask.

We do it all the time on older cars, so much so that my buddy has jigs just for drilling through bolts.
Loctite is good, cotter pins are better. At least in this scenario.

EDIT: here it is installed


Try falling out now.

 

I’ve rebuild mine too after seeing that thread. Now it’s got a grease zerk like the ones in the drive shafts!!
Definitely need to be sure to properly stake the caps in place lol. Other than that simple job and sure beats paying $200.
How much is a new OEM rack?

 

Interesting. Do you want the measurement of exposed bolt after the end of the nut?

 

Yes Sir, that's what I'm after.

Build thread here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2005-dclb-prerunner-build.669868/#post-23512258

 

Exactly. When mine goes, the All Balls ujoint is going in and that'll probably be the last time it's ever replaced. It's still got the OEM unit in there from 2007 and still in good shape. I coated it with grease and zip tied a bike tube over it for protection. We'll see how that goes.

As they say (especially with properly staking the caps)... an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

Mine has been doing this since new I just though it was an under sized rack for the vehicle. Someone please tell me how Toyota has such a good reputation with these truck. Powertrain wise they seem to be pretty good but the rest of the truck is junk and full of problems. If I wanted to work on it all the time and upgrade everything I would have bought a Chevy.

 

Has anyone tried to loosen the rack and air hammer them out in the vehicle?