Is this the start of the end for my steering rack?

Hey, yall.

I’ve had the classic “brake” clunk for a while. I thought what I was hearing was just that. Well, I noticed the clunking also happen at slow turns in either direction even when off the brakes. Upon inspection, I noticed both inner rod boots, driver and passenger, have what appears to be a seep.


Well, appears to be at least, because when you squeeze it the boot feels dry and solid. Not soft and mushy, like there is fluid in there. I also do not see any active fluid dripping out or around, nor have I lost any PS fluid at all. In fact, it was actually overfilled slightly (checked when cold) and I have since relaxed the fluid and corrected that.

So, couldn’t clunking be from the rack itself? I don’t have a lift, or a jack on hand large enough to raise then front end, so check for play. Any other sure fire way to tell? I’m going to have the brakes addressed next week. So, if all else fails I’ll just tell my mechanic (which I’m sure he’ll notice on his own) what I found. Just trying to isolate further on my own if I can. The main reason I think it’s the rack is because both boots have the exact same seep mark. They feel dry to the touch as well.


Thanks!

 

I think you might be overreacting. Nothing you’ve described leads me to believe your steering rack is about to fail.

 

My 2018 taco is doing the same at 86000 miles. Until it fails it’s not a problem for me.

 

Clunk could be from a bad tie rod end. The seeping is "normal" every toyota I've had has had a small, steady seep into the boots. Keep an eye on your powersteering pump reservoir. If it starts losing fluid rapidly, that's a concern. If you're adding a little bit here and there? Not the end of the world.

You can also look at the bushings the rack is mounted on, they could be failing. Or the rubber damper between the steering column and the steering rack. All good things to keep an eye on.

 

Well, and I could’ve worded this a lot better, I don’t guess it’s about to fail, but I suspected these could be early signs that it’s heading that way.

 

10-4. I’ll tackle the brakes, figure out the clanking, and just monitor from here. The fact that it’s not actively losing fluid or anything made me think it was totally fine. I just out two and two together for the clank and thought it could be it haha