05+ V6 Tacoma Steering Rack Bushing replacement

Does anyone know if a 3rd gen rack is a direct boltin
replacement in a 2nd gen. 3rd gen rack looks beefier.

 

Great write up and photos. I was searching for this exact same procedure.

 

How so? Side by side pics?

 

Well, I used this guide to help me replace my power steering rack on my 05.

Long story short I cross threaded the high pressure line. How do I fix that?

I got a new rack and lines fore I did this. I had a a hell of a time getting the old one out. This might have been my least favorite car project yet. I started the threads really lightly and as far as I could tell it was straight, but it wasn't. It leaks really bad around the line up through the center of the threaded part.

Update: I managed to get it to stop leaking by using a different wrench that gave me a little bit more leverage and tightening it REALLY tight. It hasn't leaked for several months and several extreme off road trips.

 

Sub

 

Don't know if it was in this thread, just did this over the weekend, these were best directions I had seen to take this bad boy out.

Pro-Tip - disconnecting my sway bar gave me the room I needed to get the rack out, also cut the bolt, but reinstalled the proper way, I'm paranoid about one of those things coming loose and falling out.

 

FYI

 

What do you mean by the proper way? Didn’t you cut the bolt? Did you buy a new bolt? If so, do you have a part number?

 

Somewhere I read that somebody unbolted the trans crossmember or took the transmission mount out(Don't remember which) and lowered the trans, which raised the front of the engine and the AC compressor, in order to gain more room to get the bolt out.

 

That was me. Per recommendation in the FSM

 

Just replaced the bushings on my 2005. Does anyone know if both steering pump hoses going into the rack use o-rings? I know the high pressure hose does because I ordered a new one and it came with one but don't see one on the return hose fitting. not sure if it fell off when I was removing the hose.

 

I should have said proper direction. Yes I did cut the bolt, I was able to reinsert it with the top of the bolt going down through instead of from the underside.

 

No o-ring on the return line

 

On the subject of steering racks, here's something I figured out recently. The part number for '05-'10 racks is different than the part number for '11-'15 racks. When you look at connecting components, the outer tie rod ends, intermediate shaft, and hoses are the same for all the years. The inner tie tod ends are different. The inner tie rod ends come with a new rack. That would logically lead to the conclusion that there is something different about the way the inner tie rod end attaches to the rack. So, in theory, if you replace the complete rack with inner tie rod ends, they all should interchange. I wasn't willing to take a chance though. I bought a used 72K mile rack from a '10 for my '06. I'll be putting it in sometime in the next week.

 

Hey all, I need some advice... My 06' has about 240k miles on it. I need to replace my inner and outer tie rods already and I was thinking about swapping the bushings for polys. Should I just use this time and put in a new steering rack? Since it already includes the new inner rods and boots, and its so time consuming to take out?

My steering rack isn't rusted to all hell, but its got 240,000 miles on it.... It will cost me $500 more now, but then again if I have to replace it soon this will prevent me from throwing away $260. This is my conundrum, so sound advice would be much appreciated!

Or if I'm being stupid and steering racks last forever as long as they're not rusted through and have new bushings, please let me know!!!

 

Here's my position. My '06 has 214K miles on it it's going in for a new frame in about 4 months. The dealer suggested putting in a new rack at that time. This truck fits my needs very well, so I intend to drive it for a very long time. Although I have spent a lot of money on this truck, I'm not willing to spend $800 on a rack. It's very common on rusty trucks for the PS pressure hose to tie itself in a knot when you remove it. The OEM hoses are about $300, so that puts us up to about $1100. So, to avoid all that, I bought a really clean 72K mile rack from a wrecking yard and Napa hoses and I am going to swap it out myself before I get the frame swap. I know that a wrecking yard rack has a certain amount of risk involved, but for the price savings I am willing to take the gamble. I have a lot more faith in a 72K mile OEM rack than an aftermarket rebuild. If you decide to go this route, you need to make sure it's from a wrecking yard that you trust. I bought my rack from a wrecking yard 110 miles away, instead of dealing with a local yard that has a lot of Tacomas. You also need to be willing to do the job twice, if there is unseen damage to the rack from the accident that destined the truck to the wrecking yard.

 

Yeah, I'm new to Mass (from CA/AZ), so I'm not yet familiar with any of the wrecking yards.

Do you have a part number for that pressure hose? Might as well have one on hand just in case I swap it out.

Also, how are you still qualifying for the frame replacement? hasn't that warranty item expired on the 06's?

 

I don't have the Napa part numbers, but it's easy to look up at Napaonline. For the return hose, there's 2 different ones listed with no explanation given. By looking at the pics, I determined that the cheaper one was correct for my truck.

My truck was originally sold in Canada and then imported to the US shortly before I bought it. This requires me to go to Canada for inspection and replacement. The Canadian settlement ended July 21 for the Early 2nd gen Tacos. I had my inspection done July 4th and was approved a few weeks later.

 

Nice; yeah I just moved to Mass where they salt the F out of the roads, but from AZ so zero rust until now, but now that I'm starting to rust I don't qualify. It's total BS in my opinion, they didn't apply the proper coating therefore they should take care of it.

 

Or just give the parts you bought to the Toyota techs who will install them free of charge because all that will have to come out anyway when they swap the frame.
Save your time.

Now, do you know why the 2010+ parts are different? Any upgrades Toyota silently introduced like they often do?