05+ V6 Tacoma Steering Rack Bushing replacement

How can we help?

 

Any tricks or pointers to get the rack out of the truck?

 

when I did mine it was as stubborn as yours. I had to figure out which way to roll the rack forwards and backwards to get it to come out. That took 2 of us to do. You will need one person pulling and you will want to be under the truck guiding it. Mine kept on getting caught on the steering nub that was the hardest part to work it around. Also keep in mine that you will want to bungee everything up and out of the way you you can clearly see what your hooked on. It does pull out, it's just a pain in the ass project.

 

Last tip, when your attempting to pull out the old rack bushings sharpen up your pickle fork and give it some angle. Mine was horrible flat on the fork and wasn't getting under the bushing.

 

Thanks for the replies, 2 more quick questions.
Do I need to bleed the system after I reinstall the rack?
Is there a thread on reconnecting the AC compressor?

 

I bleed the system.

I didn't detach the ac so I'm not sure if there is a thread on it. Tacomaworld has almost every answer you need so I suggest becoming friends with the search function. It's saved me several times. If u google your question put tacomaworld in the search engine it sometimes does a better job then the internal search engine.

 

Don't disconnect any of the ac lines, only unbolt the compressor from the engine to move it slightly out of the way. And yes, you will have to bleed the PS if you disconnect any of the lines, which you are doing in this case.

 

Too late... I have indeed searched for bleeding the PS system but am having no luck finding a thread, does one exist?

 

sub for future.

 

Ok finally got around to tackling this rack. Was worried I'd run into trouble removing it. Worse part for me was the steering shaft and the rack bushings. Shaft was difficult to get apart as 7 years of corrosion kept it together. The bushings were giving me a little trouble till I figured out the shell is the item that needs to be pressed out. Used a pneumatic pickle fork and it help tremendously. Took me 2 hours of disassembly and once the rack was unbolted 10 minutes to remove. 5 minutes to get it back in. Took another 2 hours putting all back together. Of course had a few brews to help me along. No leaks. Steering is much better no wondering, pulling and hardly any bump steer. Next on list is bushings on LCA and alignment. Not a bad job like everyone makes it out to be.

 

Managed to get the two hydraulic lines off, mounting bolts, and detached the steering linkage from the top two bolts. I can't seem to remove the steering linkage from the where it meets the steering rack. Has anyone successfully removed their rack with it still attached? Haven't had any luck removing the entire rack yet......

 

I managed to get the new rack in. Now I'm having problems getting the bolt to thread all the way through the steering shaft where it meets the rack. I'm guessing I either have to compress the the split in the shaft or widen it back out? Any tips on this part?

 

You may have spread the coupling too much and the bolt won't reach opposite side or align correctly. Try compressing it with vise grips. And make sure the coupling is pushed all the way down over the shaft. Shaft is splined to accept the bolt and if coupling is not pushed down far enough the bolt won't pass thru.

 

Ok, so I got a different truck now but never did the bushings on the '09.

The new truck only has 12k mi. on it. I got the front diff. out and sent it off to ECGS for some work. However, while waiting for the diff to return I'm asking myself whether I should do the bushings now because the opportunity presents itself, or whether it is a complete waste of time on a relatively new truck.

I'd like to especially hear from those who have done this. What is the down side of doing the bushings at such low miles? Rougher steering feel? Waste of time, wait until a lot more mileage?

 

anyone??

 

Do it, benefits out weigh the cost.

 

If I go the route of removing the A/C compressor, what all is involved? I haven't done much engine work on the Tacoma in the 2 years I've owned it. Based on previous knowledge, I'm guessing I can find the tensioner pulley for the accessory belt, relieve tension and slide the belt off. Then unbolt the compressor. How much do I need to move this thing? If I take it off the motor completely are there any ill effects or can I just bolt it back on when I'm done?

I'm still going back and forth in my head between moving the compressor and cutting the bolt, then installing the new one upside down with some Loctite on it.

 

I guess I got lucky. My bolts were already upside down for some reason. The rack came out pretty damn easy. The bushings are a different story.

 

Yea, I'm also trying to figure out a game plan for getting the bolts broken loose. So far (if I can't get at them from above with an impact wrench and extensions) I'm thinking, pull the front bumper cover off for more room and use a breaker bar with a cheater bar. Tried for shits and giggles to do with with a normal 17mm box wrench...nowhere near enough leverage (and yes I was trying to undo the bolt from above).

 

After doing this job myself I really don't understand why they say to loosen by the bolt only. It doesn't make sense to me and doesn't seem to make a difference as far as I can see. It's a bolt and a nut. Nothing special about it.