Brand new steering rack leak

Hey all,

First time poster here…

I bought a 2002 Taco two weeks ago. I discovered a significant leak on the steering rack where it meets the boot. I had it replaced with oem rack and tie rod ends. It was parked in the garage and noticed atf leak coming from multiple points, but primarily the big nut. Is this normal for a new rack or should I bring it back to the shop? Unfortunately the shop is quite far from me, but was highly recommended in a fb group. Thanks!

 

A new rack should not be leaking

 

I bought a new OEM rack from McGeorge a couple months ago. Yours doesn't look like the one I received. The "big nut" on mine is recessed vs external on yours. Might want to ask the shop where they bought the rack from.

 

Get a rack that looks like this:


not this:

 

That looks like an old rack that has been spray painted silver. Maybe a reman, definitely not new and it definitely should not be leaking.

 

I find it hard to believe that Toyota would spray paint all over the hard lines. Might want to look at your work order to see where they bought it or call them and ask.

 

Thanks for the replies!
Ah, that’s a bummer… I noticed mine and the one above says “Toyoda” and not Toyota. Is that how it’s supposed to be?

 

Yes, that's actually how it looks on the OE rack. Toyoda is how the family name was originally anglicized https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiichiro_Toyoda

 

Yes it should say Toyoda, the family name is spelled that way and they build the racks in house. That part is right, but that is an early model rack and clearly a cheap rebuild. You want the newer OEM style

 

Ahhh I stand corrected. Learned something new.

 

@beebzor even the reman I bought at Detroit Axle was the newer Allan style bolt, not the Hex bolt.

and yeah, they sprayed cheap silver paint over everything, looks like that rack was marred already on the side of the passenger bushing, wtf

maybe they "remanned" your rack and though it would be ok with new seals?

 

Ok, so it is a reman. The shop is doing a warranty on it so hopefully it’s all good this time around. Thanks everyone for the quick responses!

 

I concur, it looks like an old style rack that was “refurbished” or maybe just painted. Yikes.

 

Make one for 1st gen and 3rd. You know which goes where

 

When I did the rack on my 1st gen tundra, it didn’t come with new O-Rings for the lines, and Toyota doesn’t sell them separate.

I can’t remember where I got new ones from.

Not sure about your rack, but maybe it’s the same issue and needs new o-rings.

That was a fun project. All the scraps

 

Was thinking the exact same thing.

 

Believe it or not I saw a 5vZE piston on reddit (guy was doing a rebuild or repair) which had flaking silver on the piston skirts. He thought it was factory coating failing (piston skirts often have a anti friction coating) but some knowledgeable posters said no way that is factory coating, looks like silver spray paint. So seems that you can get spray painted pistons on ebay!

Also we had a guy here buy a rebuilt head that was spray painted - I don't think they even bothered to disassemble head before spray painting so springs, buckets and every thing a nice even shade of silver. Who's that gonna fool?

Apparently there are no limits to what some people will do to make money.

IMO if a mechanic knowingly puts something like this on a vehicle its fraud. You can't prove it though so its buyer beware.