I'm guess my steering rack is worn out (vid)

Wow am I glad I found this thread today! In October my buddy who was working at a local shop did my inspection and found that my inner tie rods seemed bad. The drivers side was worse than the passenger side based on play. Today this same buddy and I jacked up one side and then the other and both sides are a fair bit worse 3000 miles later. Upper ball joints are fine, wheel bearings seem fine, outer tie rods seem fine, lower ball joints were not checked today. My buddy reached in and tried to isolate movement grabbing the dust boot on the drivers side close to the rack and he said he thought that some of the movement was inside the rack. No fluid loss from the power steering reservoir and no leaks that we have seen. Tires are wearing great and have been rotated once with a total of 10,000 miles on them now. Should I start with replacing the rack guide? I had planned on doing inner and outer tie rods and having lower ball joints on hand in case. But now I'm not sure... Truck handles great but wanders a bit. Thanks for any insights! There are 203,400 miles on the truck. No records of tie rods being done but they could have been.

 

Remove the steering rack boot on the drivers side and then have a buddy turn the wheel back and forth. See if your seeing what I saw(vid on original post). My alignment guy thought it was my ITRE's too, but they are fine. You gotta see what's going on under the boot to be sure. I got all parts from local dealer for $70(would be a bit cheaper online).

You'll need a tool like this to tighten the cap. Two 5/8" nuts welded together or with a threaded holding them together is a cheap way to go.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

 

Thanks Ryan! Your first video with the noise sounded EXACTLY like the noise I had just heard yesterday. I am ordering the parts to do the rack first and then see what it's like after that. If I still have play I'll get the ITR's and OTR's and LBJ's shipped to me for a little weekend wrenching with a couple of buddies and my son. I'll get some video and photos and let you know exactly what we find and how it turns out. Your post is saving me a lot of frustration. I can imagine doing all the work and still having play and no idea why! Thanks again man!

 

Glad to help David. I'm looking forward to seeing what you find.

 

Parts ordered today with: https://toyotaparts.bochtoyotasouth.com/

45504-35031 Guide $47.06

90501-26074 Housing Assembly Spring $2.20

45524-37010 Housing Assembly Cap $16.80

90179-48003 Housing Assembly Nut $1.37

Subtotal: $67.43
Shipping (UPS - Ground): $13.60
Total: $81.03

Not sure when they are due to arrive. Hopefully in a few days.

 

Well, i just got off the phone and Mike at Boch Parts and he says my part numbers don't match my VIN. Gave me three different part numbers for the Guide, Spring, and Cap. Same part number for the nut. Now I'm confused. I got my part numbers from the link in the thread with the photos. Anyone have input on these part numbers? 1999 4x4 V-6. VIN number is legit. I checked it twice.

 

yours was probably the older style. the part numbers in the link are for the newest versions. technically everything is the same so they should work. the link with the write-up would be a better resource me thinks

 

I'm going to release the order as originally placed with the part numbers from the link. I'm pretty sure they are what Ryan used after looking at the part number on a bag in one of his photos! Thanks frizzman!!

 

I have confirmed that those are the parts I ordered. I agree with frizzman and your VIN doesn't show that these parts are on your vehicle. Buy with confidence.

 

Got all the parts. So, do I grease the surface of the guide and, if I do, with what grease? This is going together tomorrow around noon Eastern Time. Thanks all!

 

Where to grease and with what kind of grease. Found it here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rack-pinion-service-tools-tips.312600/

 

Thanks for posting where to grease. I just greased what seemed logical to me. Turns out that my logic was good.... this time.

 

Done! I couldn't have done this without this forum. And I would have spent a lot of time and money chasing the play. I was gearing up for inner and outer tie rods which would not have solved the problem.

Big channel locks, which I happened to have, were indispensable. Clean the teeth on your channel locks if they are filled with crud. I was slipping off the nut and then I looked and realized that I had all kinds of gunk built up from projects. Cleaned out the teeth and the nut came off no problem. The steering stabilizer was not completely out of the way on my truck when on jackstands and tires off the ground. I had to cut the 24mm threaded rod connector in half so I could get a socket on it to get the torque wrench on. Other than those things everything else went according to all the information I had gathered. I torqued to 18 foot lbs (216 inch pounds) and backed it off a wee bit. Got lucky because she was perfect on the test drive. Will not need inner or outer tie rods any time soon. Almost all of my play was in the old style guide!

 

Awesome David. Thanks for sharing. Good looking truck BTW. Gen 2 wheels look good on there.

 

Thanks Ryan! Picked the truck up in Florida in October of 2015. Seller included the wheels in boxes unused! Needed spacers to make them fit well which was no problem.