Rack and pinion replacement

Haha well it IS a nice write-up =P

 

And yes, I got what you are saying. The China racks come with inner tie rods? That's where I think the disconnect is. I see those 2 pics that say the china racks are crap and I see broken...inner tie rods... I was a bit confused as those items broken aren't the actual rack failing.

NOT saying china racks aren't crap ( I wouldn't buy one myself) I would go OEM only TBH, but I was just trying to match the failure in the photos to the discussion.

 

Got it.
The ITR's pictured came on the racks, a Rack Doctor rebuild and a "new" China knock off. Intended to show what goes into these things as far as quality. The China racks have shown numerous failures, from internal components to very dangerous assembly mistakes. Just like a rebuild they seem to either work for a few years or not. Rebuilds of OE racks can be assumed to be "clean/inspect/re-seals" as the cost of just about any hard parts beyond cheap ITR's will exceed the pricing point in a second. Price a pair of wholesale OE ITR's and it's pretty clear truly OE parts are not going into rebuilds.

The CVJ folks charging $100 for the newer rack guide seems like a joke, anyone can buy it from Toyota for less than that and there is no additional labor. This is a part that should be replaced in a rebuild any way and not an additional cost. They have a good rep for now but and have edged out Rack Doctor as the current online favorite, things need to be kept in perspective.

 

You’ve definitely made me re-evaluate my plans for when I replace my rack whenever it finally decides to go.

 

All OE service replacements come with the new guide/cap/spring and I have no proof but I think the mount bushings have also been improved. They seem much harder than previous years, harder than poly replacements.

 

Is the OEM available even. Had a cluster with a capitol "F" on a brake booster chase Toyota no longer makes them. It looks like according to my review of Toyota online parts the R & P for a 98 is discontinued.

Anyone know if this is correct????

 

I went with an oem rack . No issues.. I did upgrade the bushings to energy suspension ones. Reading that seems to be the week point.

It’s actually a really fun job

 

Sorry for digging this up. Based on the comments are we saying to stay away from the Rack Doctor? I have a 98' limited 4X4. Noticed some saturation on the right by R&P and a little on CV axle. I just replaced the left CV axle and all is good. Getting same saturation as before on left side but it was in fact the CV. However, I am pointing more towards this being R&P. I put in extra power steering which i will watch for a week to see if this is the cause.

According to Rack Doctor, this is everything that comes with the product. Are there any other items that will be NEEDED for this project?

• All new seals
• All new O rings
• All new Teflon rings
• All units come complete with inner tie rods and boots

Thank you for any help.

 

I bought a rack from detroit axle for my BMW years ago, and it was fine. (ebay)
I bought a rack from detroit axle for the truck 2 years ago, maybe 20k miles, and its leaking like crazy.
The lift tires, and hard driving doesnt help, but they are honoring the lifetime warranty. Yeah it sucks I have to replace it , but I'm getting the new one at my doorstep in a couple days. Just paid the shipping fee.

 

How do you get the bolt out of the driver side bushing on a 4x4? Do I just leave it in there and pull the rack toward the bed and then slip the new bushing between the bolt and the loose rack? I'm not trying to swap the whole rack unless I have to and right now, I am just trying to swap bushings on a gen1 4x4 and that bolt will NOT come free without removing other parts.

 

On mine, the bolt head was a flanged head. And one part of the flange was hitting the front diff, not allowing it to be pulled out completely. Is that what you are facing?

We took a grinder to the flange. Ground it down just enough to allow it to pass by the diff casing.

 

Yeah, I'm tempted to do this, or cut it and install a new bolt backwards. I managed to pull the whole rack backwards enough to get a bushing in without removing the driver-side bolt, but the angle to return the rack is too tight to slip it over the bolt. I'm going to pop the driver side tie rod out tomorrow to try and get a bit more play and see if that does the trick. I finally read the directions that came with the bushings, and they also mentioned tie rod removal, so hopefully I get just enough wiggle room to not have to cut the bolt.

Do you have any tips for grinding the bolt if it comes to that? I'm pretty sure I have fresh discs if needed.

 

I went with low range and it was a terrible deal. They show an image of the upgraded guide on the rack and pinion. When asked they said it was. I received it and it was not what they had mentioned. I paid $150 to send it back and get a refund and just went to McGeorge Toyota and bought OEM. I'll never deal with low range again but that's just my experience with them.