Tightening Steering Rack Guide

I've read a few threads that have kind of addressed this so if its repetitive just point me in the right direction and disregard. My steering rack is loose, but not leaking at the moment. I'm assuming it will need replacing soon but I don't have the funds for oem right now. Mine is original 2002 so it has the revised one-piece guide. My question is can I tighten that up as a temporary band-aid to mitigate bump steer and wandering? I've seen numerous threads about swapping the old style guide for the new, but none about just tightening the existing one. My thought is that I can tighten the gap in the deteriorating teeth by doing so for the time being. Anyone have experience with this?

 

Typically the failure point are the seals, not the teeth. This looseness... Is it an overall sloppy steering or is there a dead zone when you start to turn the wheel?

 

Usually bushings are the cause of major play. Tightening the pinion will usually get rid of some slop but result in no steering return. Best to leave it.

 

no leakage yet, so that means seals are still good? I don’t think there’s a dead zone just kind of sloppy wandering and excessive bump steer

 

by steering return do you mean the wheel returning to center? I don’t mind that so much just trying to get rid of the slop on the highway and the trail for the time being. I put energy suspension poly bushings in like 2 years ago I’m assuming their still fine

 

Ya return to center. I've tightened a few racks and its really annoying and borderline dangerous when the wheel doesnt return.

The slop on 1st gen tacomas is almost always the rack bushings. Have someone turn the wheel back and forth while the truck is on the ground and watch the rack shift.

 

Would the poly ones go bad in only 2 years?

 

Lifted makes it work harder, so its possible. Unsure until its checked.

 

I’d also check tie rods, uca and lca for play.

 

I just did lca, bushings, lbj, cam bolts, and otre but I'll check the rest

 

Could this be the collapsable steering shaft below the steering wheel? Although, that is usually associated with a clunking sound.

 

I had an issue with that in the past and know the feeling. I replaced the shaft and will do the tack weld if it comes back. This is different

 

It sounds like you've replaced just about everything in the past 2 years, right?

Have you had someone else turn the wheel back and forth while you observe what is going on under the truck?

 

I've done everything except wheel bearings and the rack itself, so I'm assuming one of those is the culprit. I guess I'll have to have my girlfriend get in the cockpit and turn it back and forth. Will report back

 

Good luck! I hope it's something simple!

 

Make sure you have no other loose steering/suspension components but otherwise tightening the rack can buy you a little time. I did it the other day and made a little write up on it. Mind you on a 3rd gen. Theory is still the same, just may need different tools to achieve the task.

There is a very fine line though between too tight that it binds and wouldn't self centre. 1/8 of a turn may be all you need or less.

Pro tip: It's better to sneak up on the correct pre-load than to overshoot it

I guess it's been longer than the other day. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-steering-rack-over-centre-pre-load-adjustment.832994/

 

After replacing almost everything on the truck, I can only hope. Maybe for once something will work in my favor and I can stop being a broken record in these forums haha

 

Did you get an alignment after?

 

Yea, I get one every time I do any front end work or after most wheeling trips. I have another thread going right now trying to chase down a camber issue

 

Yeah, I have fiddled with some NLA racks for old Euro cars and with very few exceptions you just can't "adjust out" physical wear on the rack and pinion. And it's surprising how bad they can stick even with small adjustments. Eventually machining is needed if you want to keep the same one.