Tundra steering rack upgrade

Since Solo motorsports has come out with eccentric bushings making this swap much easier.

I had been playing with this idea but they beat me to it lol.

However in the near future I'll be offering the bushings as an option.

I just haven't been able to verify if there are clearance issues especially with the newer trucks there is very little room between the rack body and oil pan of the engine, and having the eccentric bushings may run into an issue there where the weld in way of doing it maximizes clearance

 

I just checked those solo bushings out, so with those, you don’t have to weld on new barrels? It’s all esssentially bolt on?

 

The only thing left to do is notch the inner frame rail to clearance the steering shaft and you still have to shorten it as well I bet.

Gimme bout a month and I'll have that option available

 

That would be awesome! Due to financial reasons and not wanting to keep driving on a broken rack, I settled for an OEM one. If(when) it breaks, I’ll no doubt be upgrading to a tundra rack through you.

 

i got another batch of racks comin in to do another run, and im setting one aside to finish up the eccentric bushing thing since i conned a friend of mine to use his truck fr guiniea pigging it. and since the inner frame rail needs to be notched to clearance the steering shaft ill most likely develop a small plate notch kit to include as well. price will remain the same and ill offer either option of installation for what the customer wants to do.

the weld in new bushings method will maximize the rack body to oil pan clearance, with 2wd trucks this method offers more options to move the rack forward to adjust for ackerman changes when using suspension kits that push the tires a couple inches forward. also, the weld in method is the strongest way to do it technically, the bolts are larger the bushings are larger and theyre welded on top and bottom of the crossmember. also retaining the rubber oem bushings will reduce road feedback chatter feel.

But the eccentric method, ease of installation, if the rack has an issue you can swap back to a tacoma rack easily as a spare which is nice. only downside is more road buzz in the steering wheel, notching the frame is kinda a pain in the butt. and it is the "weaker" form of installation which hasn't been proven to be an issue yet. also, possibly less clearance from the oil pan which can be a serious issue if you have stock motor mounts and wheel hard.

im pumped to see this competition and push to improve.... works out better for the end user.

 

Awesome work with the Tundra Racks my man. So, I'm in the middle of installing the JD Fab HOWE power steering pump kit and Slide Rack. I was all over the Tundra Rack from Solo when I first came across it but decided to go with JD Fab at the last minute. The truck isn't a Rock crawler or a dessert runner by all means but we have had her do some technical trails and she's done very well steering through the trails. So with her not being a daily driver and only used for our long journeys exploring the back country roads the steering is probably way overbuilt but hey.
So my question is have you or know of anyone using the Tundra rack with JD Fab Slide Rack?
Thanks, Dee.

 

I dont think anyone is using that combination or if it would work due to the size of the tundra rack

 

Looking forward to what you produce!

Clearance around the oil pan is important.
The shear strength of the bolts is still significant; not many bolts seem to fail; rather another component goes first.

 

Has anyone done the Tundra rack in a 3rd gen? I’m curious about clearance issues with the 3.5 motor. I recall some 2nd gens had to go solid motor mounts and add spacers to make space. I know if I weld in the new barrels, I can get the rack lower in the cross member but I’m trying to bolt in as much as I can. Planning to try the eccentric bushings first so I can leave the option open to bolt in a stock rack in a pinch if needed.

 

Personally done one in a 3rd gen. It fits, oem motor mounts

 

Finishing up fitment check before machining bushing sets...available on future orders

 

Saw the IG video. Good stuff.

 

So I get alot of inquiries about these and im happy to answer any questions. If I don't reply I'm usually busy at my actual job or the messege que got pushed to the bottom from other people's questions etc. I'm one dude that does this in my off time from my job. I apologize in advance if anyone feels ignored. It's not the case feel free to send a follow up messege anytime.
I'm the lead mechanic on this big pile of bolts for two weeks at a time away from home. That's why my lead times remain 3-4 weeks, sometimes you might catch me at the right time and I can get a rack out sooner. Just feel a clarification was in order. Thanks
Travis

 

I'll have one on display at the offroad expo in socal, and its for sale...with the new bushings

 

Between a previous career and my current, I've been in/around a bunch of aircraft, but never seen a sky crane in person. Such a neat concept.

 

Heard they were having a lot of bump steer with stock length control arms? Has anyone tried the centric bushings yet? They look solid as not rubber anyone verify this ? This is what we did on a 4 runner with Land Cruiser rack. The SAI angle was dead nuts but it’s a lot of work and the entire front chest is cut out it’s a v8 clearance issues. And it did get a double shear if you see that lol. The befores were from a different car is why I marked them out

 

Got the Tundra rack into my 3rd gen using the ecentric bushings last night.

The fit is very tight, and opted to stay with the ecentrics for stock rack swapability.

The dang oil filter assembly thing was the main problem with trying to squeeze the rack in, 2nd gens probably dont have too much of a fuss getting the rack in. I had to jack the motor up all the way till it couldn't go no more, and drop the front diff mounts to let the diff hang. Took a bit to wiggle it in, but think I could do it pretty smootly next time.

The ecentrics work perfect, although like stated the rack sits a little higher than it would if you did the new bungs.

Atleast on my 3rd gen with the poly mounts that I'm running, I basically had to lift the motor up until about .5" below where it started hitting firewall to clear the rack. Just used a ton of washers for spacing. Got about 3/8" clearance between the pan/rack now. Unsure how stock mounts would sit, but guessing you would need to raise the motor especially with them moving around.

Made a steering shaft out of solid stock, it clears by a cunt hair and the yoke at the rack might just scuff the paint off of the frame.

So far it drives pretty great on road, actually dig the solid bushings as I think I was used to my clapped out stock bushings jittering me all over the road. There is some "buzz" in the wheel, but hardly noticable. Steering power feels a decent bit more than stock, although I think my pump is clapped out from overheating the fluid a couple times in the past. No noticeable bump steer, I think there might be a hair more ackerman angle but hard to tell. Still need to dial in toe

There is some steering loss, but nothing major. I would say take ~1/3rd of a turn off each way lock to lock.

So the steering loss thing, are any of you guys extending the knuckle side steering stops? Feel like it will put a lot more stress on the rack/frame using the rack as the steering stop, where it could split the load with the knuckle/rack like stock.

Using stock tie rods for now, and loosely have the tundra boots on. Just need to get some hose clamps and I'll sinch them on.

 

To get it to sit lower you could sand down the oem bungson the frame some since they sit up pretty tall...and every third gen I've done its been a tight fit...dropp the whole diff most times... nice write up tho glad it worked out!

 

I thought about doing that when I finally got the rack in, was too lazy to take it back out though

 

I totally know the feeling lol