It's funny that we ALL seem to have this problem. I almost wonder if some of this sound is "normal."

I even tested blink's 02(?) Prerunner, and it did the same thing.

 

I think it's incredibly odd that we all seem to have it in the same month(ish) but at different times in the life cycle of our rigs. weird.


Alin10123; You shouldn't have to pull the boot to test if this is the source of the problem. Like David said (Mad Chemist) if you get the front end up on jackstands (even just one side at a time) you can try to wiggle the wheels back and forth (side-to-side, liek you were turning). Do this with the engine off, and you will quickly feel any slop in the mechanism.

For example, my right wheel slops about 1/8" at the tie-rod end. My left wheel is solid.

If the ball/socket joint in that linkage is sloppy, you'll feel it. If the rack is sloppy, you'll feel that as well and you'll know it's the rack since you'll be able to see the connecting arms move as you feel the "clunk".

 

Ok... since i dont have jackstands the only thing that i could do was to use the tire change jack. I lifted the truck up one end at a time and i tried to jiggle the wheel/tires back and forth. The thing felt pretty solid to me. Not much movement at all really. I did the same with the other side and there wasn't much movement at all either. But i got back into my drivers eats and moved the wheel back and forth and there was still movement and i could feel the wheel hitting up against something wheni moved it back and forth .

Anything else to check before i take the plunge and go for the remanufactured steering rack?

Technically speaking, since this is a rack and pinion. There ought to be two gears correct? One on the end of the shaft and one big long worm gear inside of the steering rack correct?
It just feels like when i'm moving my steering wheel back and forth that there's slop between the two gears where the steering shaft and the rack and pinion connect. Sometimes when i go over speed bumps diagonally and at about 5 mph and when i'm holding my steering wheel steady i can sort of feel the slop in that big long worm gear hitting back and forth against my steering shaft as the truck is moving back and forth.

Is getting a near rack the only way to fix this? Anyone ever changed one before? Is it hard to do by yourself? Or do you think i should have a mechanic do it? Is there a writeup on this?

thanks

 

How I determined mine was bad was I grabbed the drivers side boot where it hooks up to the rack housing. then with my wife behind the wheel I had her pull the wheel right and left (oscillate if you will) about ten times and that gave me enough time to feel the rod that the drivers side inner tie rod threads onto was sloppy INSIDE the housing, meaning that #5 in that schematic that I posted is muffed up or perhaps the GUIDE in the scheamtic.

I told you guys at the beginning of this thread not to rule this out because more than likely this was the problem and the bushings was just a temp/minor fix.

 

it's the best option considering that a reman'd rack is only about $265, but you can do it yourself. If you can't replace the parts yourself then don't have a mechanic do it, it'll cost you as much (if not more) as a reman'd unit so you might as well just get a reman'd unit and put that in yourself, that's not too hard. replacing the inerds of the rack (ie. rebuilding it) is just taxing. I haven't found a write-up for it but it's one of those things that you will just have to pull it and disassemble it and "figure it out" as you go. I pondered this and then just decided to save myself the time and when I get around to it, order a reman.

 

This is what I did too (it is really a 2 man job to do the diagnosis). Mine doesn't have a "clunk" at all but I can see the rack move when I hold the tire steady and someone moves the steering wheel. This is why I am pretty sure the bushings will fix my problem. What you want to do is to watch the steering input shaft and then feel right at the boot to, first, see if the inner tie rod is loose and second, see if there is a slight lag between the steering input turning and the rack moving in and out. Try moving the steering wheel both fast and slow one each side to see if you feel any movement.

 

I have already changed out the bushings. The rubber bushings were actually still good. But it did tighten it up overall quite a bit. However the problem still remains.
I have tried to feel the boot when the wheel is being moved left to right and vice versa. I cannot feel anything loose within the rubber boots. However, what does exist is the lag between when i turn my steering wheel and when the rack moves in and out.
Is there more involved in changing out the rack than just simply bolting off and bolting on? I dont know anything about bleeding or anything like that.
Shouldn't take too long right? About 2 hours?

thanks

 

Nope, like I said, I replaced both of my inner tie rods, not the culprit. Mine is play in the rack guide (#9) or the bushings (#5) in the schematic. My rack housing is solid as a rock so it's not my bushings, especially since I replaced those when I replaced the inner tie rods. what is happening in my housing is the rack gear (the shaft going through the housing) is buckling at the rack guide which is why I can feel it at the drivers side boot.

There's no lag in it indicating that there's nothing wrong with the worm gear meshing with the rack gear.

 

yea, there's one other thing, hydraulic lines and bleeding them when done with the install.

 

I don't doubt that your rack may be bad....I only was stating what I did to diagnose mine and to eliminate all other sources of a potential problem.

I have a bit of trouble with saying that the shaft in this pic is deflecting (even with gears cut into it):

 

Hmm... how hard is that to do? fairly easy? Do i need anything special for that? I've never done any bleeding before. As for the lines, can i reuse the ones that are already in there?

If i dont know how to bleed, do you recommend a shop do it? I even had a shop do my bushings install becuase i didn't have the right size sockets. How long do you think it should take a shop to do if i take it to them?

I'm getting desperate here to fix my problem. I think that the worm gear is meshing with the rack gear. At least that's what i think that i'm feeling.

thanks

 

Actually, i too can feel sort of a "click" on the driver's side boot when the wheel is moving back and forth. But there is no actual play in the ball joint or anyhting. Is this the buckling rack guide that you were refering to?
However, mind does have that lag you were talking about though.

 

If you have it down to the inner tie rods or the rack then I suggest you cut the clamp on the boot holding it to the steering rack and then have someone move the wheel for you. If you can see of feel movement in the tie rod, then replace it.....otherwise if you want to get rid of the slop in the steering, you would be best to just get a remanufactured rack (don't bother with a rebuild). They are not that difficult to install (air tools makes it WAY easier) and the bleeding is not nearly as bad as doing brakes so no worries there.

 

How do you bleed the rack- turn the steering wheel with the engine running?

 

Hey All,

Holy crap. Good thing I just found this thread.
I was in the garage just getting ready to replace the inner parts of the drivers side from the steering rack to the rack end.
Total price for the internal parts, oil seal, bushing, O-ring, cylinder end stopper, and rack end was over $200. It also took over 2weeks to order some of the parts from Japan only to find out the cylinder end stopper was a reusable part.

So now everythings on hold since you guys are telling me you can find a reman for $290. Thank you Keisur for the links.

Has anyone actually ordered a steering rack from Toyota Steering . That is killer price for $290. I can't find a place locally for under $550.
I called the contact number but they are closed today.

 

Oh Ya,

Mark (Midiwall), David (Mad). What the hell are we all working on our steering systems alone. We should have gotten together and invited Daryl for some professional assistance. Damn we could have made a party of it.

Mike

 

Well, technically I'm "still" working on mine until I get this one bolt freed up! And Daryl's got this huge ass 80gal (maybe more) tank on his compressor. Yum!

 

Take it easy killer....you want to remove the bolt, not snap it off.

J/K!

 

Well, once I get in the house (Feb. 19th), we'll have a two car garage, with built-in air compressor (the current owner is a mechanic, the compressor will be staying withthe house)- sounds like its time for a wrenchathon!

I've got to replace the inner/outer TRE's due to the play I can feel in the driver's side wheel, may try to tackle it this weekend.

 

Actually, here's a link to a remanufactured rack for $265 w/ free shipping. I believe on their website it states that the rack comes with a 3 year warranty.

http://www.buy-steering.com/

Please let us know how everything works out.
So basically... bolt, remove, replace, rebolt, reattach hydraulic lines? Then bleed? Is that it?

By the way, how do i bleed?

thanks.