Can’t Align Because of Steering Rack? (1 Viewer)

[TheForger]

Dropped my truck off for an alignment this morning and was called back and informed that - “we can’t do an alignment because your rack & pinion is shot and so are your bushings so it won’t stay aligned.” I know my steering rack has been slowly reaching the end of its life span and is slightly leaking, but I’ve been trying to manage it the best I can with AT-205 and Mobil 1 ATF. It’s not dumping fluid but it occasionally leaves a spot the size of a quarter when parked more than a day in my driveway. I just wanted to know is that a valid excuse for why my truck cannot be aligned? Or are they just feeding me BS?

 

[3_puppies]

I'd say the issue is more with the bushings as they will wear out.

 

[roma042987]

Bushings are probably sot allowing movement of the rack and therefore it cant hold an alignment. It's as simple as that. I've said it before and I'll say it again land cruisers are tough but a 100 is expensive to maintain even doing the work yourself. Time to bite the bullet sounds like and either fix or replace it. Gotta pay to play with these trucks.

 

[DTCsk8er]

The rack itself may be bad (leaking), but the items that would impact alignment would be the rod ends and/or rack bushings. Get under the rig, and have someone move the steering wheel while you inspect how bad the bushings are.

The rack itself is a pain to replace, but if you are patient and handy with a wrench, you can keep cost down by doing it yourself. I should add that a new rack comes with new inner rod ends; its not a bad idea to replace the outer rod ends as well.

 

[TheForger]

I'd say the issue is more with the bushings as they will wear out.

Bushings are probably sot allowing movement of the rack and therefore it cant hold an alignment. It's as simple as that. I've said it before and I'll say it again land cruisers are tough but a 100 is expensive to maintain even doing the work yourself. Time to bite the bullet sounds like and either fix or replace it. Gotta pay to play with these trucks.

The rack itself may be bad (leaking), but the items that would impact alignment would be the rod ends and/or rack bushings. Get under the rig, and have someone move the steering wheel while you inspect how bad the bushings are.

The rack itself is a pain to replace, but if you are patient and handy with a wrench, you can keep cost down by doing it yourself. I should add that a new rack comes with new inner rod ends; its not a bad idea to replace the outer rod ends as well.

Thanks for the confirmation guys. Yeah I do know that the bushings are shot and like I said I knew the rack itself was reaching the end of its life span considering it’s the original with 227k. Looks like I’ll be replacing it soon because my alignment issue is eating up my front tires. I will probably have the dealer do the work since I just spent 4wks correcting my paint and need a break from wrenching for a while hah.

 

[roma042987]

If you decide to tackle it yourself its really not too terrible and they have actually come down in price over the last few years. The last one I picked up at Norwalk was only $400 for a new unit and I don't think the reman was even offered anymore. Make sure to get the D shaped rack bushing and outer rods as well. One and done.

 

[MongooseGA]

Also, if you're going to be doing anything with the existing rack (like replacing the bushings), check out your tie rod ends as well. Inners come on new racks, but if you're not replacing the whole thing, check them both.

My indy had a hard time getting my alignment set because my rack bushings and outer TREs were shot. I imagine @Wermz had a better time getting my truck aligned after he replaced my rack bushings and outer TREs. It's also a night and day difference in driving experience, highly recommend it if your bushings are toasty. If your rack isn't leaking, you may consider not replacing the whole thing. My truck is at 24x,000 miles with no rack leaks, so I opted to keep the original for the time being.

 

[Eyedaho]

Also, if you're going to be doing anything with the existing rack (like replacing the bushings), check out your tie rod ends as well. Inners come on new racks, but if you're not replacing the whole thing, check them both.

My indy had a hard time getting my alignment set because my rack bushings and outer TREs were shot. I imagine @Wermz had a better time getting my truck aligned after he replaced my rack bushings and outer TREs. It's also a night and day difference in driving experience, highly recommend it if your bushings are toasty. If your rack isn't leaking, you may consider not replacing the whole thing. My truck is at 24x,000 miles with no rack leaks, so I opted to keep the original for the time being.

For the inner TREs, there's a tool that the chain parts places have as a loaner that's designed for this specific thing. Definitely worth borrowing it versus trying to get by with wrenches, especially for an in situ replacement.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

If the rack isn't making racket or binding while turning, then the leak is just the seals, which won't affect steering slop. However, if your rack has been leaking for a long time, then the ATF has likely disintegrated the grease inside the inner tie rod ends (they're inside the boots) and they've developed a lot of slop.

If you don't mind topping off the PS reservoir every now and then, the cheapest and easiest solution for you is probably to just buy new inner and outer tie rod ends (have to take off outer to replace inner, so might as well replace outer too) and a rack bushing kit. Inner TREs easy enough to replace using a monkey wrench, or you can buy the fancy tool that @Eyedaho mentioned.

Cruiser Outfitters has the TREs for cheap (Sankei555 brand $188 for all 4) and you can get a rack bushing kit for ~$45, so around $240 can fix most of the alignment probs. Alternatively, as others mentioned, you can shell out $450-500 for a new rack that comes with inner TREs, which will resolve your leak issue, and another $80 for outer TREs.

 

[suprarx7nut]

If it makes you feel any better, I think new bushings are one of the best ways to make an old car feel younger. You'll get more benefit than simply allowing you to align the thing.

 

[TheForger]

Really appreciate all the input guys! Especially so quickly. I have a good relationship with the service manager at my local Toyota dealer and she quoted me $1,173.96 for a reman rack & pinion, new fluid with a flush, alignment, and all labor involved. I figured even if that quote is +/- $200 that was still a pretty good deal considering what I'm getting. I think I might go that route since it's the original - now 20yr old - steering rack, and I don't think any indy shop will be able to get close to that quote. Plus the parts and labor are warrantied through the dealer.

 

[MongooseGA]

Have you priced any indy shops? I'd be surprised if a dealer is your best price option. My usual indy will also warranty parts and labor for 2 years.

FWIW, I paid $1300 to have my rack bushings, diff bushings, outer TREs, and complete lower control arms/bushings/BJs replaced, and aligned. That included new OEM parts and a few aftermarket bushings (~$100). It pays to know a guy if you're not going to do it yourself.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Really appreciate all the input guys! Especially so quickly. I have a good relationship with the service manager at my local Toyota dealer and she quoted me $1,173.96 for a reman rack & pinion, new fluid with a flush, alignment, and all labor involved. I figured even if that quote is +/- $200 that was still a pretty good deal considering what I'm getting. I think I might go that route since it's the original - now 20yr old - steering rack, and I don't think any indy shop will be able to get close to that quote. Plus the parts and labor are warrantied through the dealer.

Whats the price with a brand new rack? A reman rack is probably using old gears. Not sure about modern 100 rack remans, but I've seen some reman racks that had a good amount of slop right out of the box. I'd pay a lot more for a brand new rack.

 

[TheForger]

Have you priced any indy shops? I'd be surprised if a dealer is your best price option. My usual indy will also warranty parts and labor for 2 years.

FWIW, I paid $1300 to have my rack bushings, diff bushings, outer TREs, and complete lower control arms/bushings/BJs replaced, and aligned. That included new OEM parts and a few aftermarket bushings (~$100). It pays to know a guy if you're not going to do it yourself.

I have not fished for quotes but I still might do that tomorrow. I wanted to try a new specialty off-road shop that focuses on Land Rovers and see what they quote me.

Whats the price with a brand new rack? A reman rack is probably using old gears. Not sure about modern 100 rack remans, but I've seen some reman racks that had a good amount of slop right out of the box. I'd pay a lot more for a brand new rack.

Honestly I don’t know what the price with a new rack would be, I didn’t ask. I just got the estimate via email and I noticed it says “Reman Rack & Pinion”. I was under the impression brand new racks were pretty hard to come by, is that not true?

 

[gungriffin]

Whats the price with a brand new rack? A reman rack is probably using old gears. Not sure about modern 100 rack remans, but I've seen some reman racks that had a good amount of slop right out of the box. I'd pay a lot more for a brand new rack.

This is pretty much exactly what I was going to add. When you are $1200 deep, what is another $200 for a brand new part. You pretty much know the new part will get you another 150k+ miles.

The other item to note is that you can only get Toyota bushings when you buy the rack from them. Otherwise, you have to go with aftermarket parts. Just a heads up that I was quoted $325 for labor and parts at my last alignment to replace the bushings. I am getting ready to replace mine myself with poly bushings.

 

[gungriffin]

I was under the impression brand new racks were pretty hard to come by, is that not true?

I believe Toyota is still making them.

 

[TheForger]

 

[gungriffin]

View attachment 2176066

I don't know how you know this person, but the rack is the same price new online.... Possibly less.

 

[suprarx7nut]

@TheForger Did you accidentally kick that poor employee? Because that pricing seems slightly offensive. That's nearly 100% markup.

Brand new rack vs reman at EB Toyota right now.

 

[TheForger]

@TheForger Did you accidentally kick that poor employee? Because that pricing seems slightly offensive. That's nearly 100% markup.

Brand new rack vs reman at EB Toyota right now.
View attachment 2176078

That’s interesting I’m not sure what’s going on but I’m trying my best to clarify details before proceeding. Don’t dealers have a separate pricing system they use as opposed to parts you find on websites like those that are heavily discounted? Also, maybe my location plays a roll in the pricing I’m not sure though? Similar to how the resale price of our trucks differ depending on where you are in the country.

Also, are new bushings included with the rack? I noticed the bushings were left off the estimate so that’s something I need to clear up.