Is my steering rack shot? (1 Viewer)

[lowtoe]

Hey everyone, I think my steering rack is going out, but I could use a second opinion as I’m an amateur mechanic at best. For context, this is a 2003 landcruiser with 240k miles.

So I have some quite noticeable play in my steering. I replaced my wheel bearings and that helped a bit, but the play is still there.

I got under the vehicle and had my brother turn the wheel back and forth within the play, and the steering rack did not move, so I don’t think it’s the steering rack bushings. The tie rod ends did not move either. I think the tie rod ends are still good from other tests.

What I did see is that the rod going into the rack doesn’t feel tight at all, which can be seen in the video below. I can rotate the rod when both wheels are on the ground, and it clunks (it clunks a bit more than the video shows as it was hard to rotate it and film at the same time). I also noticed it clunks a lot just wiggling it back and forth, which is the loud noises in the video.

Can someone confirm or deny my fears that my steering rack is shot? The only thing that makes me think otherwise is that it's not leaking.

Thanks

 

[Mauser]

Kinda looks to me like the bolt wasn't tightened properly and the splines are worn.

 

[excessive]

that joint looks bad to me.

 

[lowtoe]

Thanks for everyone's replies.

You can see the threads of a bolt in my video, and I tried to tighten that bolt. It seems like it is stripped.

That said, do you guys think I need a whole new intermediate shaft (https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~shaft~steering~intermediate~no~2~45203-60090.html)? Doesn't look like I can just buy the smaller u-joint piece...

Thanks again!

 

[lowtoe]

And repairing the u-joint itself in that very small area seems... problematic at best

 

[lowtoe]

I ended up just buying a new OEM intermediate shaft. So hopefully that goes well.

Will update post with pictures when I muster up the courage to replace it.