New OEM steering rack: stick with OEM bushings or swap to poly? (1 Viewer)

[hickuptruck]

Dilemma here: bought a new OEM steering rack and can't decide if I should swap the bushings over to poly Whiteline.

I'm running 32" ATs. No hardcore wheeling but I will blast down gravel and washboard roads.

What would last longest? How much softer are OEM over polys? Will my steering be really vague with OEM?

 

[gungriffin]

Keep the rubber bushings. It only takes a few hours to swap to poly if you want to do it later. My guess is that you won't want to switch to poly.

If you do swap out to poly while the rack is new, you could probably sell the Toyota bushings for more than enough to pay for the poly bushings. It isn't possible to get those bushings directly from Toyota.

 

[SmoothLC]

Rubber, almost 2 years in on new rack and expect to last as long as the first ones.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Toyota rubber is superior to poly.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Rubber for sure.

 

[cjmoon]

Rubber for sure.

New Toyota racks come with new bushings yet they don’t sell them separate? Your talking about the same company that you have to by 4 parts to replace a single sway bar link rubber.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

New Toyota racks come with new bushings yet they don’t sell them separate? Your talking about the same company that you have to by 4 parts to replace a single sway bar link rubber.

Ironically, you can buy the D bushing from Toyota but not the two circle bushings...Makes no sense...

 

[gungriffin]

Ironically, you can buy the D bushing from Toyota but not the two circle bushings...Makes no sense...

Ha ha it is because the D bushing doesn't wear out as quickly!

 

[TexFJ]

I just ordered Polys for the Steering rack (2 small ones with the big one). I now see some pushback on Poly so I'm trying to understand why.

Poly's will be harder, but that will be felt if you replaced suspension bushings, right? For Steering Rack I would assume that Polys would make steering tighter, and I don't like replacing all these damn bushings....

 

[gungriffin]

I just ordered Polys for the Steering rack (2 small ones with the big one). I now see some pushback on Poly so I'm trying to understand why.

Poly's will be harder, but that will be felt if you replaced suspension bushings, right? For Steering Rack I would assume that Polys would make steering tighter, and I don't like replacing all these damn bushings....

Just because they are poly doesn't mean that they will last longer. The poly bushings will transfer more road feel into the steering wheel. I suspect that the decreased dampening from the harder poly could also cause additional wear on the steering rack.

That said, I just replaced the bushings on an already installed rack and I went poly.

 

[hickuptruck]

Yeah poly will have more road feedback and harshness, so let's say on the highway there's rumble strips on the pavement, you'd feel that more in the steering wheel. It will have tighter steering feel too.

 

[TexFJ]

I asked my wife if I should go Poly ... she didn't respond.

 

[hickuptruck]

I asked my wife if I should go Poly ... she didn't respond.

Hahaha, no one bushing fits all your needs and wants.

 

[OwnerCS]

The original rubber bushings were still good after 20 years and 235,000 miles. Old but not worn out. I now the truck was more of a soccer mom's vehicle that had an easy life. I still have the poly bushing kit that I initially bought. I did install the poly D bushing just for kicks. That bushing gets little wear. So its a mix of poly and rubber.