Steering Rack Replacement -oh boy

[WTITW]

My rack bushings are starting to go, jumped on over to the fsm to see if I could do it in the garage. Thankfully it’s only a 12 step process. Unfortunately step four is “Remove Engine Assembly” That sub process is 76 steps and probably a bit more than I want to attempt.

It looks like you can cut the bolts off and do a hack job, reinstalling replacement bolts upside down and using aftermarket poly bushes (toyota only sells entire rack) but that looks like an odyssey too.

Anyone paid to get this done recently?

 

[Acrad]

It definitely doesn’t look like a fun or easy job

#Steering #Rack Info / Questions / Problems - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

GX - 2nd Gen (2010-2023) - #Steering #Rack Info / Questions / Problems - I've got a 2013 GX 460 on the hoist that had been in a wreck and broke the steering rack where the inner tie rod attaches. I've done many many racks but, by looking at this, I honestly don't see how there's physical space...

www.clublexus.com

 

[Jstawgn]

Air chisel and a lower the front diff. Did it on my 470 a couple years ago. Should not be much different.

I did not have an air chisel and used a pickle fork. Took about 6 hours doing it laying on the garage floor. Would be much faster with air chisel and on a lift.

 

[Rednexus]

I did it on my 470 in 8 hours. What helped immensely was taking the inner tie rod ends and boots out of the old and new racks. I used an air chisel to get the steering shaft off the rack as well. They are <$20 at Harbor Freight. However i can imagine this process being more involved on a KDSS rig, as I had to completely remove the front sway bar. Or, perhaps, the 1UR oil pan/oil filter are different-shaped or in slightly different locations than they are on the 2UZ.

If the front diff does need to come out on the 460, it's actually not a terrible job. Pull the CVs, disconnect the driveshaft, unbolt the diff, and drop it (<1 hour if the rig is already in the air). Getting it back in is more of a pain and kind of a two-person job to manhandle the diff back up and into the mounts.

Photos from my install:

Build Post in thread '"Rednexus" - 2007 GX470 Build and Fabrication Thread'

Jan 15, 2022

I spent the first Saturday in quite some time in the shop today, knocking out the steering rack replacement. It was a wet, 33 degrees, and sleeting out, so overall not a bad day to be getting greasy under the GX. The bushings in the old rack were totally shot (seemed to have happened last time I went off-road), leading to the rack moving around quite a bit and making a lot of noise in the process.

Overall the steering rack replacement was not that bad. I used a Cardone reman rack from Rock Auto (~$250) and the quality was very good. It was completely cleaned/coated and had brand new inner...

• Rednexus

• 

 

[WTITW]

I appreciate the insight, I’m leaning towards just paying the threeish grand to have Toyota do it and replace everything in there at once. The first one lasted 220k, I tow a heavy trailer off-road and it’s my daily. Getting quotes, will report back. If they say 5K, I think I’ll be looking at these posts a lot closer

 

[GrizzlyClint]

$3k for the whole job parts+labor? How common is an issue requiring replacement of the steering rack?

 

[WTITW]

Not sure on price yet, waiting for responses. Just guesses I got from AI and repair pal.

Mine spends about 1K miles a year off-road and this year I pulled a 6K# off-road trailer 8K miles (mostly getting there.) so I would say those factors are likely significant contribution. I also live in PHX so I'd say I provide a bit more stress than the typical GX bears.

 

[Rednexus]

The rack bushings on my 470 were toast by 2021 (14 years old). The rubber bushings won't last forever. My first got super-loose (about 1/2" or more of side-to-side movement) after a wheeling trip. When I pulled the rack out, quite a bit of metal shavings came out of the PS fluid, and the seals were leaky. I wouldn't count on a rack lasting past 200K, with wheeling accelerating the bushing demise, as described above.

If it truly/actually costs $3K for labor to do a rack replacement, that's another impetus for me to start doing this stuff as side jobs.....

 

[Acrad]

This guy hacked off the bolts and reversed bolt orientation

 

[r2m]

If you should consider doing the job yourself, my guess is that the engine only needs to be lifted for access under, hence just bringing it up an inch or so may be all you need. Would negate ALL the engine disconnections and trans.
That's the only reason I see for having to pull the engine, albeit, I haven't looked at the FSM, to see if that's so.
But, if there's enough flex in the drive line, it would be nice to only have to unbolt the engine mounts and pull it up a wee bit.
Just a thought.
Good luck Jake.

 

[WTITW]

This guy hacked off the bolts and reversed bolt orientation

Yeah, saw this. Not interested. Looked like he had to air chisel out his frame passthroughs to to get enough space to hit the bushings with an air hammer. Then at the end he said it was making a bunch of noise which he thought was maybe fluid but didn't resolve it in the video. I'm not spending 10 hrs for a bushing fix just to have the rack go later or be accelerated by all that air hammering.

Screenshot this because I'll probably NEVER say this again: I think on this one... I have more money than time : )

 

[Rednexus]

Ah, I see the difference now. The rack bolts in the 470 go in the same way, but they can 100% come out without cutting anything. I just had to remove the oil filter and the front diff support bolts. Then it comes out the front. The difference appears to be the giant front timing cover on the 1UR, relative to the 2UZ-FE which has a much smaller plastic timing belt cover. So for the 460, cutting bolts makes sense.

However this YouTuber could have had an easier time if he had pulled out the front diff bolts, removed the front sway bar, and removed the inner tie rod ends like I did on my 470. I'm not sure how KDSS would complicate that, but then the rack could have come out the front and he would have mangled nothing on the side of his frame with an air chisel (I only used mine to separate the steering shaft from the rack).

 

[Acrad]

If I had an actual lift I’d probably lean on doing it myself.. in this instance… I’d probably have someone do it as well.

I hadn’t thought about battling KDSS

 

[Rednexus]

Yeah, saw this. Not interested. Looked like he had to air chisel out his frame passthroughs to to get enough space to hit the bushings with an air hammer. Then at the end he said it was making a bunch of noise which he thought was maybe fluid but didn't resolve it in the video. I'm not spending 10 hrs for a bushing fix just to have the rack go later or be accelerated by all that air hammering.

Screenshot this because I'll probably NEVER say this again: I think on this one... I have more money than time : )

Get this to Missouri and I'll swap it for you for $1,000 in labor .

 

[r2m]

Get this to Missouri and I'll swap it for you for $1,000 in labor .

Do I hear... ROAD TRIP!!!

 

[WTITW]

I appreciate the offer but getting it to Missouri would cost more in BOTH time and money (not to mention sanity, I've been to St., Luis before ; )

I'd love to do everything myself but I work 50hrs a week on average and already spend not enough time with my kids. I think "the man" is going to win this one.

This truck has been fantastic. No loan, runs and drives great, has taken us to many amazing places and never once left us stranded. $3-4K (still waiting on quotes) sounds like a lot but it's not when you factor in that this thing is worth as much as I paid for it and I've had about $3K total in repairs in six years and almost 100K miles.

I owe it to her to have someone do it right.

 

[iwashmycar]

Cant argue with that!

Let us know what the damage is for curiosities sake - hope I never have to cross this bridge.

If the quote does have you taking a second look, the thread link Acrad posted has the service manual pages noted in it....they "just" remove the front diff, jack up the engine, and then pull the thing. I guess the engine mount bolts can be "fun" but seems a lift might be a life saver here.

 

[rav8]

I appreciate the offer but getting it to Missouri would cost more in BOTH time and money (not to mention sanity, I've been to St., Luis before ; )

I'd love to do everything myself but I work 50hrs a week on average and already spend not enough time with my kids. I think "the man" is going to win this one.

This truck has been fantastic. No loan, runs and drives great, has taken us to many amazing places and never once left us stranded. $3-4K (still waiting on quotes) sounds like a lot but it's not when you factor in that this thing is worth as much as I paid for it and I've had about $3K total in repairs in six years and almost 100K miles.

I owe it to her to have someone do it right.

I normally do all my own work...but I typically have it planned months in advance. Something like this that comes up unexpectedly...and where pushing it off a few months could risk further damage or compromise safety...I would totally make an exception. Worth the $$$ in this case for sure.

I'm in a similar boat. Work commitments, no loan and time with kids is never enough. Paying for it to be done right isn't wrong. Although, I am about 50k behind you and if I pace myself...my girls will be old enough to enjoy some DIY hell with their dad when my rack bushings crap the bed.

 

[WTITW]

I just got a quote for labor from a local Toyota dealership. They quoted me 2K for the labor and said I could get the part from Bell Lexus, which was about 700 bucks. So probably 3K out the door.

I think I’ll probably have them do the high and low pressure lines and maybe the steering intermediate shaft while they’re in there if it has any play. I guess motor mounts makes sense too. I’m guessing that’ll add another 1K if I do everything. Keep me, honest here, but I think that’s everything that could fail and cause a headache later.

Anything, I’m missing here that I should tack on while they’ve got the engine hoisted halfway out of the truck?

 

[WTITW]

my girls will be old enough to enjoy some DIY hell with their dad when my rack bushings crap the bed

Oh Man. You gotta tell me your secret if this happens. I can’t get my girls to take the slightest interest in a wrench. Not for lack of trying begging.