Had the power steering flushed and they added a conditioner and clean 2 years ago. The power steering fluid level is fine no dripping on the garage floor, steering is fine but it looks like "some" fluid as seeped out making the rubber damp looking. Dealer wants $2k for a new OEM rack installed. Since it is only damp looking and the fluid level is fine I think the cleaner/ conditioner they used 2 years ago caused some seals to weep. I told my service guy I would watch it and if it continued to not need addl fluid and continued to drive ok I would do nothing until it started needing fluid to be continually added or leaked onto the garage floor. He agreed that this would not be a problem and thought my theory was correct about the conditioner cleaner the othe Toyota dealer used. Ok what do you guys think?
Steering Rack
- Thread starter SWUtah
- Start date
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If this was a rare failure it may be related to conditioners etc. Given that the steering rack is one of the weakest and most often replaced parts in the suspension/chassis on the 100 series my guess is that this is just another failing steering rack and the conditioner probably didn't make it any worse. Just my guess.
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- #4
New OEM rack from CDan was in the $600 neighborhood, installation will be free... as soon as I get the new rack off the floor and on the truck that is. $2k! No Way!
It was $1670 including tax to have Sarah's steering rack replaced in her 2004. I have replaced the rack in both her 2004 and mine. Starts leaking, then steering feels a bit off, then starts making noise. Was about a year between noticing the leak (wet boot no floor drips) and it becoming a problem
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- #9
@SWUtah , check with your local Toyota Dealer, I paid a little over $700 for a Toyota reman unit installed plus 70 bux for the alignment. I have a good friend that's the service director and he helped with a little discount to get it down. Talk to a service advisor, they will work with u and are gonna be cheaper than lexus as they r the same parts.
I added $10 Lucas power steering stop leak 15k+ miles and over a year ago and the reservoir level hasn't moved a bit. Steering remains tight so I'm gonna ride it out. But I'm ready to pull the trigger on a new rack when needed.
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- #12
My rack is a little oily looking on part of the rubber boot. But no drip, good steering and reservoir is still right on the full mark. Just bought some Lucas stop leak, got my turkey baster out and sucked the equivalent of about 1/2 bottle of the Lucas stop leak, then filled it back to the "full" line with the Lucas stop leak. Thanks for the tip. If the reservoir level goes down I will keep adding the stop leak until it becomes a problem. When it comes time to replace I will also get a quote from the Toyota dealer but I have to figure in the value of the free loaner and the free cookies 
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Racks are little more than hydraulic rams... the wear surfaces are hardened and unless a foreign material is introduced about all that can go wrong is seals and wipers... the same parts that are replaced thousands a times a day in every industry (even airplanes) that said I have no fear of rebuilt racks... autozone sells the kit to rebuild this rack for less than $25... it is very rare that in any industry they replace a hydraulic ram with OEM new vs rebuilding or getting a rebuilt unit... I have cylinders or heavy equipment that have been damp with fluid for many years without more than a drop or two of leakage of failure... there is no magic fluid than you can introduce into a hydraulic system that will fix a worn or failed seal....
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- #14
Good info. Thanks
The rack and pinion are meshed like gears, they do in fact wear out, get bent, damaged, etc. A rack and pinion has some similarity to a hydraulic ram but are not the same animal at all. Some here have installed rebuilt racks and then gone back to OEM racks after that. $25 is cheap for the kit but you still have to pull, R&R, and re-install the rack which is a ton of labor. For my time and money an OEM rack is going in on my own time. YMMV
I completely agree that if there is damage or hard surface wear then it's time for replacement, the metallurgy on the rack and the pinion is very close if not the same as most ring and pinions.... the cycles on the rack are probably less than 1/10 of 1% vs the ring & pinion, I would venture that more than 70% of rack and pinions are replaced due to leakage that could be repaired with a simple rebuild kit ... I would also venture that many racks are replaced when really all they need are new mounting bushings.... most people here report R&R of a rack at less than 4 hours.... I guess that is a ton of labor... some people will only use toyota parts... There are always options... I have experienced bad out of the box OEM parts as often as I have bad aftermarket parts... what one considers a "major undertaking" others consider SOP... all has to do with your skill set and resources... if your only resource is a check book that works also...
Mine has left a drop here and there on the driveway and garage floor and was told by my mechanic as long as I'm not having to add fluid on a regular basis just keep driving it until it has a true leak. seems to be the consensus
Mine is a Lexus price includes alignment, cookies and a loaner car
See if they will let you bring home some extra cookies for that kind of $$$
