99 4 runner 3.4 When I turn all the way to the right or left the steering wheel starts to shake, I have flushed the fluid out and have used lucas but no luck. Do I need to replace the pump or the rack?

Thanks

Any suspension mods, is it lifted , oversize tires? If the steering effort has not changed (IE it still feels like power steering) I would think the pump is OK. Have you checked the rack bushings and other steering components for looseness/ slop?

No mods to the suspension and the rack bushing are fine,

Firestone showed me today on my rig how they could move the steering rack by shaking the tires from left to right by hand....

Their prognosis is it is the rack....

this may be a way for you to confirm your thoughts... or not.

edit: Irbis Off Road confirmed for me that it was inner tie rod ends and not the rack.... whew!!

If the WHOLE rack is moving when you move the tires, then that would most likely be the rack bushings that hold it in the truck.

Holy $hit!

After reading this and other threads, I did the "rotate-the-tires and-look-at-the-rack-movement" test. No exageration...3/8" of movement in mine. Ordered the urethane bushings from energy suspension, immediately. I guess next weekends project is getting bigger. This is a test that EVERYONE should do. While I didn't necessarily "notice" a problem in steering control, I bet I will notice the difference when the new bushings are in.

Thanks everyone for this thread and so many others.

CSL, do you have a part number for the bushing kit that you ordered from Energy? I cant find it on their website...

I'm not certain they are the right ones, but I read a bunch of threads (between yotatech and here) last night and finished feeling pretty confident in my conclusion. Apparently you have to drill out one bushing a little bit to get it to fit over the bolt (center I think). I saved some of the threads on my home computer explaining what other folks have done, for reference next weekend. That is where I got the part number from. I have ordered these and will install next weekend (hopefully install...I should say...) I found a great writeup about the whole process, and will post it later tonight.

Part number: 8-10101G

link to the webpage I purchased from: http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/search.asp

Sorry don't know how to do the hyperlink thing on this site. Still a newbie here...

Here you go, JeremyH. As promised. This is one of the writeups that convinced me of the part number.

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...ering_bushing/

Good luck! (to you...and me.)

wabfab lists them also, and is pretty much the same price as everywhere else on the web ... i was going to order from him. figured for the price you couldn't really go wrong replacing them even if you haven't noticed a huge problem yet.

Thanks for the info!

DONE! rack moves no more. Solid as a rock! I haven't test driven it yet, but I bet it will make a huge difference from the 3/8 to maybe even 1/2 inch it was shifting.

For a 2000 4runner, the parts I posted early work perfectly, with no need to drill anything out. The hardest part was prying out the old bushings

The directions tell you to remove the DS tie rod, but I had trouble with that. I managed to replace all the bushings without removing it though. It just took some clamps, and a little bit of work.

NOTE: I have no auto mechanic experience at all. I did it myself, and so can you. Just be patient when you press in the new bushings, as they are tight and tend to bind and catch on parts. I had one twist up on me, but I noticed it and fixed it.

If you need a new 4runner/tacoma rack, here's the place to get it:

Power Steering Rack and Pinion for Toyota Tacoma 4Runner 1995 to 2001 Ref# 88990849 26-1697 36-12373

No core charge and free shipping all for $300.

---IF you want an adventure, get the seal kit and rebuild your rack yourself:

Power Steering Rack And Pinion Seal Kit Toyota 4Runner 1995-98 All Toyota Tacoma 1995-00 4Wd

You realize that this thread is 4 years old?

First lesson for first post: Read the date.