Hey guys, thought I would share a little bit of useful information here, as it took me a lot of research to find the correct information to get this done.
Some of you have seen my build thread, but in summary I have a 4wd v8 long travel 4runner. In the last couple of months, I started noticing an increasing side to side sway of the car while driving. I knew what this was since I had gone through this on another 4runner I owned.
Long story short, I came a across a solution to upgrade from the weak and soft stock bushings. I am going to share the details on how I remedied this.
Parts:
(1) Ricochet polyurethane bushings for 4th gen 4runners - Found on Ebay
Fits Toyota 4Runner Tacoma 2003-2009 Steering Rack Bushing Set Polyurethane | eBay
(2)(optional) outer tie rod ends - whatever flavor you like - I used Moog
(2)(optional) inner tie rod ends - whatever flavor you like - I used Moog
(1) oil change kit - you will have to pull the oil filter on the v8's
(2) quarts of ATF
Tools:
(1) pickle fork/ball joint separator -
16 in. Ball Joint Separator
(1) punch/chisel set -
12 Piece Punch and Chisel Set
(1) deadblow hammer
(1) assortment of sockets, ratcheting wrenches and breaker bars, locking pliers
(1) bench and vice - I did not have mine set up, but it would make life a lot easier
(1) oil drip pan
(1) oil change container
Procedure:
Step 1: Follow this DIY to pull the steering rack out of the truck. For me on the 4wd v8, the rack came out of the front with some finesse.
4th Gen 4Runner 2003-2009 Power Steering Rack Replacement How-to / DIY
Step 2: set your rack in a vice or on a level table top strong enough to take some serious blows.
Step 3: Removal of bushings
Pick one of the bushings and one side. If you examine closely, you will see that there is an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve. The inner sleeve attaches to the outer sleeve through the rubber bushing, which is the part that fails over age.
There's several ways to go about this and I used every single one to get mine done. Start by grabbing a flat chisel, placing it on the edge of the outer sleeve, and tap away around the whole sleeve to create a lip for the fork to slide in. once you feel like you can start working the fork in, go ahead and do that. Take the fork, place it against the sleeve, and start hammering. You will warp and mangle the sleeve, but it will start working itself loose.
This is 1 side of 1 bushing. For the other side, you can repeat that procedure, or you can take a socket of the same diameter of the outer sleeve, slide it in, and hammer the other side out.
Repeat the steps on the other bushing. If for some reason you cannot get underneath the outer sleeve enough, I suggest you remove the inner sleeve first. This is a more tedious process. Start by scoring the rubber around the inner sleeve/bushing with a box cutter as deep as possible all the way around. Once that is done, take the pickle fork and go to work with the hammer. It will come out.
Once you have all the bushings out, you can move on to step 4.
Step 4: Time to install the new poly bushings. The kit comes with 2 bushings, 2 inner sleeves and a little container of grease. The bushings are different sizes so they are side specific. Go ahead and grease up the outer side of the bushings with the supplied grease. Take 1 side of 1 bushing with the inner sleeve and press it in to the correct side. It should slide right in. Now take the other side of that bushing and press it in straight over the sleeve. Repeat on the other side. This should be minimal effort to get in.
Step 5: Re-install the rack. During removal, you will have removed the inner/outer tie rods. Now would be a good time to replace them while you are in there. Set them to as close as possible as the length of the old set and install. Don't forget to drain and fill the power steering fluid.
Step 6: Get an alignment and go out and enjoy your new tight and precise steering feel.
Sorry for the lack of pictures. I was not thinking about it when I was working.