4th Gen Steering Rack- OEM vs OEM-Reman

[davidaw]

Hi Everyone.

My 08 SR5 4WD (215K) rack is leaking at the input shaft and need to get it done.

Ourisman has the best Toyota prices I can find:

NEW, no CORE about $1050 shipped
REMAN Toyota, about $550 after 2 way shipping and CORE.

I called and the Parts guy said REMAN is definitely all Toyota, rebuilt with Toyota parts.

I feel about 70% Ok to get the REMAN, but I did watch a Care Care Nut episode a while back where he mentioned issues with rebuilt units, even Toyota. This was not a 4runner, I forget what Toyota it was.


Question is this.
Has anyone used the OEM REMAN and were there any issues?
Given the Pain of install, is it worth the 500$ savings?

Thanks

 

[dfontes]

Hi Everyone.

My 08 SR5 4WD (215K) rack is leaking at the input shaft and need to get it done.

Ourisman has the best Toyota prices I can find:

NEW, no CORE about $1050 shipped
REMAN Toyota, about $550 after 2 way shipping and CORE.

I called and the Parts guy said REMAN is definitely all Toyota, rebuilt with Toyota parts.

I feel about 70% Ok to get the REMAN, but I did watch a Care Care Nut episode a while back where he mentioned issues with rebuilt units, even Toyota. This was not a 4runner, I forget what Toyota it was.


Question is this.
Has anyone used the OEM REMAN and were there any issues?
Given the Pain of install, is it worth the 500$ savings?

Thanks

I'm about 1 year in on my OEM Reman steering rack. So far no issues.

 

[4R005]

My '05 4R Ltd w/V8 AWD also had a leak at the input shaft back in 2021. Tried with Lucas Power Steering seal treatment. Helped some but did not completely stopped leakage. Went to local auto parts recycler who also do installation and they did it for under CDN$1000.00 which also included replacement of the high pressure line. The OEM rack did not come out of their yard but it was in very good condition with no play at the tie rod ends and the rack mechanism. Another plus was they warranty their work with a 30 day labor and 90 day parts.
Still operating flawlessly in the '05 presently. You may want to give this option consideration.

 

[davidaw]

I'm about 1 year in on my OEM Reman steering rack. So far no issues.

Thanks, good to hear. I went with the Toyota Reman. The body does say TOYODA on it, so it does appear to be original Toyota.
Install was fun but got it done.

 

[davidaw]

My '05 4R Ltd w/V8 AWD also had a leak at the input shaft back in 2021. Tried with Lucas Power Steering seal treatment. Helped some but did not completely stopped leakage. Went to local auto parts recycler who also do installation and they did it for under CDN$1000.00 which also included replacement of the high pressure line. The OEM rack did not come out of their yard but it was in very good condition with no play at the tie rod ends and the rack mechanism. Another plus was they warranty their work with a 30 day labor and 90 day parts.
Still operating flawlessly in the '05 presently. You may want to give this option consideration.

Thanks for the info. I dont think I have that option here. My local shop wanted $2200 with a reman.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

I have well over 30k with a round trip Florida to AZ back in Feb on a
CVJ steering rack.
There is supposedly a way to upgrade to a 5th gen, but it involves a little bit of fab work. Unfortunately I haven't researched it enough to provide any links.
Good Luck!

 

[Zero0575]

I had the same issue at 215k. OEM reman for me. Only 15k on the reman rack now, but no issues.

 

[chroad]

I have well over 30k with a round trip Florida to AZ back in Feb on a
CVJ steering rack.
There is supposedly a way to upgrade to a 5th gen, but it involves a little bit of fab work. Unfortunately I haven't researched it enough to provide any links.
Good Luck!

Please say more about the 5th gen upgrade. What fab work does it involve?

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Please say more about the 5th gen upgrade. What fab work does it involve?

I don't know enough about it. I read about it on a GX fb page several months ago. The 5th gen/GX 460 rack is supposed to be stronger.

 

[T4R2014]

That front mounted rack is a big job. Factor in the risk of it leaking and we're talking about twice the labor and alignments. Unless your parts guy is a near/already retired boomer who can pull out an old school parts manual and cross reference bearings between your car and a skid steer, then do you honestly think he knows that Toyota has a facility where they rebuild old racks? Highly doubt it. They probably hand off the work to A1Cardone or similar crap, then red Toyota box it in the US. It's usually good enough to survive a 90 day warranty. Buy a new one if you intend to drive your 4Runner.

 

[chroad]

I don't know enough about it. I read about it on a GX fb page several months ago. The 5th gen/GX 460 rack is supposed to be stronger.

I asked the questions having done some research myself but it’s inconclusive. I’ve seen someone say they’ve put a 460 rack on a 470, so then in theory it should work on our 4Runners, but wherever I saw that didn’t have much detail. I’ve also seen places where people say they are completely different. That’s not true—they are not completely different. If they’re different they’re only slightly different, which is the rub—they look so similar it makes you think it can work.

I have a 5th gen rack in my garage but I haven’t gotten the time yet to pull my rack out and try to install the 5th gen. So far, I know that the outer tie rods are different between 4th and 5th gen’s, but the taper at the connection to the knuckle appears to measure out the same so that the 5th gen outers can work in a 4th gen. I’ve actually tested that fit and all seems good. It also appears, but I still need to measure, that the bolt locations into the frame are also the same, and that the PS fluid plumbing connections into the rack itself are the same tube and flange nut size. But I still need to measure that. That’s important because it looks like you need to use the 4th gen PS fluid plumbing because of the way it’s routed/bent. I have the 5th gen plumbing as well so that I could make that comparison. So I’m optimistic that it will work but need to take a couple more measurements as a go/no-go and then, if a go, do the work. I think a 5th gen rack would be a great upgrade for the 4th gen. It’s definitely beefier.

 

[chroad]

Forgot to mention—from the scant material available to research, I think that the “fab” involved is to make the bolt holes in the 4th gen frame a bit bigger because the 5th gen bolts are bigger. I do not have 5th gen bolts to make that comparison, and haven’t made it by my local dealer lately to grab some for the experiment. But I do know they are indeed bigger.

Maybe once I get my go/no-go measurements and see if I can move to the next round I’ll start a dedicated thread to this effort.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

[MENTION=721955]chroad[/MENTION] you've basically outlined everything I had heard, but I couldn't remember most of it. Would be a nice experiment if its not your daily.

 

[chroad]

I just finished the swap. It works, and it apparently works great. I just posted the summary below in the “will 5th gen rack work in 4th gen” thread but will pasting it here too. Very pleased with the swap so far. Time will tell more, but I’m very optimistic for long term success!

“I have confirmed that this will work. Just finished installing a rack and all tie rods from a 2021 into my 06 4Runner. No fab needed. It was actually not too difficult. The 11mm diameter 4th gen bolts work just right in the 5th gen rack, despite the fact that the 5th gen bolts are 14mm, because of how the bolt holes in the 5th gen rack bushings are laid out. The 5th gen outer tie rods have the same taper and use the same castle nut as 4th gen. The only difference of any significance is that the fitting ends on the high pressure hose are different between the two gens, but so far I’ve seen no leaking and I did not use a thread sealant. I’ll of course be keeping an eye on this for any future leaking. I got an alignment yesterday and had no issues with that. I’ll do a separate thread and more detailed write up at some point but wanted to report my findings.”

 

[T4Rbro]

I cheaped out and went with this one Feb 2024. Fitment was perfect. I replaced the entire steering fluid system reservoir to rack and all lines hard and soft, added an auxiliary cooler AND a lifetime fluid filter (it's a stainless steel mesh screen you can flush and replaced) to the return line. My pump had cacked and are itself then took out everything else with metallic particle contamination. Here's the link.
You'll need to invest in a set of crowfoot wrench heads for your ratchet and some long assed extensions and a swivel joint. Amazon for the win there too.
Now I installed this all throufh the week then took her out wheeling that weekend. Only leak was from the factory hose clamps, just replace them too. It was hemorrhaging fluid at the reservoir. Replacement reservoirs suck for fitment the brackets do not directly bolt in they must be bent to fit in a bigger with mothering big Channel locks and a pry bar. Install still required use of a tapered drift punch to align bolts. So if you can flush and retain the factory reservoir do that. The replacement hard lines off Amazon after direct factory quality fit with zero tweaking or issues.
Here's the link to the rack I am running now. I also replaced the lower end string shaft fired joint Assembly while I was in there. Tightened everything up nicely. OEM when I can but the rack cost from dealer was just out of my budget.


https://a.co/d/7fkaj7I