Future or current Suspension Problem??

[SR5 GUY]

Hi All,

I am new to working on my 4Runner I have a 2001 SR5 4WD. I was replacing my starter yesterday and came across this while I was underneath. It is a picture of the front passenger side and I do not know what it is. Is this cause for concern? If so is it something I should fix right now? And if it is then anyone know what thread I should search to find answers on how to fix it? Let me know, any information is very helpful to a newbie like me!

 

[I_bRAD]

It's an inner tie rod end- the connection from your steering rack to wheels. The boot has come off and if it's as dirty as it looks it's probably a good idea to replace it!

 

[AZBub]

99.9999999999% of anything you may have wrong, is going wrong, or will go wrong and how to repair/replace it can be found using search.

 

[3bears]

how many miles ?
read up on lower ball joint failure, might be time to do those and your inner and outer tie rod ends. But you need at least one inner and the boot now.
Most people replace LBJ's at 150k, failure can be a disaster
mine just hit 150 k, no issues and replaced all of the above, when I pulled one LBJ it was obviously going bad. And this had just been checked by a suspension shop a month earlier

 

[SR5 GUY]

Thanks guys! This is exactly the information I needed.
[MENTION=124615]3bears[/MENTION] it is just hitting 124k on the mileage. If this is early to do though it isn't too surprising, I don't think the previous owner took to great of care of the vehicle.

 

[I_bRAD]

I'd go with 3bears suggestion. That way you only pay for one alignment and you know it's all good. Bonus that you can use a pickle fork to take it all apart and save some effort!

 

[1985taylor1925]

You have a torn boot there. I would suggest doing your upper and lower ball joints, and inner tie rods and tie rod ends, unless any of them have already been replaced recently. If that boot has been ripped for very long, chances are that inner tie rod joint is bad. Do you have maintenance records for the truck?

 

[jeremyc74]

You need to replace the boot ASAP. It serves two purposes. First is to keep dirt out of the inner tie rod joint (which is the greasy ball and socket you can see in the picture), but more importantly it keeps dirt off the steering rack. Leaving it like that will allow dirt to get into the rack and it's eventually going to cause problems.

To get the boot off you have to break the tie rod end loose from the steering knuckle, which is kind of a pain without the right tool. If you're going to break it apart you might as well replace the inner and outer tie rod ends, because that's half the battle, and there's a good chance you're going to damage the tie rod end boot when you separate it from the knuckle anyway.

The suggestions to do the lower ball joints are good ones, but you primary concern right now should be getting that boot replaced so you don't damage the steering rack. With under 130k miles I wouldn't be overly concerned about the ball joints failing, but I would be concerned about the steering rack over the long term.

 

[habanero]

Beck Arnley has a real nice replacement rack boot...

 

[SR5 GUY]

Thanks for all the help guys! I finally got around to doing it and it looks great! My problem now is though that when I went to take my T4R in for alignment today they told me they couldn't do it because my rack and pinion is bad, looking back to that boot I tore off there was power steering fluid in it so I should've known that it was going to be something more expensive and much much more labor intensive.

 

[jeremyc74]

Thanks for all the help guys! I finally got around to doing it and it looks great! My problem now is though that when I went to take my T4R in for alignment today they told me they couldn't do it because my rack and pinion is bad, looking back to that boot I tore off there was power steering fluid in it so I should've known that it was going to be something more expensive and much much more labor intensive.

Hang on....did you replace the inner and outer tie rods, or just the boot?

As far as the alignment goes, the rack itself is a solid piece of metal, and there's no good reason they can't align the truck if the tie rods are good.

You may need to replace the rack to stop the leaking, and it's possible for there to be slop between the pinion and the rack, but neither of those will stop them from getting everything running true up front so you're not wearing your tires out.

 

[SR5 GUY]

Hang on....did you replace the inner and outer tie rods, or just the boot?

As far as the alignment goes, the rack itself is a solid piece of metal, and there's no good reason they can't align the truck if the tie rods are good.

You may need to replace the rack to stop the leaking, and it's possible for there to be slop between the pinion and the rack, but neither of those will stop them from getting everything running true up front so you're not wearing your tires out.

I tried posting a picture of the complete finished product but I replaced both the inner/outer tie rod and the boot.

The guy at my shop said that he could align the truck for me but it would just be a waste of money because as soon as it comes off the machine it will be back out of alignment. I need to take it to get a second opinion though just so I have a better idea of what i'm dealing with. I must admit, i'm not thrilled to have to replace the rack.

If I didn't replace the rack and it kept leaking, wouldn't it wear out my brand new tie rods and boot sooner?