How to: Replace steering rack guide- Pictures

[EvilMole]

First, I would like to say hello to everyone. Second, i would like say how glad I am that I found this thread. I had just changed out a rack on our '02 mazda van and didn't feel like doing it again on the 4runner.

Have a '96 that just recently started making some popping noises. crawled under there today and noticed some rack movement from worn bushings. From my understanding worn bushings don't necessarily cause popping noises. I feel the popping if I hold the shaft above the rack. I need to pull the boot back to verify, but I don't think it's the ITRE.

BTW, the '96 has 114K miles on it and from what I can tell the rack doesn't leak. Has replacing this rack guide resolved your popping noise?

 

[limpmode]

i need to do this :nono:

 

[jacknanita55]

I replaced the bushings and it stopped the rattling when going over any type of bump.

 

[Rock_Rat]

Weekend Project

I'm surprised my bushings have lasted as long as they have. Figured it was time for some preventive maintenance before winter sets in. Thanks [MENTION=54671]yukonrider[/MENTION] (not sure if you're still around. Post was from 2010) for posting the parts breakdown and [MENTION=125884]AZRunnin[/MENTION] for the up close shot of the PN from home depot. Appreciate the input. New links from [MENTION=98153]MStudt[/MENTION] are also on my list of things to do in the future.

• OEM for the Steering Rack guide and ancillary parts
• OEM for the stabilizer bushings
• Wheelers Off Road for the steering rack bushings

Hate to deviate from OEM but I'll give the Wheelers bushings a try. I haven't read any complaints about them on the forum. They're still in the bag so any negative inputs feel free to chime in.

 

[HiLife]

What to know what tool did you use to loosen and tighten the 56mm lock ring?
I used a pipe wrench (wrong tool) and chewed up the lock ring. I could have bought a huge crescent wrench but I couldn't justify the $120 price.
A member on here made their own tool from what looked like a modified steel water filter cartridge wrench. Tried to find that post again but cant find it anymore.:ybrick:

 

[EvilMole]

What to know what tool did you use to loosen and tighten the 56mm lock ring?
I used a pipe wrench (wrong tool) and chewed up the lock ring. I could have bought a huge crescent wrench but I couldn't justify the $120 price.
A member on here made their own tool from what looked like a modified steel water filter cartridge wrench. Tried to find that post again but cant find it anymore.:ybrick:

I put the crescent wrench on the cap part (older outie type) and tapped it a few time with a hammer. This loosened the lock ring enough to use channel locks. I'm sure I don't have the new one on tight enough as I just did the best I could with the channel locks. I'll just keep an eye on it.

 

[bugman-74]

I used a cheap 24" adjustable crescent from HF to remove mine (don't forget to use your 20% off coupon).

To reinstall, I torqued it to the FSM spec using the adjustable wrench with a hanging fish scale connected to the hole in the end of the wrench. Just have to convert the torque based on the lever arm length of the adjustable wrench.

 

[jacked_72]

I don't have enough credits to start a new thread, so I'll tack on my question here in hopes that someone reads to the last page...

I've got a 98 4Runner with the 2.7L 4 cylinder engine, rear wheel drive, 170K mi. I've got some looseness in the steering at high speeds, so that driving at 70 is a challenge. I've replaced my rack bushings and am now considering this rack guide replacement. I'm not sure that this is my issue though.

Primarily, I see a problem with the front end of the truck jacked up from the cross member. If I move one wheel, the other wheel moves too. I don't see this as being up and down movement of the inner tie rods that the videos of the bad rack guide show. It seems to be more of an in and out movement, but I haven't taken the boots off yet. I guess my questions is whether this moving of both tires is a sign of a bad rack guide and not something else. I'd like to diagnose the problem properly before throwing more parts at it.

Also, if I do replace the rack guide, cap and spring, do I want to use all the parts from the 2000 model year and later or just the cap? I read in another post that the cap should be updated, but it wasn't clear as to whether the rack guide itself needed to be the newer (one piece) style or not.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[JBurt]

[MENTION=131465]jacked_72[/MENTION] if you've already replaced the rack bushings it could be your guide and it could be the rack itself. I replaced my guide and it helped a little but I noticed a huge difference after I replaced the steering rack. It now drives amazing.

How many miles are on your rack? Is it leaking at all? Is your truck lifted? Do you go wheeling much? All of those can factor greatly into the lifespan of your rack.

You can crawl under your truck while someone moves the wheels back and forth and look to see where there is play. If you haven't done much to freshen up the front suspension it could need a lot of new bushings. LCA bushings could be the culprit too and you would see the whole lower control arm moving while someone was moving the steering wheel back and forth.

Good luck.

 

[97t4r81]

I'm looking into doing this, just did lbjs and otres and got an alignment. Big difference, but still a less than well planted feel and a shake at 70+ on freeway. The alignment folks( brakemax in Tucson) said they itres could be bad so I'll check those too. Thanks everyone for the write up and replies, big help

 

[cbr900boy]

Question for you guys. My daily driver is a 2001 which comes from the factory with the "new" style guide. I have around 140K miles on it and I've began to notice a knocking sound similar to the video on the first page of this thread. This knocking occurs when I quickly turn my steering wheel side to side. With the motor on or off, makes no difference. This being said, can someone confirm if the new style guide is adjustable? I was under the impression that once it was set, no adjustments were necessary since there are no moving parts.

BTW, I have eliminated all other possibilities. OTR, ITR, steering rack, steering rack bushings (poly), LBJ, Alignment, etc are all good. Thanks.

***UPDATE***

Ok guys, I just adjusted my steering rack guide and the knocking sound is gone. I removed and inspected the guide, then added generous amount of moly grease to portion that makes contact with the steering shaft. My steering feels more solid and no more wandering on the freeways. It took me a few adjustment to get it right. Like the FSM says, 18ft lbs then back off 19 degrees, but it was still too tight. So I played with it some until it was just right. I basically tightened it until the knocking sound went away then added a quarter turn.

 

[AZRunnin]

You can tighten the new style but be careful, too much and your steering wheel won't return back to center on its own after a turn.

Have you checked your lower control arm bushings? I didn't see them mentioned above specifically.

 

[Jhelms]

Has anyone found a noticably worn newer style bushing on an 01-02 model which high miles? My 02 is having an odd clunk during slight turns or with the wheel slightly turned driving onto a driveway... This one has me baffled and I am pretty good at troubleshooting. All bushings but LCA and UCA have been done as well as about everything else imaginable. Still have not solved this clunk. About ready to mount a video cam under the car on a magnet and try to get a visual.

I plan to pull the bushing out tomorrow and at least inspect it / re-torque it. See what happens. Will also check torque as it sits without removal to see how far of it is.

To re-confirm, is everyone using moly on the guide? I would imagine so for this type of part.

 

[DeKalbOffroad]

Super detailed and useful, Thank you!

 

[Jhelms]

Wife is not home so I checked my guide bushing. All was excellent condition

Observations:
- I checked the default torque spec that my guide cap was sitting at by loosening the lock nut and setting my torque wrench to 18ft lbs as outlined. I was VERY surprised to find that I was able to rotate the threads well over a full turn, maybe more before reaching 18ft-lbs. This is on a rack that was not making any noise or having issues.
- I tried a second torque wrench to verify the spec and sure enough, 18ft lbs was very tight and bound the steering quite hard the further you turned the wheel. No chance of it returning to center.
- The rack bar is tapered to the centering point. This helps the rack return to center. So if you torque dead center at 18ft lbs, the spring is fully compressed. When you turn the wheel, the guide cannot back off and it binds. I did not try torquing to 18ft lbs when the wheel turned full lock one way or the other - then backing off as described, but I imagine it may work fine.
- When tightening the cap, you can feel when the cap makes contact with the spring and gets tighter and tighter. At a point, you will suddenly feel the back cap make contact with the guide - fully compressing the spring. This is WAY before 18ft lbs. At this point, I backed off 1/8 turn or maybe a tad more so I knew the cap / guide had a little bit of mechanical clearance.
- At 240K miles on my 4runner, the guide had virtually ZERO wear. The actual mating surface is copper or brass with a coating, very similar to a crank or rod bearing. IMO with an 01-02, there is no need to buy replacement parts. I may change my opinion if I find wear in the wifes 02 tomorrow.

Jhelms quick instruction guide for the rack guide if you have an 01-02 or if you purchased the new style guide
- Turn the wheel 1/2-1 turn to the left (VERY IMPORTANT - DO NOT MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT WITH THE RACK CENTERED)
- Loosen the lock nut
- Use whatever tool you have to rotate the large hex cap clockwise until you feel it bind (spring fully compressed)
- Back off of that setting 1/8 to 1/4 turn. This should get you on the money or close. Back off a little more if steering feels to tight

Oh... And the feel? Very nice and tight. Maybe a tad to much as the wheel is a little slow to return but I am good with it. Now I hope the clunk goes away with the wife's

My little ghetto tool made from an M16 bolt and two M16 nuts. Head is a perfect fit.

Guide Removed:

Guide at 240K miles:

 

[O2RunnerSR5]

Curious if my problem is the guide too.

So I just replaced my rack,LBJ,and OTR with new Toyota ones and I still get a pop almost everytime when I reverse out of my drive way. It happens about 6-10 feet after I start backing up no matter where I reverse out of. its only happens in reverse. What else could it be?
Thanks

 

[AZRunnin]

...My 02 is having an odd clunk during slight turns or with the wheel slightly turned driving onto a driveway... This one has me baffled and I am pretty good at troubleshooting. All bushings but LCA and UCA have been done as well as about everything else imaginable. Still have not solved this clunk. About ready to mount a video cam under the car on a magnet and try to get a visual. ...

Check your lower control arm bushings. If the clunk happens when going up/down the curb getting into/out of your driveway the LCA bushings are a prime candidate - especially if they are original and you have high miles as you indicate and 14ish years.

 

[psraff]

Well this bites!!!! I just tried to order these 4 parts from Camelback Toyota. $65 worth of parts, but $45 in shipping to Alaska. I called them and asked if they could just throw them into a $7 Flat Rate Box (They did it before for me). Nope... Said they can't do it anymore. Only way to Alaska is FedEx 2 Day Air.

So I'll have to find another place to buy from. I just sent an inquiry to Toyota of Dallas. I've dealt with them years ago. Any other quality places to deal with down in the lower 48? I try not to deal with the Dealership up here in Anchorage.

 

[JBurt]

you might have them shipped to a willing member, then that guy can flat rate box them to you.

 

[floatingkiwi]

Has anyone found a noticably worn newer style bushing on an 01-02 model which high miles? My 02 is having an odd clunk during slight turns or with the wheel slightly turned driving onto a driveway... This one has me baffled and I am pretty good at troubleshooting. All bushings but LCA and UCA have been done as well as about everything else imaginable. Still have not solved this clunk. About ready to mount a video cam under the car on a magnet and try to get a visual.

I plan to pull the bushing out tomorrow and at least inspect it / re-torque it. See what happens. Will also check torque as it sits without removal to see how far of it is.

To re-confirm, is everyone using moly on the guide? I would imagine so for this type of part.

I retro fitted the new style guide into my old style rack, which is otherwise in excellent condition, and I find that I have to retorque it every year or so (and normally get another 1/2 turn or so out of it) because it starts to knock again. Doesn't show any wear.
It's almost as if the bearing on the pinion shaft is collapsing, but I'm not getting hard steering or anything.