So I went in today to have the local tire shop do a front end alignment on my 97' SR5 as it was pulling to the left a little at highway speeds. After about 20 minutes the tech comes out and says that the Rack and Pinion needs to be replaced and all tie-rod ends replaced with all the applicable bushings. He said that the whole rack was moving side to side and requires the replacement of the whole system. With an estimate of $1200 I told them to just take it off the rack and I came home. After talking with my local dealership on the phone about it they said they haven't really seen 3rd Gen 4Runner racks replaced very much unless they have been in a wreck or have been off-roaded hard core.
I decided to do a little checking on my own by jacking up the front and looking for any play in the system. I couldn't get any play out of either tire by trying to rock them left and right by hand. Then I watched the rack as I had someone move the tires right and left, I didn't see any movement in the system at all. Also, I would think I would have some play in the wheel if all the tie-rod ends and the rack need to be replaced.
Anybody had to replace theirs and if so what symptoms, if any, did you have? What did it cost and did you notice a huge difference after it was done? I'm just curious what others have seen in this issue.
I decided to do a little checking on my own by jacking up the front and looking for any play in the system. I couldn't get any play out of either tire by trying to rock them left and right by hand. Then I watched the rack as I had someone move the tires right and left, I didn't see any movement in the system at all. Also, I would think I would have some play in the wheel if all the tie-rod ends and the rack need to be replaced.
Anybody had to replace theirs and if so what symptoms, if any, did you have? What did it cost and did you notice a huge difference after it was done? I'm just curious what others have seen in this issue.
