Safari LTD. P/S Rack AKA: AAE?

[SIKHILUXSURF]

So i have been trying to get a replacement rack since end of last year as i recently replaced my front LCA Bushings and balljoints. My current rack is finnal biting the dust as the leaking is bad and also there is play in the inner tie rod on the driver side causing a pulling during braking as seen in my previous help thread.

so i was in contact with Safari Ltd. and have been feeling like i getting the runaround. after the new year when they came back the were doing inventory and then i got a call the same week saying the rack was outof stock. but here comes the kick in the pants they said they would get more by the end of the following week so i waited. Then i get a new eta of 2 weeks out. now i call today and now it is changed to first week of feb? im stumped. not only that the price keeps changing and i was quoted 395+35 to ship first call. then now i call today and i am quoted 497? then they tell me that the can try to get it from another vendor but it will be 650? wth? whats is going on here? i though they were a good vendor. but what all of a sudden price changes like crazy? what say you guys? they say it comes from the vendor this way beefed up internals and such. is it done like this only for Safari LTD as a Private label thing? or should i skip the shenanagans and just bite the bullet and order an AAE Rack from Rock auto? just really fed up with the runaround....

 

[JayRolla]

So i have been trying to get a replacement rack since end of last year as i recently replaced my front LCA Bushings and balljoints. My current rack is finnal biting the dust as the leaking is bad and also there is play in the inner tie rod on the driver side causing a pulling during braking as seen in my previous help thread.

so i was in contact with Safari Ltd. and have been feeling like i getting the runaround. after the new year when they came back the were doing inventory and then i got a call the same week saying the rack was outof stock. but here comes the kick in the pants they said they would get more by the end of the following week so i waited. Then i get a new eta of 2 weeks out. now i call today and now it is changed to first week of feb? im stumped. not only that the price keeps changing and i was quoted 395+35 to ship first call. then now i call today and i am quoted 497? then they tell me that the can try to get it from another vendor but it will be 650? wth? whats is going on here? i though they were a good vendor. but what all of a sudden price changes like crazy? what say you guys? they say it comes from the vendor this way beefed up internals and such. is it done like this only for Safari LTD as a Private label thing? or should i skip the shenanagans and just bite the bullet and order an AAE Rack from Rock auto? just really fed up with the runaround....

I also had this issue when calling them and ended up buying another unit from www.toyotasteering.com (out of business now) and was said to be a good rack. Both tie rod ends failed in a month and I have a slight leak on one side year or so down the road. They would not answer emails or phone calls and now they are gone.

If I did it again I would just go OEM and get it over with. The OEM tie rod ends are part of the cost ($120 each) when buying OEM. You can find the OEM rack from $500-$550 online. 44250-35042 | Toyota OEM Parts |*GEAR ASSY | Genuine Toyota

So minus the OEM tie rod end cost your really looking at around $260 for the rack. I have yet to find an aftermarket inner tie rod end that can handle offroading. I have tried www.toyotasteering.com inner's that came with my rack. Napa cheap and expensive. All have failed after some wheeling. My oems are holding up fine from my old rack that have over 250k miles on them.

On a final note, I dont believe Safari either when they said there racks where beefed up just for them.

 

[SIKHILUXSURF]

So I called AAE this morning to asked about the rack that safari ltd. sells and they confirm they are a vendor however they don't have a clue on the internals of the rack as it is brought in from china. They say that it is not modified for safari ltd. and would void warranty if they modified the rack after receiving from AAE. Sounds fishy to me.

 

[JayRolla]

So I called AAE this morning to asked about the rack that safari ltd. sells and they confirm they are a vendor however they don't have a clue on the internals of the rack as it is brought in from china. They say that it is not modified for safari ltd. and would void warranty if they modified the rack after receiving from AAE. Sounds fishy to me.

Sounds completely 100% true. Sounds fishy that Safari claims they are better or built specifically just for them.

 

[ajonesnv]

My plan was to always order a AAE. I went back and fourth with Safari and it was kind of a weird experience. I felt like I was getting cable or satellite from them the way their push sounded.

 

[habanero]

If I did it again I would just go OEM and get it over with. The OEM tie rod ends are part of the cost ($120 each) when buying OEM. You can find the OEM rack from $500-$550 online. 44250-35042 | Toyota OEM Parts |*GEAR ASSY | Genuine Toyota

I installed ^this on 8/2014. The box looked like UPS thought it was a football but the rack was fine. Only been a year and a bit so not enough time to say. Even the A1Cardone lasted 40,000 miles, this one is only up to 14,000ish miles.

What I can say is get a poly rack bushing kit like Wheeler's and install before you bother to put the rack on. It didn't take much time before it was necessary. While it's not real hard to do it would have been even easier before it was installed. The oe bushings were on about 5 months when I changed them out because they were allowing a significant amount of rack movement (as in hitting my skid plate). I do have LT285/75r16 BFG A/Ts on it. That may be a factor.

 

[SIKHILUXSURF]

I am leaning towards the rock auto AAE rack as the dealer one is almost double and the ones here that I read about have had good luck with them. My 4Runner now sees a lot of highway miles more than anything as I commute 40-60 miles a day to work and in between this last year I did 30k on my truck as the end of the year I did most driving and some off-road time but very little as my schedule is busy. I have new Oem otr's and whiteline rack bushings. Just need to make up my mind on the rack.

 

[AZBub]

I tried contacting Safari several times and never got anywhere with it and gave up. I went the NAPA rack. Funny thing was when I picked it up from Napa the box said AAE on the front by the label/part number.

I was in a pinch and Oreilleys and Autozone were double the price.

 

[T4R2014]

I figured Safari was full of it when I first heard of them. AAE it is then. I haven't heard any long term tests with the AAE, so who can really say it will last 150K like an OEM is capable of? Just something to think about when you look at the cost of an OEM.

 

[SIKHILUXSURF]

So I just said screw it and bit the bullet and bought the Oem rack. If it will last as long as the original or close I'll be content. I'm just not going to chance it with the AAE and considering the unit is backordered and safari can't give me a definite answer I rather just go Oem. $500 for Oem vs $495 for safari to be forever in wonder and disappointed is not my cup of tea.

 

[griffiine]

They say that it is not modified for safari ltd.

 

[4runinva5]

This is disappointing to hear, I bought a Safari rack back in late Sept. or early Oct. 2015 and they told me it was made with some sort of brass bushing instead of plastic/nylon. It took forever for them to finally get me one. The guy I spoke with at Safari Limited did the same thing to me and said it was on the way being slow boated over from somewhere. Finally after about 2 months of waiting I eventually got it. Good thing this rig isn't my DD. Overall it seems to be pretty beefy but no different then the OEM in look or feel when driving.