Steering Rack and Power Steering Pump Replacement

[thebrandon]

Tomorrow I am going to have the privilege of replacing the steering rack and power steering pump on my 2000 4x4 SR5. I have replaced PS pumps before, replacement rack boots, and tie rod ends, but never the whole steering rack. It seems to be pretty straight forward, and I have the replacement rack and PS pump. Are there any tricks I should be aware of, or any tips anyone can provide? Or is it pretty much, unbolt everything and slap it back together? I'll try to remember to take pictures along the way for you guys too.

Also for those wondering why I might be doing this. I just recently acquired a bad leak in the steering rack. The power steering failed. I wasn't driving when the failure happened, so I don't know how stressed the pump was when the failure happened, or if it made any noises it shouldn't have been making. There still seems to be fluid in the res, so that is somewhat of a good sign. Rather than taking the risk of leaving metal shavings in the system, I figured I would just swap both out at the advice of my friend who is a Toyota tech at the local dealership.

 

[nissanh]

Use a GOOD QUALITY TOOL (size: 17 mm?) to lose the high pressure line going to the steering rack. This is the toughest thing you will encounter.

It is hard to use force to turn the tool in that small area. I used a pry bar to give a push to the tool. If you have trouble, lower the steering rack with the high pressure hose (disconnect at the power steering pump)

 

[4Running Daily]

The pump replacement is actually very easy to do. I wouldn't worry about that too much. One large bolt, possibly 17mm like nissanh said, not too bad with a huge cheater bar.

 

[nobb]

The hardest part is probably the power steering rack. A HUGE PITA to get those high pressure lines off. There simply is no room, and sometimes it's seized on.

If you manage to get it off, please let us know how you did it!

 

[MountainMike11]

if you are going to take it all apart I would disconnect the high pressure lines from the pump down and pull them out a little bit before you disconnect them at the rack.

otherwise it's tight, real tight. soak them with blaster and hope you dont strip them in the tight area. if you can get a adjustable wrench in there to break the initial seal then an open ended wrench can work.

I had a hard time getting the flare wrench at the right angle to even make it useful to work. if you don't have one and plan on buying one, I recommend the ones with adjustable heads so you have more angles to work with. they are more expensive but would be worth it on this job.

the top middle bolt is also kind of difficult to get out and can't really use a socket on it very well. you can loosen it with one, but then it gets progressively tighter as you unbolt.

 

[nobb]

^Good suggestions.

One of the pressure lines (return) is just a simple hose that can be unclamped. With the feed line, I couldnt really see how you disconnect the end from the pump. There isnt exactly a fitting. It appears to just be a thicker grade hose permanently clamped onto the pump. Thoughts?