Steering rack leak.. my turn..$2300 bill

[WeakSauz]

Just got mine from McGeorge. The cheapest one you'll find, btw.

I got outer tie rods as well, as you'd be crazy not to replace them at the same time.

Also, hate to say it, but you're almost in a position where you need to get the high pressure hose and return line as well. It's a 50/50 shot when you get in there that you'll need 'em.

The lines are not cheap from Toyota. ($375ish?)

All part of our trucks aging, my friend! Sorry to hear this is coming at a bad time

BTW, an independent shop should charge you about 4hrs labor on this job if you go that route. Or, you can use Timmy The Toolman's Youtube video to do it yourself

 

[Mudeprived]

Not sure about the four hours of labor. My shop did it in two and it was just about $160 and we reused the hoses. It is also a rust belt truck.

 

[T4topher]

camelback advertises free shipping....read the small print...the rack will not qualify due to size
I like camelback....use them a lot...but don't count on free shipping if heavy or long/big

I got free shipping on my radiator, it was light but was a pretty big box.

 

[kolelt]

Just got mine from McGeorge. The cheapest one you'll find, btw.

I got outer tie rods as well, as you'd be crazy not to replace them at the same time.

Also, hate to say it, but you're almost in a position where you need to get the high pressure hose and return line as well. It's a 50/50 shot when you get in there that you'll need 'em.

The lines are not cheap from Toyota. ($375ish?)

All part of our trucks aging, my friend! Sorry to hear this is coming at a bad time

BTW, an independent shop should charge you about 4hrs labor on this job if you go that route. Or, you can use Timmy The Toolman's Youtube video to do it yourself

That’s where I got mine and it was the cheapest. I also ended up needing a rag joint. Which was another $100. But as far as tools. They are basic tools. Only special tool I recommend is possibly flare wrench and a torch.

 

[silver4est]

I paid 630 shipped for rack and outer tie rods from Graham Toyota in Ohio

I didn’t have any rust issues underneath, took about 1.5 hours to change out and bleed/add fluid. A shop should be able to do it under 2 hours


Steering Gear & Linkage for 2001 Toyota 4Runner | Graham Toyota Parts

 

[WeakSauz]

Not sure about the four hours of labor. My shop did it in two and it was just about $160 and we reused the hoses. It is also a rust belt truck.

Ahh- I should have re-phrased "no more than 4hrs". Anything additional I think would be excessive, but it all depends on the condition of the truck.

Forgot to mention for OP- he'll also need an alignment

 

[gamefreakgc]

Following this discussion as my steering rack is showing a fluid leak also, and there are some good suggestions here to check other things leaking or being loose as well. Keep 'em coming!

Remove one of the boots and see if it's filled with fluid or just on the outside. A common leak point for racks in the inner seals.

 

[3bears]

I got free shipping on my radiator, it was light but was a pretty big box.

sometimes it is hit and miss, but I know when I ordered my springs, I had to pay shipping, yet on some packages over their limits I have not. I was just thrwoing it out as a warning.... people should confirm shipping charges when comparing if a good deal or not

this is their ( Camelback) website policy

Free Shipping: We will ship one 36" x 24" x 12" package or smaller for free (must meet the minimum purchase of $150.00). You will be responsible for additional,larger package fees or hazardous material fees. Offer is limited to the continental United States and does not include Alaska or Hawaii. Excludes oversized items. An example of oversized is but not limited to any body parts, bumpers, bumper cover, fender, hood, wheel liner, engines, wheels, transmissions, or any other oversized item larger than 36" x 24" x 12" or 25lbs and over. An example of hazardous materials would be an airbag or a seatbelt pre-tensioner. Free shipping is sent out as FedEx Ground shipping.

 

[giguchan]

I was also at inspection fail this month due to rack. Here's my invoice from curious Mcgeorge. Ordered oem rack which includes inner tie rod ends, I also ordered the outer tie rod ends, which you should obviously do at same time.
I ended up needing both hoses also, which you can get from them.
The rack bushings I ordered Energy Suspension, They were like around $30.
Steering is much better, nice and tight.

Hey there!
Thanks for all of the information.... I was going to replace all of that too.. incl the hoses. To tell you the truth I never noticed any steering degradation . just the loud Noise.. when the wheel turned to either side.. did u do do an alignment at the end?
Thanks again!

 

[giguchan]

Not sure about the four hours of labor. My shop did it in two and it was just about $160 and we reused the hoses. It is also a rust belt truck.[/QUOT
So... $80 hr labor.... add another $40 here in NY... last time i looked.

 

[giguchan]

Just got mine from McGeorge. The cheapest one you'll find, btw.

I got outer tie rods as well, as you'd be crazy not to replace them at the same time.

Also, hate to say it, but you're almost in a position where you need to get the high pressure hose and return line as well. It's a 50/50 shot when you get in there that you'll need 'em.

The lines are not cheap from Toyota. ($375ish?)

All part of our trucks aging, my friend! Sorry to hear this is coming at a bad time

BTW, an independent shop should charge you about 4hrs labor on this job if you go that route. Or, you can use Timmy The Toolman's Youtube video to do it yourself

Thanks Man.... Lines are $375? damn....

 

[dogtail]

Hey there!
Thanks for all of the information.... I was going to replace all of that too.. incl the hoses. To tell you the truth I never noticed any steering degradation . just the loud Noise.. when the wheel turned to either side.. did u do do an alignment at the end?
Thanks again!

Yes I did an alignment. If you count the threads on the outer tie rods before you take them off and match with the new ones you'll probably be pretty close to matching the prior alignment.
I didn't notice any steering slack before either, but once everything was replaced I did notice it felt much better. Also on hard braking it did pull to the right a tad even though it went down the road straight. My rig has well over 300K with a lot of original parts, so I'm not opposed to putting some fresh oem stuff in it for hitting the 600K mark.
On the loud noise on your current rack, make sure fluid is fresh. A couple months ago mine was making a really loud noise, I thought it was the pump. I changed the fluid, it went completely quiet after that.

 

[giguchan]

Wow!
Our trucks did pretty much the same thing... I was pretty embarrassed about the fluid level. I thought it was the Pump as well... then it was suggested on here that i check the fluid. I thought it weird because there wasn't and giant spots on the driveway.. I found the level was low...

I added(not changed at this time) fluid and thought this was it. Believe it or not when i applied Brake the wheel did jerk to the right. I didn't think anything of it... thought thought it was out of alignment.

It will be sorted out shortly..
Thanks for the useful information...

 

[giguchan]

Sorry i'm so late with an update..

All,
Thanks for all of the suggestions.... I had ALL the work done and this is the result.... No fluid in the driveway No strange noises and above all Peace of mind... which is worth it at ANY price. I'm good for the foreseeable future. There were some unexpected issues that added a lot on the bill.. some of the Lines need to be replaced(pressure/return) which were rusted beyond repair. Until the next crisis....
Again thanks for the help in this matter.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Something tells me you will be keeping this vehicle for a looong time! That's a chunk of change you laid down. Here's to another 177K!

 

[giguchan]

I really like the truck.... to be fair... i'm not in a position to buy anything else so it was either spend the money or not. I'm hoping to get another 2+ years out of it.. The truck does not owe me dime one.... it's never left me stranded and it's only embarrassed me once when the wiper motor died DURING A RAIN STORM while on a first date(luckily she had a sense of humor) All it asks of me is to take care of it. I think the next thing might be less aggressive rubber..

 

[mtbtim]

I really like the truck.... to be fair... i'm not in a position to buy anything else so it was either spend the money or not. I'm hoping to get another 2+ years out of it.. The truck does not owe me dime one.... it's never left me stranded and it's only embarrassed me once when the wiper motor died DURING A RAIN STORM while on a first date(luckily she had a sense of humor) All it asks of me is to take care of it. I think the next thing might be less aggressive rubber..

Well, if you're happy with paying that bill, that's good because most people on this forum would be shitting their pants seeing a bill like that. They charged you $900 to replace a freaking steering rack. That is highway robbery. And of course they incredibly overcharged you for all the parts. They overcharged at least $300 just for the steering rack. $250 labor to do front brakes? Unbelievable. $65 labor to flush the coolant - They opened the drain plug on the bottom of the radiator and refilled it. $135 labor to replace a thermostat - it takes maybe 15 minutes to remove the lower radiator hose and the (3) nuts that hold the water neck onto the water pump. I think the AC service was close to being fair because it does take special tools to do this right.

Wrenching isn't for everyone and I do realize there's the situation where people live in apartments or condos with no garage space to work in. But, when you have the space and time to do your own wrenching, you can save yourself an incredible amount of money. Wrenching isn't always easy and you're bound to run into snags and get frustrated but in the end it's worth it in my opinion. You literally could have saved yourself at least $2000 doing your own work.

 

[APhelps]

Well, if you're happy with paying that bill, that's good because most people on this forum would be shitting their pants seeing a bill like that. They charged you $900 to replace a freaking steering rack. That is highway robbery. And of course they incredibly overcharged you for all the parts. They overcharged at least $300 just for the steering rack. $250 labor to do front brakes? Unbelievable. $65 labor to flush the coolant - They opened the drain plug on the bottom of the radiator and refilled it. $135 labor to replace a thermostat - it takes maybe 15 minutes to remove the lower radiator hose and the (3) nuts that hold the water neck onto the water pump. I think the AC service was close to being fair because it does take special tools to do this right.

Wrenching isn't for everyone and I do realize there's the situation where people live in apartments or condos with no garage space to work in. But, when you have the space and time to do your own wrenching, you can save yourself an incredible amount of money. Wrenching isn't always easy and you're bound to run into snags and get frustrated but in the end it's worth it in my opinion. You literally could have saved yourself at least $2000 doing your own work.

No kidding Tim, I'd probably sell my 4R if the steering leak cost me 3k to fix. I'm a big fan of OEM toyota parts but I ended up buying some sonsong power steering lines when my started leaking, no way I was paying 600+ dollars on some lines.

I think something important to realize is that the return on value on these 4Rs are slightly better than average now but its highly unlikely it'll ever be a collectible anytime (maybe 100 years?) so I'd be careful to invest a lot of money into one.

 

[giguchan]

Guys...
I typed up almost a paragraph on why i went the route i did... but for some reason when i went to submit the reply i was signed out...

Basically, I always use OEM parts and the local places were not too much cheaper."I have to bring in my Toyota guy" " I go to the same school as the Toyota guys so why should i charge less?". That kinda thing.

I also dont have the space(being in a townhouse) or time to do repairs... Pop the hood and you'll be written up.. The guy next door was busted for having a flat tire being in the driveway for a week.

I think i made the right decision. This way i have Toyota to yell at if i have leak or Prob #1
I do thank everyone who replied to my OP.

 

[giguchan]

** In addition to the all fun.....
I get a call from the service advisor.... they forgot to add the towing fee onto the bill Since i had the Runner towed 3.5 miles...$110
I've had the truck towed there a few times since 97 NEVER had they ever forgotten before.. I just had to laugh...