Steering Rack Rebuild Kit

E

eanema

New member
Hi Guys,
I know everyone seems to suggest not rebuilding their steering rack and to just replace it- OEM all the way now that the safari rack is no longer available.

BUT, does anyone have any experience rebuilding their steering rack?

I replaced the inner tie rods last fall with OEM Toyota parts and upgraded the rack bushings, so I'm not overly anxious to spend ~$800 CAD on a new OEM rack that comes with another set of ITRs. I do not have any steering issues, just a leak from the rag joint. Seems to be a common place to leak from.

I figured that I could spend $67 CAD for the rebuild kit from rock auto
More Information for GATES 348469

Replacing the seals will likely buy me lots more time with the current rack, and be only a minimal cost, and an investment of my time.

Thoughts? I would love to hear from anyone with some experience here.
 
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Well, I was hoping someone would say, "oh ya, I did that - it worked great! And was super easy to do" :-P But I guess most people just buy new racks. If I get brave enough to rip my steering rack out of my daily driver, rip it apart and put new seals in I'll try and photo-document how I do it. The service manual seems to have a decent write up for the steering rack tear down, so maybe I'll give it a shot.
 
I find myself in a similar situation. I replaced all the tie rods and just developed a leak in the rack. I would rather buy the rebuild kit from Toyota and try it myself then spend $550 for a new one. I'll probably be guinea pig for the forum although I thought I remember someone on this forum mentioning that they rebuilt theirs.
 
Ya that's exactly what I was thinking. Just rebuild for a few bucks, and it doesn't matter how long it lasts, and you don't spend big $$$ to get a new one. If you do rebuild it before I do, keep us posted! And taken lots of pics... I don't really want to be without my daily driver for too long, I work out of town.

Does Toyota sell a rebuild kit? Or do you mean just ordering all the parts that the FSM calls out? I suppose its probably worth buying Toyota parts instead of an aftermarket rebuild kit.

As far as cost, in Canada I would be paying $800 plus shipping and taxes, probably closer to $1000 by the time its all said and done. I just called the local dealership and they wanted $950 CAD for a rebuilt steering rack & $1500 CAD for a new one. Fack that's expensive! Now that I think about I don't even know if the $800 online part is new?!
 
I have no personal experience with this... but it is pretty easy to look up parts at toyodiy.com:

Looks like the re-seal / rebuilt kit PN is 04445-35160

A reverse look-up on that part show it is applicable to 1st gen Tacos and 3rd gen 4Runners. Camelback has it for $115.

While you are in there, you will want to do new inner and outer tie-rods and gear bellows (boots)...

Inners: 45503-39075 (x2 @ $148)
Boots: 45535-35030 (X2 @ $18.23)

= $447.46

Which is about $150 less than a complete rack, but that has known good interior parts (rack guides, non-worn rack/pinion, etc.) and comes with the inner tie rods.

You'll also want to do outers while you are at it:

Outers: 45046-39335 / 45047-39215 ($53.99 each)

So, save ~$150 and risk needing to buy extra parts and have more downtime and risk messing up something in the rack - or just buy a complete rack with inners. I think that's why most guys just get the rack. Having now done this research, I'll probably be doing the same with my slightly leaking ~275k mile old rack when I do my suspension.

-Charlie
 
$150 rebuilt

Hi;

I just have my rebuilt rack include new boots and inner rod for $150 plus $150 installation.

I live in Vegas


eanema said:
Hi Guys,
I know everyone seems to suggest not rebuilding their steering rack and to just replace it- OEM all the way now that the safari rack is no longer available.

BUT, does anyone have any experience rebuilding their steering rack?

I replaced the inner tie rods last fall with OEM Toyota parts and upgraded the rack bushings, so I'm not overly anxious to spend ~$800 CAD on a new OEM rack that comes with another set of ITRs. I do not have any steering issues, just a leak from the rag joint. Seems to be a common place to leak from.

I figured that I could spend $67 CAD for the rebuild kit from rock auto
More Information for GATES 348469

Replacing the seals will likely buy me lots more time with the current rack, and be only a minimal cost, and an investment of my time.

Thoughts? I would love to hear from anyone with some experience here.
Click to expand...
 
phattyduck said:
While you are in there, you will want to do new inner and outer tie-rods and gear bellows (boots)...

Inners: 45503-39075 (x2 @ $148)
Boots: 45535-35030 (X2 @ $18.23)

= $447.46

Which is about $150 less than a complete rack, but that has known good interior parts (rack guides, non-worn rack/pinion, etc.) and comes with the inner tie rods.

You'll also want to do outers while you are at it:

Outers: 45046-39335 / 45047-39215 ($53.99 each)
Click to expand...

See this is exactly why I want to rebuild my rack. I Replaced the inner and outer tie rods last fall with Toyota OEM parts, there is barely any miles on them. It was reasonably expensive too. New boots was not done last time though cause they are in pretty decent shape.

Thanks for the info on the parts though, I'll look into the Toyota rebuild kit, probably a better option even with the price difference. Although I am also toying with the idea of just rebuilding the seal on the top, under the rag joint, and so only needing to buy the specific parts for the top. I haven't looked at the FSM much yet though so I'm not sure how much of the kit is actually related to the top - been too busy with the rest of life
 
nobb said:
I thought special tools were needed to rebuild a rack?
Click to expand...

Hrm, this might be possible, I haven't looked too closely at the FSM. I hope we don't, or at least I hope it can be done without... This would be the experience I was hoping to find. Any one done this before?
 
nobb said:
I thought special tools were needed to rebuild a rack?
Click to expand...

I will be rebuilding mine when it starts to leak..Holding tight even at 302k miles!
I studied the manual and the only 'special' tool needed can be easily made. It would be a oil seal installer that fits the inside diameter and is about 2 feet long. You can rent a seal installer kit from any auto parts store and use a length of all-thread bolted to the seal installer instead of the kit's 6 inch bolt.
 
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