Steering Racks? AGAIN!

shadow247

shadow247

New member
Currently obsessing over steering racks. I did all 4 tie rods 5 years and 40k miles ago, and it was all cheap ACDelco stuff. Now one of the inners is loose, so I'm thinking of just replacing the whole rack. I found one at www.carsteering.com for $300 with a lifetime warranty. I'm about to start using the 4runner as my tow rig for motocross bikes, so I need the steering to be in good shape.

Does anyone have experience with this site - www.carsteering.com - It looks legit, and they've got 10 racks in stock. It's the best warranty of any of the other aftermarket racks. I really plan to start using my 4runner as a light off road rig too, so I''m wondering if anyone has used one, and how is it holding up?
 
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shadow247 said:
Does anyone have experience with this site - www.carsteering.com - It looks legit, and they've got 10 racks in stock. It's the best warranty of any of the other aftermarket racks. I really plan to start using my 4runner as light off road rig too, so I''m wondering if anyone has used one, and how is it holding up?
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I have never heard of carsteering.com, so I can't say anything about that product. I just replaced my 22 year old steering rack with a new OEM. The best price I could find for an OEM rack was from a dealership in Ohio. Here is the link: Graham Toyota: 44250-35042

Based on all the reviews I read, most of the time it's not worth the hassle of using a non-OEM part for this particular application. For some parts it is silly to go to the dealership, but for steering racks it seems for the marginal difference in price you might be better off buying OEM and then not have to worry about it for another 20 years.
 
shadow247 said:
Currently obsessing over steering racks. I did all 4 tie rods 5 years and 40k miles ago, and it was all cheap ACDelco stuff. Now one of the inners is loose, so I'm thinking of just replacing the whole rack. I found one at www.carsteering.com for $300 with a lifetime warranty. I'm about to start using the 4runner as my tow rig for motocross bikes, so I need the steering to be in good shape.

Does anyone have experience with this site - www.carsteering.com - It looks legit, and they've got 10 racks in stock. It's the best warranty of any of the other aftermarket racks. I really plan to start using my 4runner as a light off road rig too, so I''m wondering if anyone has used one, and how is it holding up?
Click to expand...


I'm surprised your aftermarket tie rods lasted that long. Im guessing you didnt offroad much. Mine failed in 1 month. If your OEM rack is not leaking I would do all 4 tie rods with OEM parts. My outers lasted 200k before they loosened up. Inners where still good but one got damaged when my ball joint failed.
 
I heard bad things. Best bet is AAE. They are Chnese, but an actual new rack vs a rebuild. An OEM is worth the extra money compared to dealing with a warranty claim for a product from a small company. I'd estimate at least a week of having a 4Runner sitting on jackstands while those stand-up guys inspect your used steering rack and determine whether it was their fault, all with shipping on your dime.
 
T4R2014 said:
I heard bad things. Best bet is AAE. They are Chnese, but an actual new rack vs a rebuild. An OEM is worth the extra money compared to dealing with a warranty claim for a product from a small company. I'd estimate at least a week of having a 4Runner sitting on jackstands while those stand-up guys inspect your used steering rack and determine whether it was their fault, all with shipping on your dime.
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I'd have to agree, but the AAE rack warranty is not great, and neither is the Toyota warranty.


The 4runner is a toy for me at this point, so I'm not too worried about it sitting for a while, I haven't even driven it in 2 months.
 
shadow247 said:
Currently obsessing over steering racks. I did all 4 tie rods 5 years and 40k miles ago, and it was all cheap ACDelco stuff. Now one of the inners is loose, so I'm thinking of just replacing the whole rack. I found one at www.carsteering.com for $300 with a lifetime warranty. I'm about to start using the 4runner as my tow rig for motocross bikes, so I need the steering to be in good shape.

Does anyone have experience with this site - www.carsteering.com - It looks legit, and they've got 10 racks in stock. It's the best warranty of any of the other aftermarket racks. I really plan to start using my 4runner as a light off road rig too, so I''m wondering if anyone has used one, and how is it holding up?
Click to expand...

I purchased a brand new steering rack from Carsteering.com in 2013 and I have 90K+ miles on it with ZERO problems. The price was reasonable and I recall another guy on here contacting me about carsteering and bought the same rack.

Exact fit. Good quality. I can recommend them from personal experience. Only one caveat. I had a local shop (with a lift) put mine on and they had some issues getting the feed lines off. (My truck was one in Michigan and the fittings corroded). I ended up buying new lines from the dealer.
 
What’s wrong with a OEM steering rack. I paid $520-540 shipped. INCLUDES OEM INNER TIE RODS!!! subtract the price of oem inner tie rods and in reality the rack isn’t that expensive. With that said. Do you sir.
 
kolelt said:
What’s wrong with a OEM steering rack. I paid $520-540 shipped. INCLUDES OEM INNER TIE RODS!!! subtract the price of oem inner tie rods and in reality the rack isn’t that expensive. With that said. Do you sir.
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The carsteering.com rack came with the inner tie rods installed as well. For me (at the time) the dealer prices were sky high for OEM. With 5+ years and 90K+ miles on the aftermarket rack, I am more than pleased and it is still going strong.
 
kolelt said:
What’s wrong with a OEM steering rack. I paid $520-540 shipped. INCLUDES OEM INNER TIE RODS!!! subtract the price of oem inner tie rods and in reality the rack isn’t that expensive. With that said. Do you sir.
Click to expand...

This. Honestly the OEM rack is a steal. I'm not lifted so I already know I can get twenty years out of that $500. Hell, even longer if it isn't dailyed. In a lifted application I don't see a better option either. Though I suppose if you wheel often it may be more cost effective to go through cheap racks.
 
BamaDrewski said:
The carsteering.com rack came with the inner tie rods installed as well. For me (at the time) the dealer prices were sky high for OEM. With 5+ years and 90K+ miles on the aftermarket rack, I am more than pleased and it is still going strong.
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Right on. So why ask? Oem rack lasted 200k+ miles. And god knows how long it was lifted with big tires before I bought it. And in reality it wasn’t bad. I just changed it because I felt like it. OEM is OEM there is no other company that can match the quality. Again, your not only getting OEM rack. But it’s oem inner tie rods and along with Toyota quality.

I’m lifted, and I still replaced my rack with oem. But that’s just me. And my personal opinion.
 
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+1 on sticking with OEM rack.

I'm still on OEM after 300k. I did replace the inner tie rods, guide, boots and bushings in the last 100k miles though.

A lifetime warranty on a $300 rack sounds nice, but just think how long it takes to change and the cost of an alignment.
 
OEM is the way to go. I still got OEM factory rack untouched, and I am at 210K miles. Ready to buy an OEM anytime soon but the current steering rack continues to perform like brand new!
 
My wife put an A1-Car-done rebuilt rack on her '96, but it only went 40K miles before it acted as worn out as the one she'd replaced. Lifetime warranty is nice, but it doesn't (probably?) cover the MAJOR PITA that is a rack swap.

So the next time around she bucked up and got a new OEM rack. It costs a bit more, but should last 150 - 200K like the original one did.
 
BamaDrewski said:
I purchased a brand new steering rack from Carsteering.com in 2013 and I have 90K+ miles on it with ZERO problems. The price was reasonable and I recall another guy on here contacting me about carsteering and bought the same rack.

Exact fit. Good quality. I can recommend them from personal experience. Only one caveat. I had a local shop (with a lift) put mine on and they had some issues getting the feed lines off. (My truck was one in Michigan and the fittings corroded). I ended up buying new lines from the dealer.
Click to expand...

This is the long term info I'm looking for. I know OEM is "THE WAY TO GO" but I don't even plan to put 40k miles on this rig in the next 10 years!

Anyone else got long term experience with the www.carsteering.com rack? 5 years and 90k miles sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
 
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