Tie rods and rack bushings

[washington taco]

I was informed on Friday by the mechanic doing my front end alingement that I need new rack bushings and a left tie rod. The parts from them was about 120.00 and labor was 230.00:Wow1: So what has everyone been using for parts? I have no intention of having them install any thing. I am willing to spend a little more on parts and do the work my self. I know poly rack bushings are available just not sure of the brands or venders. Be sides how hard could this be to do I am a capable mechanic and at 230.00 for labor I can screw it up twice and still do it cheaper.

 

[seanz0rz]

im going to assume you mean a 95.5-04 taco.

poly rack bushings are available from many retailers, toytec lifts, wheelers offroad, etc. they are not available from toyota last i checked, you must buy an entire rack ($900+) they are a PITA to install. in addition to your normal socket set, you will need a 22mm deep socket. as usual, 6 point is preferred.

tie rod end is a piece of cake, i purchased mine from napa because it was an unexpected part to replace when i did my front end service. otherwise i would have ordered from toyota. cant beat those stock parts!

 

[washington taco]

Ya sorry its a 2000 Taco.

 

[slomatt]

I just put a set of poly steering rack bushings on my 2000 4runner last week using the parts from wheeler's offroad. Getting the rack out and removing the old bushings wasn't too difficult, for the bushings I used a combination of a big c-clamp and a mallet to work them out. The problem I ran into was re-installing the rack, it wound up being a major hassle. There are several "how to" articles on the internet that recommend re-installing the center bolt first. Based on my experience this is not a good process and only works if you leave out the washer on the driver's side, not a good idea.

I ended up slightly bending the central bracket to allow extra room for the new non-compressed bushing, and then installed the mounts on the drivers and passenger sides. By slowly tightening those sides to close to their final torque specs I was able to easily pull the center bolt into alignment, once I had that bolt in I did a final torque on all of the fasteners.

- Matt

 

[seanz0rz]

matts got it right! thats how i reinstalled mine. i did this in the midsts of doing all the front end bushings and balljoints, so the rack was actually the easy part of that job.

 

[washington taco]

Verified this morning what the mechanic told me last Friday. I will be ordering tierod ends from TRDPARTS4U and all ready ordered rack bushings from Wheelers. If any one else has any helpful hints I accept all info.:wings:

 

[JJackson]

Verified this morning what the mechanic told me last Friday. I will be ordering tierod ends from TRDPARTS4U and all ready ordered rack bushings from Wheelers. If any one else has any helpful hints I accept all info.:wings:

TRDParts have great prices, I would run factory or Moog.

 

[washington taco]

Just waiting on UPS/Fed Ex now.:coffeedrink:

 

[washington taco]

Recieved my sway bar and rack bushings last Friday from Wheelers and installed the sway bar bushing Saturday. Havent driven enough to notice a differance. Still waiting for Fed Ex on the tie rods.

 

[dustboy]

I did the rack bushings, took 3 hours, 3 beers, one big bar clamp, 6 f-words, one bloody knuckle, and two squirts of hand degreaser. And it was well worth it, the steering is almost like new.

The tie rod end, that would require an alignment now wouldn't it?

 

[shawkins]

I did the rack bushings, took 3 hours, 3 beers, one big bar clamp, 6 f-words, one bloody knuckle, and two squirts of hand degreaser. And it was well worth it, the steering is almost like new.

The tie rod end, that would require an alignment now wouldn't it?

Those rack bushings are definitely a PITA.

Tie rod does require an alignment.

 

[washington taco]

The attempt at a front end alignment was the cause of all of this. The weekend previously I installed OME struts and coils and went toLes Shwab for an alignment and here we are.

 

[dustboy]

Those rack bushings are definitely a PITA.

Tie rod does require an alignment.

Come to think of it, there's no reason the rack would end up in the exact same place after the bushing change, also requiring an alignment. Pretty sure mine did, seemed like the tires wore a lot worse after the new bushies.

 

[washington taco]

Well after a major delay (renter moved out of my rental house) I finaly completed my work! The new tie rods and rack bushings made a huge differance! At speed (above 50) I have no steering wheel shake:wings:. The only problem was removing the old bushings. I ended up cutting off the ends of the old bushings and digging them out with a cotter key extractor. One other tip is that I cut a small part of the flat (flange) off of the bolt on the drivers side so it would move forward more and clear the rack. Thanks for the tips! My parts came from Wheelers and TRDparts4U. Great service but slow shipping from TRDparts4U Texas to WA.

 

[washington taco]

Went back to Les Schwab today for the front end alignment, and low and behold the still cant perform the alignment they stated I have to much play in my rack on the left side. I cant say I disagree with they as I noticed a little slop in the rack when I replaced the left inner tie rod socket. Now the question has to be asked, do I wait until the rack starts to leak to replace it with new (708.00) from TRDparts4u or go with a reman from some one on the internet at about (450.00)? The truck steers and drives better than it has in years. Thing is I intend to replace the truck in two years or so and do average about 18,000-20,000 miles a year. Even with the bad news I am enjoying my last day of vacation and drinking a adult beverage.:coffeedrink: