Steering rack assembly replacement

[anthonyp0808 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close anthonyp0808]

I have a 2007 Prado Grande with 96,000 kms on it on standard OEM suspension - at the last service they said there was excessive play in the left steering rack so I took it to usual Toyota dealer who initially said it was probably just the rack end but when they came to do the job said it needed the whole rack assembly, which I thought best to do with a planned Cape York trip next year. At a discounted cost of $3000!

At most I have done 8,000km on dirt, only a couple of beach trips, and no off-road "tough stuff". The Prado was always been cleaned thoroughly after these trips, and has had all log-book services as required.

My most recent trip was through the Kimberley with about 2,500+ kms of dirt and some reasonable bad corrugations, with one particularly nasty pot hole - dented wheel arch in engine bay!

Notwithstanding, I would have not expected the steering rack to go at such low mileage - is there other similar experience out there?

Any techniques or mods to prevent this happening again?


Thanks and Regards
Anthony

[mackayvx Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close mackayvx]

Hey ####. I obviously cant say if your rack is naffed or not but i can pass on some info I have learnt. Before my cape trip in august i needed to get my lhs 'rack end' replaced by a local steering 'specialist' in mackay. After about 1000kms i noticed the wheel alignment was out... I met a mate in Cairns who has worked for Pedders for the last 10 years. 2 mins on the hoist and they told me my 'rack mounts' were flogged out... Which they were. Now these blokes knew what to look for and they identified my fault. My point is, toyota is in the game of replacing bolt on units. Hence the old 3k rack spill... Get your rack ends and rack mounts checked... If there is movement in your rack it will be in the ends and the mounts... It was for me anyways... Im sure someone will tell me if im wrong.

[Dueler120 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dueler120]

Whats the tale tell signs of this occuring? Is it felt through the steering or does your wheel alignment start to go out like makayvx explained?

Cheers

[Madkore Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Madkore]

Reconditioned racks are the go as well. Cheaper and better. Fulcrum or some company like that. If you do the rack bushes, Super Pro bushes are the go I reckon.
The Roo.

The Roo has spoken! I think this thread can be closed now.

[anthonyp0808 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close anthonyp0808]

Frankly I couldn't feel anything but when I had car serviced (minor service) by non-Toyota place they picked "excessive movement in left rack". Also the wheel alignment was out.

I took it to City Toyota (Perth), who I absolutely trust as I have had great service there and prices are reasonable. They had a technician check it - started engine and I moved steering left and right while he inspected underneath and he too picked that something was wrong but he thought initially it was just the left rod end. When they came to replace that, they the found the bigger problem - excessive up and down movement too.

On reconditioned parts - in WA, one would cost $1800 and then you may still need to buy the rod ends at $250 each. Yes, Toyota new ones are bit was a little more expensive (but included new rod ends) but thought I would take comfort in the 12 month warranty with some rough stuff planned, and as I said they did me a good prices.

Highly recommend City Toyota and I know of others who also had great service there too.

[mackayvx Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close mackayvx]

Man a new rack sounds like an expensive solution if your problem is in a rack end... I would have thought a full rack replacement would be required if it were leaking badly with buggered seals...

[kevdebbi Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kevdebbi]

TOYODA Steering Rack??

Has anyone heard of a TOYODA steering rack? I have learnt over the years that genuine is best so that is what I'm looking for. I have found a local seller who is offering a new genuine rack for around $1200. He said it was “originally purchased through the OE outlet in Japan”. The rack certainly looks like the genuine item, till I saw the “TOYODA” cast on it. This really rang alarm bells so I gave it a miss thinking it was a cheap knock off. BUT when I had a look at my current rack it was identical, surely Toyota know how to spell their own name???

I think my steering rack is on the way out and I am possibly up for a new one, both the steering arms have approximately 2mm movement, which is noticeable when the car is jacked up. I replaced these arm approximately 16 month ago (30,000km) with Repco items, which I thought would be good quality??? There is noticeable up down movement of the inner part of the rack when I push/ pull on the tire. The rack bushes are Spuerpro and in good condition. The car has done approx 230,000km so I figured the rack has had a fair life.


New Rack


My Rack

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

After reading your above post Kevdebbi, I did recall seeing that TOYODA word on the rack when I replaced the mounting bushes last year.
Funny Buggers just taking the p!ss I recon........
Cheers
Troy

[reddevil25 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close reddevil25]

Toyoda was the founder and ceo of toyota
Maybe the family still own supply component businesses

Cheers
Mike

[reddevil25 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close reddevil25]

[r4ndll Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close r4ndll]

Toyoda Machine Works, Ltd. was established as an independant subsidiary separated from the machine tool division of Toyota Motor Corporation in 1941. Since 1996 they've been making steering compnents in Thailand

Sakichi Toyoda founded Toyoda Automated Loom Works. His son Kiichiro Toyoda headed up the Toyota Motor Company. Toyota Motor company was founded as an independent & separate company in 1937. Although the founding family's name was written in the Kanji "豊田" (rendered as "Toyoda"), the company name was changed to a similar word in katakana - トヨタ (rendered as "Toyota") because the latter has 8 strokes which is regarded as a lucky number in East Asian culture


http://japantravelcafe.com/japanese-...-2-toyota-logo

[kevdebbi Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kevdebbi]

Thanks everyone new for the replies, looks like it might be the real deal. Who would have thought, I was sure it was a case of Chinglish from a cheap knockoff company.