Steering rack knock

[Satan]

I searched...

I have a knock in the rack, right at where the rubber boot is on the driver's side. It is present when I turn the wheel at slower speeds and is DEFINITELY not a grind.

Had it checked out a couple of weekends ago and the shop found that the lower ball joint nut was coming loose. They said they tightened it and put a new cotter pin on, but when I looked last week (knocking still there), I found they did not do anything and fixed myself.

They also said that I would need a new rack, but I don't trust them very much after the previous experience.

Anyone else have a similar knock and figured it out?

 

[GotBoost?]

Long time ago, I took my first Supra in for an alignment, and the shop showed me the same thing: lots of play in the front end, which would requiere a lot of new parts and labor, to the tune of $860. I drove home all bummed out about this, until I noticed the car had a strange new front end noise that wasnt there earlier. So i went in there for a closer look, and found the castle nut was lose. I tightened it and put in the cotter pin, and that was the end of that. I suspect the alignment tech wanted to get my money bad enough he losened it up. Good thing I didnt bite. I now take the car in to my buddy's alignment shop, so no more issues. So take your car to a shop you can trust.

 

[Satan]

Yeah, that's what they found wrong and I fixed... tightened castle nut and a nw cotter pin. Still knocking at the boot... had the wife move the steering wheel while I traced the sound/play.

Replace the rack?

 

[Frankenstien]

If it's right at/in the boot, chances are it's your inner tie rod end that's making the noise. If the actual rack were to knock, it would come from where the steering column enters the steering rack as the Supra has a rack and pinion design.

 

[Satan]

Thanks... I did not think of that. I don't have the TRSM here at work... How hard is it to change the inner tie rod?

Or, if the inner tie rod is knocking (has some play), then is it probable that there is another issue which caused that?

 

[Frankenstien]

Tie rods usually don't fail because of some other issue (except a crash or running over a large obstacle while turning). Generally they just wear out, just like ball joints and bushings. You have to remember that there's a fair bit of force put on tie rods due to the positive camber setup the Supras front end has.

This allows the car to be very stable at high speeds, but puts a fair bit or wear and tear on the tie rods as it takes a fair bit of pressure to move the wheels. Ever tried to drive a Supra without power steering? And that's geared down a lot by the steering rack itself so think of the pressure on the tie rod ends every time you move the steering wheel.

I have no idea how hard it is to change one out. I haven't done mine yet. I'd just find out (for sure) which tie rod is knocking and replace it. If your steering rack is broken, it will leak power steering fluid. I've looked at mine often enough and IMO it shouldn't take too long or be too difficult to replace one or both with the proper tools. If you do replace one or both, make damn sure the next time you drive the car its to an alignment shop or you'll probably be needing new front tires within a month.

 

[Satan]

Actually... there is some seepage/leaking at the rack that I can see. Found that inner tie rods are about $50-$75 each. Since it's one of the "only" non-new parts on the car, I think I'll just replace the rack all-together. Seems to be running $280-$442 for a reman unit, but I found this and have a 15% off coupon... Opinions?


Comes with inner tie rods, boots, etc... For about $160
App: 1989-1993 Toyota Supra
Brand: ARC Steering Rack
Part #: AST70-5122

Bottom of the page at this link...
http://www.usautoparts.net/catalog/?N=11790+4294965428+1725+11921+5882

 

[ZoomZoomZoom]

Actually... there is some seepage/leaking at the rack that I can see. Found that inner tie rods are about $50-$75 each. Since it's one of the "only" non-new parts on the car, I think I'll just replace the rack all-together. Seems to be running $280-$442 for a reman unit, but I found this and have a 15% off coupon... Opinions?


Comes with inner tie rods, boots, etc... For about $160
App: 1989-1993 Toyota Supra
Brand: ARC Steering Rack
Part #: AST70-5122

Bottom of the page at this link...
http://www.usautoparts.net/catalog/?N=11790+4294965428+1725+11921+5882

You might want to replace it with a unit that has progressive steering.

Check shipping. Those suckers are surprisingly heavy.

 

[Satan]

That's another good thing.. Shipping about $8.17 and handling about $2.50... Can't seem to go wrong with $170 steering rack, after shipping. Still have to return the core tho.

Too good to be true? Worth a chance/risk? I will likely place the order tomorrow. Just waiting to see if there's some compelling reason not to jump on this.

 

[grimreaper]

slight seepage is ok for the age. i wouldnt bother with the whole rack unless it was losing fluid at a measurable rate. tie rods are easy but do both inner/outer at the same time. that should set you back a few hundred and you'll need an alignment then!

 

[Satan]

I ordered the ~$183 unit which does say PPS application... It is about $24 for shipping and $64 core.

Although I did chat with them and they said that the other unit ($158) "It will also work for progressive power steering application."

I still wasn't 100% convinced so I ordered the other one which does have the PPS info in the description.

 

[frontierguy25]

Make sure that when you get that guy in there you take it and get the alignment done again. I replaced the inner and outer tie rod on my car with the wheel bearing at the same time and it was a pain in the ass to get off. Next time I'm going to just order a new rack that comes with the tire rods.

 

[3p141592654]

PPS requires the PPS ECU and wiring. Without it the actuator will be at minimum assist.

 

[Satan]

I've got one of those Lifetime-Alignment deals from a place that's only a couple of miles away. I go after almost any change that I make to suspension components. At the very least, they check it out and prrovide a read-out that shows everything within spec.

That's why I went with the whole rack... Kinda leaking, age/condition unknown, and just doing the inner tie rods looked like a PITA and would cost about half of what it cost to get the rack. So if I am going do the work, I might as well just do it all and know that I hopefully won't have to deal with the rack agaion for a loooong time.

My car does have everything for PPS and it all works well right now, except for that knock.

I also ordered the tie rod set which includes the 2 inner & 2 outer ones. I will end up with a couple of spare inner tie rods, that I will sell or keep for spares.

Another bonus was that there is a 15% discount, so I saved ~$27 off of what I would have paid.

 

[frontierguy25]

Can't wait to see your car it's been a while!

 

[Scot]

Check and make sure that the Cross member is not cracked where the rack bolts to it. That happened to my wife's. It was cracked for many years and always lived with the clunk until I found a whole replacement.... It's kinda hard to see if there is grease and muck around it... Obviously if you have access to a lift, all the better.

 

[Satan]

Can't wait to see your car it's been a while!

It's made it a long way... I am pretty tied up this weekend, otherwise I'd see ya'll at the track tomorrow (Ennis). I'll try to make it to some other local get togethers before TX2K9.


We're getting the wife's MKIV painted next week. We'll have to do her TT swap after we get back from Houston.

 

[Satan]

Got the PS rack bushings yesterday... Seems that the reman steering rack does not have the piece for the PPS on it (with the wire/connector).

For those who've changed these before w/reman units, am I supposed to move the PPS hydr. unit over to the new rack? OR, is it already supposed to have it on there and they just sent me the wrong one?

Since I did not get this locally, I did not "see it on the counter" so am not sure if they all come like this and it should be what I expected, so just want to doublecheck, before I get to tearing the other out and trying to unsuccessfully install this one.

THANKS!!

 

[adampecush]

I had to swap the units over when I got my re-manned rack.

Do you have both units side by side? If the racks look the same, there should be no problem.

 

[Satan]

Once I got 'em side by side, I found it easy enough to find and move that piece over (cleaned the screens and replaced he o-rings). THANKS!

Hindsight: The ~$153 unit comes with bushings, whch cost Me another $35 from Toyota (aren't even polyurethane). I thought that the $183 unit may have included them, but it did not (this is the one I bought). It's got a 7 year warranty, so if the other unit's ($153) warranty period is long, I'd go with that one since you have to move the PPS piece anyways. Cheaper and has the bushings, saving ya about $65.

I do have 2 extra inner tie rods left over (for 89+).

So... go here http://www.usautoparts.net

Get this one for about ~$153 and about $20 shipping (there is a core charge):
App: 1989-1993 Toyota Supra
Brand: ARC Steering Rack
Part #: AST70-5122