In a previous post (Welcome to Tundra Solutions - new members), I wrote in about myself and a problem I encountered with my Sequoia. I had taken my Sequoia to Sears to do a an alignment because I had uneven wear on my front tires. The Sears technician said they couldn't do the alignment because there was too much movement of the steering rack because of bad bushings. He also told me this was a common problem with the Tundra and Sequoia and I should be able to get warranty work done since my Sequoia is less than three years old.
I took my Sequoia to a Toyota dealer service center and they replaced the whole rack under warranty because the bushings cannot be changed separately. No charge whatsoever - whew! On my receipt that outlines the work, it describes my initial problem and why they changed the rack and pinion - "The rack and pinion was replaced with a new unit because of excessive movement in the bushings which cannot be replaced seperately. The newly mounted rack installed still moves a little, but not as much, due to the way the bushings are mounted."
Is the small amount of movement in the bushings normal, or a design flaw. Will I need to be taking my truck back in later for more warranty work? The Sequoia drives fine with no pulling whatsoever and steering feels more precise than before. Should I be worried about anything? Anyone else had this problem with their Sequoia?
I had my steering rack bushings replaced on my 00 Tundra with Total Chaos bushings from Wheelers Off Road. My dealer said they didn't know a bushing kit was available and they also had been repacing the WHOLE rack for this problem. I think the kit was about $15 and an hour labour to install. Many here have done it themselves. My Sequoia steering has stayed tight so far...
PS hey Pat can you put an end to the "Pinapple Express" we here in southern British Columbia have had enough rain from down your way. (at least it's warm - for us - 50F)
Thanks for posting back. I don't think I can do anything about the rain, but will be glad to help in other ways if I can. I guess I'll look into those replacement bushings at a later date if I need to.
In a previous post (Welcome to Tundra Solutions - new members), I wrote in about myself and a problem I encountered with my Sequoia. I had taken my Sequoia to Sears to do a an alignment because I had uneven wear on my front tires. The Sears technician said they couldn't do the alignment because there was too much movement of the steering rack because of bad bushings. He also told me this was a common problem with the Tundra and Sequoia and I should be able to get warranty work done since my Sequoia is less than three years old.
I took my Sequoia to a Toyota dealer service center and they replaced the whole rack under warranty because the bushings cannot be changed separately. No charge whatsoever - whew! On my receipt that outlines the work, it describes my initial problem and why they changed the rack and pinion - "The rack and pinion was replaced with a new unit because of excessive movement in the bushings which cannot be replaced seperately. The newly mounted rack installed still moves a little, but not as much, due to the way the bushings are mounted."
Is the small amount of movement in the bushings normal, or a design flaw. Will I need to be taking my truck back in later for more warranty work? The Sequoia drives fine with no pulling whatsoever and steering feels more precise than before. Should I be worried about anything? Anyone else had this problem with their Sequoia?
I took it to the Ala Moana Sears. No particular reason why - just was planning to do some shopping there. They were friendly, but there was a two hour wait. I guess they were very busy at the time.
Do you mean the rubber bushings that mount the rack to the frame?
If so ,buy a set of stiffer urethane bushings from Energy Suspension or Wheeler-you will love the extra steering feel.
Do you mean the rubber bushings that mount the rack to the frame?
If so ,buy a set of stiffer urethane bushings from Energy Suspension or Wheeler-you will love the extra steering feel.
Energy Suspension does not make rack bushing for the Sequoia/tundras yet. Only for the 4wd tacomas/prerunners
I have An 04 Tundra, last feb I heard noise in my steering, like the fluid might be low, it didnt happen when they had it, Now I took it in yesterday for a trans leak at the rear seal, and they come back and say I need a whole new Rack n Pinion! the mechanic showd me the leak, minor I might add. and said personally he wouldnt replace if it was his, I think the cost is 1400.00 and they wont cover it at at Mahattan beach toyota in CA.truck has 26000 miles and I have had it just over 3 yrs, by days..!!! IM a lil irate to say the least, anyone else had this prblem?
Just replaced rack bushings with Total Chaos bushing kit from Wheelers. Man, what a difference. It is like new again. I was getting a little wandering and driving in wind was scary. Alignment didn't cure it. The bushings did. NOTE: in the directions it says TUNDRA ONLY put the washer between the rack and frame, but this applies to the Sequoia also since they have the same frame. Their idea of heating the inner sleeve to remove it made it so simple. the hard part was getting all the bolts loose. Impact wrench drivers side, regular socket on pass side. In the center I had to setup socket and breaker bar and then move back and kick the #$@! out of the handle. It worked. This is a highly recommended upgrade.
I'm considering doing the bushing change and have read the installation directions.
They mention that the rack is hanging by the "tie rods", so how is the "D" bushing installed without taking the tie rod off on that side??
That one is actually the easiest one. It has a slit in it so you can just wrap it around. You can get those bolts off with hand tools. You will need impact air or electric for the big bolt. The center vertical bolt has to be accessed from the top. I had to get a breaker bar and socket positioned just right and then kick the crap out of it to get it loose. There was a loud pop as the rust broke free. Also follow Wheeler's suggestion of heating the inner sleeve with a torch until you can put a screwdriver in there and wiggle the sleeve out. It makes removal a breeze. Have an extinguisher handy and maybe a big wet towel.
It is well worth it. My steering tightened up noticeably. Good Luck
Had the steering rack bushings ,sway bar "D" bushings and sway bar link bushings replaced with polyurethane type from Wheeler's off-road.Tightened up the front nicely. "Better half" also feels a difference riding shotgun and in the back seat.
My '04 sequoia had 60k miles on it and the orig bushings were showing wear, the steering was wandering and getting a "double" jolt in the steering wheel when going over pavement irregularities. The orig steering rack bushings are soft and can be compressed with just your fingers.
I expect that the play in the rack also wears the side tire tread that so many have complained about.
The orig sway bar bushings have the bar diameter marked on their side at the top of the arch, my front bar is 28mm, rear is 27mm.
The sway bar kit only replaces the front bar bushings. I'm working on locating replacements for the back bar.
Ive noticed my rack moving around when checking my ball joints and tie rods when jacked up. The whole passenger side rack was moving. Guess its time for me to change them out. Ill try to save my new michelin that just started to round out on the ends.
So I changed out my steering rack bushing this week (while still on vehicle) and thought Id post my experience. I won’t bother with the obvious (jack up the truck, use blocks) because that has already been covered in other post.
The first mistake I made was the middle bolt (vertical) is removed from the top of the rack and not the bottom. That bottom nut is welded to the frame. Sorta hard to see this with all the dirt. I stripped it trying to remove it. Opps! I think I moved the truck trying to turn it.
After loosening all the bolts I cut the old rubber bushing end off the drivers side bushing (horizontal) (bushing side facing the rear of truck) and stuck a small screw driver (small ice pick would work good too) between the bushing and housing and wd40 it up really good. I then grabbed the washer that is attached to this bushing metal insert with a pair of channel locks and wiggled it out inch by inch ( this washer is facing the front of the truck between the rack and the truck frame).
I then cut the top of the middle (vertical) bushing off at the top and ran a small screw driver between the housing and bushing and sprayed with wd40. I then put a vise grip on the metal insert and wiggled it out. Clean up was easy with brake cleaner. The passenger end bushing is a breeze to remove and reinstall just be sure to clean rack up before reinstalling.
After cleaning the rack up I installed (grease these new bushings up good so you don’t have any squeaks) the drivers side bushing first by hand then with a glue clamp. I then installed (pressed) the metal bushing into the poly with the glue clamp. I repeated this process for the middle one also. Everything went together pretty easy from here on out. I loosely bolted the drivers side first then the passenger side. I lined the middle up and tightened the drivers bolt which lined the middle bolt up perfect. Tightened everything down then tested it out.
The passenger rack still moves a little but nothing like before. The drivers side is rock solid. I had the truck aligned a week ago (before the install) and only had 1,000 miles on the alignment. I took it back to the shop after my install and was told the right front wheel was out 30 degrees and the left 10 degrees. I’m not sure why this was considering I didn’t break the tie rods up. Guess moving the rack around can mess the alignment up. While at the alignment shop there was a 02’ tdr ac with 170,000 miles on it and that trucks rack was rock solid. I talked to the owner and he states he has never had trouble with the rack. His truck clearly was used and abused more than mine so go figure.
The steering is tight now with no slop at all. However the drivers side D bushing does have some movement. This concerns me a bit and I will contact Energy Suspension and ask about this. They have a forum and product support here that seems to be manned.
Loose rack and pinion bushings.
Linear Mode
