Hey Guys

I searched mud and clublexus and did not see much. Was at the dealer for an oil change (80k miles) and they said, torn rack boot and leak. Needs replacement of entire rack and a hose. $$$$$$
Anyone attempt this before?Boots leaking? Steering Rack(Rack and Pinion) Replacement DIY - Club Lexus Forums

I know that is for a different car, but would assume it is similar.
Also, any options for not going through dealer for parts?
AND
Does anyone have a link to the repair manuals or where to purchase PDFs of the sections?
Thanks in advance.

 

I do know there are instructions on doing that task, I will have to check. It's really nothe hard to replace, but wheel alignment will be necessary after completion.

 

Out of curiosity - how much did Lexus want? I'm sure an independent Lexus shop would be cheaper - but I had to have this done on my '13 Mustang GT a few months ago and it set me back $2000.35 (yeah, they needed that extra 35 cents...).

 

The job to remove the steering rack and intermediate shaft and the steering slide yoke would take at least 3 hours provided you have all the rite tools.

 

I did this a few years ago, I bought my Rack from TheRackDoctor, Quality rack with lifetime warrenty.

Use a bungee cord to hold the steering wheel in place before removing the steering shaft slide yoke from the rack.
Have patience and you will need an alignment after...

DIY write up in post 1 is very useful...
Good luck

 

Recently bought a 2006 RX 330 from of all things my wife's first cousin. Big mistake when they say nothing is wrong. Seems like kin people will burn you out of trust. He stated in from of a whole room of people the car was in excellent condition. Five days later the check engine and VCS light comes on and knowing VCS might mean control system I crawled under the car an found the rack and pinion boot on the passenger side, what appeared to be melted, but didn't see anything leaking. I checked the fluid and it was down about 1/4". Took it to a local garage and immediately they said the entire rack had to be replaced and quoted $900. Not at all happy I drained the reserve bowl and added Lucas power steering stop leak and ran the vehicle until the reservoir was warm and pulled enough fluid out to replace with more of the Lucas oil, I continued this until I had the whole bottle empty. As of today the fluid has not gone down and no sigh of leaking around the bad boot. Since then I had fixed the light problem by either replacing the gas cap or cleaning the battery cables, not sure which one fixed the light. Well anyway I visited the Lexus dealer in Winston Salem North Carolina and the service manager said the boot really need to be replaced ASAP and quoted $500 to put the boot on. He said it was very important to keep grease on the front joint under the boot. I guess I'd like recommendations on what to do.

 

The service guy isn't wrong. If the steering rack fails, it could pull you into a ditch or oncoming traffic as you drive. It's a pretty important piece of equipment. Not to mention that it could wear out your front tires, and there's $400 right there.

I would get some quotes from various Toyota specialist shops in your area.

Chip H.

 

On boot replacement or entire rack and pinion?

 

Why not both? But if you go for just a boot replacement, be prepared for the mechanic to say that the entire rack must be changed, based on the conditions he finds inside it.

Chip H.