1st Gen Tundra Jtekt Steering Rack

Hello everyone,

Im on my 1st gen tundra restoration/modifying journey and I ordered a new steering rack from the Toyota dealer. I received a steering rack manufactured by a company named Jtekt out of Vonore TN. I did some digging around and found that Jtekt is a company resulting from the merger of Toyoda Machine Works and Koyo Seiko Co. I tried contacting Jtekt to get more information on how this rack was manufactured, ex. (is it assembled in TN from parts made somewhere else or is it all made in the USA) but they would not discuss anything with me because of their proprietary agreement with Toyota.

Anyone know anything about these racks, particularly anything about their durability compared to the original Tundra racks. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

The original were better quality,IMO. My replacement JTekt from Toyota started leaking after the first alignment and got worse over time.

 

What did you end up doing with it? Was it under warranty? Sucks that this happened to you.

 

I should have when I saw the first few drops in each boot, but I did not. Still driving it around today but occasionally I have to open it up and drain it out. Never got so bad it needed replacing but it’s still annoying.

 

As far as I can tell, the one on my the truck is not leaking. I’m hoping is the original, if so, I think I’ll get it serviced by the guys over at Solo Motor Sports. I was so disappointed to find out this rack didn’t come from Japan. I have bought many parts from the dealer, and today I find out, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are the original parts. Live and learn.

 

From what I remember, the original back in 00-02 was an all aluminum tube which wasn’t painted like the JTekt. Wish I knew who made it for Toyota.

 

if you're not leaking, why are you replacing? There are better areas to throw money at.

 

Im doing a complete restoration/modification of the truck. Parts are getting hard to find, so I’m sourcing them while I can. I got the rack with the plan of getting the original serviced, and keeping it as a spare. A vehicle restoration is a very personal thing, no two people do it the same. I have a very clear goal in mind, which may differ from others but that’s ok

 

Our trucks were made in Indiana not Japan……
I replaced my rack prematurely as well, and I think I got the same rack you did, and had no issues with it thus far

I’m more of a prestorer

 

When I go home next time, I’ll check to see if it has an aluminum body and/or any stampings on it. I’ll also verify if there are any leaks, I’ll do a thorough inspection of it.

 

Is my understanding that all Tundras were/are manufactured in the USA. @Jack McCarthy I was told the original steering racks on the gen1 were manufactured in Japan and are stamped Toyoda.

 

Pretty positive my rack was oem, and it says JT on it aswell

 

[JTEKT CorporationTYO: 6473.T is a Japanese corporation created in January 2006 upon the merger of two companies: Koyo Seiko Co. and Toyoda Machine Works.]

2006 might be the first year Jtekt made racks for the Tundra. That’s very interesting…

Now I’m really curious to see what stampings are on mines.

 

I still have it, I’ll look for anything peculiar stamped on it

 

Interesting, I replaced my rack a few months ago, purchased through toyota as well. i'll bet it's jtekt as well but i'll double check

 

If you still have the original, might be worth checking for any markings on it. I spoke to one of the guys at Solo Motor Sports today, he told me if I had an original and didn’t want to have it serviced, he would buy it from me. He spoke very highly of their quality.

 

I do actually! had it posted locally on Craigslist but no takers. I'll check that as well if i remember . Now you've got me thinking about having it rebuilt and keep it around as an extra

 

Yes, this is true, however...the 2UZ engine was built in Japan and shipped to Indiana until the Alabama plant came on line in 2003. I'm sure this applied to other parts as well. As noted above, Jtekt did not start making parts for our trucks until 2006, so in my mind there's still the mystery of who was the OEM supplier?

 

Just as I was told by the gentleman over at Solo Motor Sports, the originals are stamped Toyoda. I was able to dig these up online, interesting that Toyoda merged with Koyo to become Jtekt.

 

That’s interesting. Is it one solid piece of aluminum as I remember or is it painted on the right side?

 

@Jack McCarthy here is a picture from Solo Motor Sports from their Steering rack remanufactured page. They sure fit your description. I’m eager to inspect my rack, keeping in mind that my chassis was replaced, so there is a chance if the steering rack was in bad shape it was also replaced. Based on what I know now, my truck being a 2002, if the unit is a Jtekt then it would clearly not be the original. Fun times!!

 

It’s be nice if you could rebuild the original yourself, but unfortunately they only make seals for the passenger side and not the drivers side. Weird.

 

I have a couple pics of my oem rack, but it's so dirty I don't think it will help.

 

Recently some people on the Tundra Facebook page were complaining about the quality of the remanufactured steering racks they received. Hopefully a temporary issue...

 

sounds like the reman steering racks are taking a turn for the worse

 

Where did these remanufactured steering racks come from?

 

Staying hydrated is the key to any good project...

 

Jtekt I assume. Based on your post, they are the OEM supplier.

Personally, I wouldn't sweat it. I get wanting to restore your truck. Most of us have done something similar. I've replaced perfectly functional parts for preventative maintenance. But the steering rack is one that I'm not going to replace unless it starts leaking. I'm at 194k miles and I just replaced all the tie rods but left the OG rack in place. If yours isn't leaking you could leave it, and keep the reman rack as a spare for a later date. There are people on their original racks with 300k miles.

 

My rack was replaced because the tech who repaired my torn steering boot destroyed the rack in the process. It wasn’t until I brought it to another dealership that they told me it needed replacement. Thankfully I still had 2 miles left on the Toyota 100k extended warranty.