Torn Power Steering Rack Boots on 2000 Tundra – How Urgent is Replacement?

Hello everyone,

I recently noticed some tears on the power steering rack boots of my 2000 Tundra. The steering rack itself isn’t leaking, but I’m concerned about how bad this issue might be and how soon I should get it fixed.

I’ve been quoted $500 for replacing the boots, which seems a bit steep at the moment. Does anyone have experience with this? Are there any temporary solutions, like using a rubber patch, sealant, or anything similar, that could hold me over for a bit until I can afford the full replacement?

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

If there isn’t any leaking power steering fluid then you can probably get by for a little bit. I would pay attention to leaking fluid and if there’s any noticeable play or change in the steering.
I had a similar situation from a reman steering rack that had the same boot issue and made it a while before changing it out.
OEM racks are on nationwide back order as far as I know. I’ve had luck with a used rack off eBay so far for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

 

Detroit axle sells replacement boots

 

They’re easy to replace yourself if you want to save yourself some money. It does require removing the tie rod ends for which you’ll need a realignment if you can't get them back to their original position. The metal bands on the inside of the boot require a special crimper tool to get them secured to the rack. I’ve used zip ties myself of the same width to replace them.

 

Thank you, crazy cheap. But after replacing it you have to do a re-alignment (this is what mechanic told me)

 

Thanks, great advice. Yes, re-alignment after the job is done and a special tool is what scares me here.
But after I paid almost $4K price(parts and labor) for front shocks, struts, ball joints, breaks, axle shaft, and stabilizer bar control links I am ready to do everything myself LOL

 

The tool is only $25-$30 at Napa and you’ll probably have to practice your crimping skills on a spare metal band to get it right.

Edit: Looks like Amazon carries them:

$34 Lisle 30800 CV Boot Clamp Pliers

https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-30800-...&sprefix=lisle+boot+clamp+,aps,86&sr=8-1&th=1

 

It'll just be a toe set, which can be done with toe plates/boards and a tape measure.

If you mark the inner & outer tie rods AND measure them (thread length showing), you can get them exactly back where you started.

 

$500 crazy, I’ll do it for $495

New from Toyota the boots are like $33ea.

 

Like Assassin said

Use a paint marker to mark where the joint of inner and outer is. Count the number of exposed threads and/or measure the run of exposed threads. These are the tricks many of us use to phone things in and get back to where we were.

On the clamps technically only one per side is technically an Oetiker clamp requiring the tool. You can technically use a very stout zip tie or worm drive clamp temporarily if you’re not confident or need time to pull money together for the tool and replacement clamp. The clamp diameter is written on the oetiker clamp itself, the value is in millimeters.

Alignment, you can get a toe and go for a hundo$ at many places and should be getting aligned every other year anyway.

I would personally buy OEM boots (bellows). I dunno wtf Toyota puts in their rubber that makes it last an eternity without drying or ripping, but unless you’re an abusive asshole, a new pair of OEM bellows should last you 15-20 years. And there’s a 25% off sale going on right now if you order thru https://autoparts.toyota.com at many dealerships. But the full discount price doesn’t show ‘til you enter the checkout as a guest. You can often times pick up the parts at a local dealership after the order at that site, for much less than they charge at the parts counter.

 

Not to derail the thread, but did you have them install OEM lower ball joints?

 

Frequent alignment is old school philosophy. I have driven a couple Toyotas over 180K miles without ever getting them aligned and didn't have any unusual tire wear.
The 2 first gens I have now, I aligned after replacing lower control arms. In 470K miles of driving these trucks I have paid for 2 alignments. Still getting over 50K miles out of a set of tires.

 

I can tell you with great certainty, it depends. Living in ATL the last 20 years, with the shit roads we have in the city ... I am typically out of alignment within 2-3 years from repeatedly smacking into potholes and other bullshit, much of which you just can't avoid.

Mind you, I used to feel the same way as you. This is the first time in my long life I've not lived either in the sticks, in the burbs/exurbs, or in a small town. Until I'd been here for 10ish years and saw how much impact shitty roads have, I'd have never believed it.

I can't fault Atlanta. The density is massive, someone is always cutting up a road to get to utilities somewhere, water/drain pipes under the road are always leaking or collapsing, developers are always developing, the buses are always chugging, it's impossible to keep up with maintenance.

But yes, we align both cars typically every 2-4 years because we're showing uneven wear, and it's not anything we're doing wrong.

 

Thank you! Appreciate your advice. I see a few different boots on that site (like Steering Rack Boot #2, #1) which one do I get to buy

 

It was upper ball joints but yes they are OEM. The price for the part was 127 a pair but labor for only ball joints was $725. it was the most expensive job they did. Another expensive thing was the strut and coil spring assembly they bought a part for $284 each and installation was $300. I think I was too excited that I got a good deal on the truck and wanted to be done asap and got into this kinda "salesman trap".
I think I could've done better(moneywise) now if I had bought parts myself(would've been cheaper)

 

Was told the same about new racks, but just picked up a new rack for my 2001 Toyota Sequoia two days ago. I’m installing it this Saturday. Was north of $1100.00 bones though

 

For your 2000...

Passenger bellow is 45535-0C010
Passenger clamp (oetiker, you can reuse the smaller one you pictured) is 90080-46271
Driver bellow is 45536-0C010
Driver clamp (oetiker, you can reuse the smaller one you pictured) is 90080-46272

The bellows and clamps are different because the opening on one side is larger for one side than the other, requiring a different boot and clamp per side. This requires your careful attention during install to get the right boot on the correct side, so you're left with the left to install on the other side.

I'm looking at Serra of Birmingham right now, up until Labor day, these four parts will cost you $43.80 plus shipping, which I doubt will exceed $15, but you can check. They don't charge tax at this specific store unless you live in Alabama. People on other groups will probably tell you to go to a local auto parts store or order off RockAuto. Don't do it. Just go OEM. It's roughly the same price with the current sale, and it'll last you a long as your factory boots did.

​

 

Cool, Good Luck!

 

Awesome, thanks a ton!

 

The reason we need alignments is to compensate for
1) alignment lost due to replacement of component
2) bent frame
3) alignment lost due to loose cam bolts or other adjustable component

If I need an alignment it is for some particular reason and I will know that reason. I would not do an alignment to compensate for wear of front end components, rather I would replace the worn component and then re-align if needed. But routine alignments do not compute in my thick skull.
If my truck is out of alignment, something caused it and it must be definitively diagnosed.

 

Glad you found one. I think that one has the rear stabilizer or something and isn't compatible with my truck. I tried ordering maybe 8-10 racks from different dealers and none of them shipped. I'm content with my used rack for $200 and a 6 month warranty.

 

Well, I’d add ‘4. Excessive wear and tear’ to your list.

I’m older and grew up with little means. I’ve owned and built up a shitload of vehicles in my lifetime. I always realigned with every new set of tires, as cheap insurance, and would typically wear out a set of tires in 4-5 years with the miles I’d run. I never had to proactively realign out of that cycle until work forced me to move up here.

Now, without fail, it takes us 6-8 years to run thru a set of tires with the fewer miles we run thanks to living in the city, and I’m typically seeing abnormal tire wear within 3-4 years. Nothing major, just enough it shows up on my tread gauge at 1/32 or so. And I check often, typically at every oil change, probably way more anal retentively than others. Dunno what to tell you. Except, maybe, “don’t live inside the I-285 perimeter of Atlanta”. It’s the one thing that’s markedly different from anywhere else I lived. The roads are genuinely full of more surprises, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact nearly every utility known to man was built under the roads versus beside them like most other places I’ve lived.

 

Excessive wear where exactly? I can understand something like a kingpin being worn 40% and a toe in correction being made, but on a FGT if a front suspension or steering part has any slack at all you replace before aligning it. Only exception might be steering rack internal slack, but that doesn't change alignment anyway.
In 1977 I worked at a Montgomery Ward Auto Center and the Service Writer would try to sell an alignment with every tire sale. They charged a whopping $19.95 back then which was a lot of money.
The alignment guy would do about 5 of them an hour. He checked for worn components, loose bolts and missing control arm shims. If he found none he quick checked the toe in and backed it out. Easy money. He was on commission, I wasn't. I'm sure he made 4 times what I made.

 

I haven’t dealt with it in the truck. But I’ve also been all up in the suspension and only put 3k-4k miles a year on it since I bought it back in 2018-19ish.

In my 2013 Camry, and our 2012 Highlander, it was always the front wheels, majority of the time the driver side, and always edge wear, typically outer (toe). I only remember is being camber related once.

 

Great discussion, thank you, folks.
When the old boot is removed, should I put some grease inside of the rack?

 

You should download this, and save a copy to your computer, it may not last forever in that drive. It's your Tundra Bible from now on.

But beyond that, here. But I would mark the jam nut (see video for what that is, he didn't mark his, which I find stupid/shortsighted) position by painting over the bolt and the jam nut on the tie rod. That way, you can spin the jam nut right back into its original position, then put on the tie rod. You'll be damn near on the exact spot. I think the FSM linked above will show the same marking procedure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhZhISRoWD4​

 

Thank you, downloaded it. Yeah, I've seen this video, and seen a couple of others where they marked that. One of them was putting some grease, thus my question about it

 

Damn! I thought my truck was rusty!!

 

Am I gonna need a jack stands for this job? To make wheels hang and safely work under the truck? Or some special jack? I have a regular jack that you put on one side, should I need a more heavy-duty scissors jack that lifts both wheels?

 

The wheel has to removed to gain access to the tie rod end which needs to be removed. Never work under a car without proper support. HF has some inexpensive jacks and jack stands. You can do one side at a time. If you’re not replacing the TREs be sure to use special tool to avoid damaging the boots. Also be careful not to damage the castle nut or threads. As shifty said measure and count the threads when you twist off the TRE so you can get it close to original. With the TRE off you should be able to slip the new bellows and Oetiker clamps over the shaft onto the rack. You’ll need a crimper to tighten the Oetiker clamp. Those tools should be free to rent from a local parts store.