Replace steering rack? or rack guide?

I have a question for those of you that are experienced with our 1st gen steering racks. Check out the attached video.

https://youtu.be/KYbDUfSO7SU

I just replaced my inner and outer tie-rods so I know those aren’t the problem. Rack bushings are also new.
Can this be fixed with a steering rack guide? I would think not, since it seems like the inside diameter of the housing is WAY larger than the diameter of the rack, and a new guide would only shove the rack forward and continue to wear out the housing. Any insight/experience/educated guesses would be very helpful!

 

As cheap as the rack guide is try it first. I have always preached that the new style guide should come with all suspension lift kits as they only exacerbate the poor design.

 

I'll chime in that the new style guide has worked well for me on three occasions and is a cheap(er) option than a new rack. It's been a bit since I did the last one, but properly seating the new guide is important too.

 

Thanks for the input

Do you recall the amount of play was similar?

 

Yours has a significant amount more play than I have experienced, but a good portion of that may be remedied by the new guide. The visible wear on your rack is slightly concerning to me.

 

Bump, looking for a few more opinions on this

 

which route you take depends on so many factors that are unknown. If you put the new style guide in and the inner seals are hard and it starts to leak fluid in 6 months you are going be mad at wasted money, if you get away with it, the rack is still 15 years old. At some point you are just going to have to decide. You are in Indiana and its gonna snow and get nasty. Is this going to be a heated garage job or a unheated driveway job?

 

Try replacing the guide first. It's worth a shot because it's way more affordable than a whole new rack.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/r4Hhl225E8A

 

I had significant (by my standards) play in a rack. It does not affect drive-ability and geometry but makes annoying sound when driving over bumps. I did replace the guide with the new style and all went away. No leaks, no noise no problems. And mine is 23 years old truck. This is what I found when I took out the old style roller:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XosdC0cujeE

 

Thank you all for the input.
What I’m wondering is, if it has had this amount of play for a while and the rack and pinion gears aren’t meshing correctly, would they get worn out to the point where they aren’t fully engaged even with a new guide?
~$80 for a new guide assembly or the $200 Detroit Axle steering rack assembly. Leaning towards a new rack, however my truck has spent most of its life in the rust belt so I’m afraid those lines are completely seized.

 

I hope this isnt your only transportation. If those fluid lines are siezed this could be a real issue. I have no other advice other than purchase the hydraulic lines at a local auto parts store explaining that you "might" need them with the understanding that you can return them if needed. If they have to special order them this might be a problem.

 

The gear is perpendicular to roller so up/down movement does not affect gear mesh. If your rack is not leaking it means by replacing the guide it will be only better. If you have original factory rack and if it does not have any hydraulic problem it will be probably better (with the new guide) than any "refurbished" or "Chinese" rack. Those hydraulic lines are not cheap by the way. If you don't need to touch it, don't.

 

There's a reason why that replacement rack is only $200 and a replacement OEM rack is over $500. The old adage, "You get what you pay for" holds true with these aftermarket racks. Some have had good luck with aftermarket racks while others have regretted it. I personally wouldn't install an aftermarket rack in one of my rigs.

 

I guess you have to figure out what your time is worth with these "Lifetime" warranties auto parts stores give you. If you don't mind repeating the same labor over and over again, I guess it's a good deal. If you want a one and done situation, OEM is the way to go. This is especially important for people who are paying a shop to do this for them. If they had to pay for the labor for each swap, who cares if they are getting another free rack every time the old one breaks. The labor rates are going to kill them and they would have been better off buying the OEM one in the first place.

 

Mine was doing exactly what your's is. I replaced the guide and it is significantly better. I got parts from Olathe Toyota online.

 

Thanks guys I appreciate it.
I'm going the rack guide route. It's way cheaper and I'm sure it'll greatly improve the situation, at least until I can afford an OEM rack. Definitely only want to do that job once.
I'll post the results once I get it installed

 

Interested in hearing how the new guide works out for you. Need to check mine myself, but Firestone claimed it has play.

 

Would anyone happen to know if the process is the same for the 5 lug trucks?

 

My input seal was leaking. I checked prices for the rack, and ended up ordering a seal kit online and overhauled the entire rack myself. Worked out fine for me, but I wouldn’t recommend overhauling to just anyone.
Anyway the rack bushing is spring loaded and adjustable. If it’s not worn out completely you could try to tighten it up. You’ll go through adjusting it when you replace it anyway, won’t cost a dime to try.

 

UPDATE! I finally got some free time over the long Thanksgiving weekend and I was able to install the new steering rack guide.

After watching @Timmah! videos once or twice (very helpful btw keep those up!), it took about 20 mins to remove the old roller style guide and install the new one.
I didn't take a video of the steering rack after the new guide was installed since there was literally nothing to show. There is no longer any sort of play or slop in the steering rack. This little piece worked wonders. After an alignment the truck is driving straight as an arrow and requires much less input to the steering wheel to keep it driving straight on the highway. Very glad I chose to replace the guide instead of the whole rack.
Thanks for the input everyone