Steering rack and pinion or inner tie rod or any other ideas?

So after a few light wheeling trips and a few different suspension upgrades over the last 4.5 years of owning my truck I’ve developed a clicking noise that’s most noticeable at lower speeds on the driver side. I’ve noticed some grease building up ever so often when I wash the truck. It’s been driving me crazy the click sounds every 3 or 4 seconds it seems at slower speeds (under 30 mph) initially but I’ve noticed it at higher speeds (55mph plus) as well Just not as often when faster. I initially thought it had to be my rci transmission and cat skids so I looked and looked even replaced some spacers bc the exhaust was very close although not touching the cat guard but that didn’t fix it.
As a little history for diagnosing help-
I’ve installed 3 different suspension setups now originally started with 5100s up front with OME 888s for 2.6” of lift then moved to 6112s after 2 years of the 5100s. ran 6112s with 650lb coils on it for another year and a half with about 2.5” of lift. October I installed 8112s with 600 lb springs with 2.2” of lift up front.
What I’ve done so far is-
I’ve inspected my jba UCAs which I initially thought was the problem so I purchased new ball joint and installed them and that didn’t fix the problem..
I’ve inspected cv axles and bc the passenger side had a ripped boot about a month ago and I just replaced the boot but the clicking noise only started a couple weeks ago so I don’t think that is the culprit.
I feel strongly that it’s coming from driver side however with 150k miles now I went ahead and ordered a pair of oem cv axles from sparks parts. I’ll have them o install over the weekend if for nothing else peace of mind.
Just last week I inspected and found steering rack and pinion boot has fallen off where the inner tie rod meets it and it’s very low on grease on the drivers side.
Bc of this I’m worried it’s the rack but hopeful it’s the lessor expensive fix and it’s an innner tie rod bc last year I did replace the outer bc I’d bent it at some point.
Ive jacked the truck up and wiggled back and forth both wheels and the driver side does have some very minor play when wiggling it from 3-9 o clock positions.
Today I went ahead and got new outer and inner tie rods as well as lower ball joints for the original LCAs bc it’s showing signs of leaking.
Thinking out loud here but I’m thinking the alignment shop which I also purchase tires from that I had replace this outer tie rod a year or so ago bc it was bent did this and it’s been this way much longer and damaged the rack bc I am the only owner of the truck and the rubber sleeve was held on by a zip tie instead of the original metal hose clamp like the other side is and the zip tie slipped with the boot.

Any ideas tips on anything else to check?
Im pretty mechanically inclined but can’t find any 3rd gen videos on how to replace ball lca lbjs

 

If the boot came off the inner tie rod that's not good, dirt/debris will get into the seals and ruin the rack. Hopefully it's not been like that long, if it's not leaking ATF then the rack is probably OK but replacing that inner tie rod is likely a good place to start if there's play resulting from it

If the 3rd gen LBJs are anything like the 2nd gens, I know from reading on here that most people just replace the entire LCA rather than just doing the LBJ. The LBJs aren't as easily serviceable like they are on the 1st gen Tacos

 

Thanks for the response and Yes that is what has me very worried about the rack and pinion bc I’m just noticing the inner boot and the clicking has been happening for at least a couple weeks now and each day is gradually getting worse and worse. Some drives I won’t hear it but others I’ll hear it every 3 or 4 seconds at slower speeds
I thought about just doing LCAs but I’ve got all the tools needed to replace lbjs and inner tie rods so I figured that’s a safe place to start

 

Im having a hard time following your post but Ill throw in my thoughts

If you have a ripped CV boot you need to replace it. That will lead to clicking and other issues down the road (if it hasnt already). Noises can be real hard to track down. Just because it sounds like its coming from one side doesnt mean it is.

If you have torn steering rack boots you need to replace those asap. The seals will get ruined and start leaking PS fluid. At which point dirt gets in. Best case you need a new rack, worst case you also need a new pump. To the best of my knowledge there isnt much grease in there.

Is there any play in the inner TRE? If no I wouldnt bother changing it yet.

Im not sure what LCAs / LBJs have to do with steering rack but they are not technically serviceable. Im not sure if the Japan / UAE balljoint works on these the same way it does on the 2nd gens but honestly its usually just easier to get new OEM LCAs.

 

I have a similar clicking sound on the drivers side.177,000 miles. I’m replacing UCAs with bilstein and throwing in new OEM LCA’s. Need to replace inner outer tie rods as well. Might throw new sway bar links and bushings at it as well. Have you checked your driver side radiator support bushing? They are known to go bad with lots of off-roading.

 

There is slight play in the driver side tire when wiggling it from 3-9 o clock positions yes however I’m not positive if it’s inner or outer tie rod that is toast so I’m planning on changing both out.
LBJ is leaking grease and sitting a little differently than the passenger side is for some reason so mainly just process of elimination and peace of mind on that

 

Added hose clamp while wait for new boots to arrive
For now I’ve managed to get a hose clamp tightened on the rubber boot until the ordered parts show up. Also I’ve added a few more pics in case y’all spot anything else for me to check. Thanks for the help everybody

 

I have not checked the radiator support bushings no sir! Good call I’ll drop the skids tomorrow and check those out after i research exactly which ones they are.
I have replaced my sway bar bushings last year that’s a good idea.
Do you have any kind of lift?

 

Bilstein 6112’s set to 1 inch in the front.

 

Jesus Christ I’m attempting the lbjs right now and I’ve been trying to get this replacement in for literally 5 hours the press I rented is a pos from advanced auto! 23 piece press.. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. I’ve coated it with nearly a full can of PB Blaster as well

 

I did not notice this yet. Besides the obvious boot leaks, are there any sounds when you spin the tires by hand, so spinning in both directions.

wheel bearings can make that clicking, even in cases where there is no play or wiggle in the tires.

 

I couldn’t get it to make the noise by spinning the wheels while on jack stands. I haven’t ruled out the wheel bearings. Is there another way to check besides 12-6 wiggle and the rotating on jack stands?

 

Not that I know of, other than using a sonarscope or stethoscope that can pick up sounds your ears canmot hear unaided. I have used a set for decades and yes found bad wheel bearings using a scope when all else seemed ok.

plus u need someone else spiinimg those tires fast, while you have your ear near wheel bearings, inner bearing at cv axles, etc. just use caution.

usually it will ne a very fast tick-tick-tick sound and may not be very loud at all. I had one shop 20 years ago that could not hear it on an old B4000 I had, but with a scope I heard it and a replacement wheel hub assembly fixed the issue. Wheel hubwas cheap and so did not have to do a bearing alone.

raised on jacks there is no stress on the bearing, so it will be quieter spinning the tire than what you hear when driving it and it is under load.

 

Also, how many miles on your Taco?

ECGS bushing on driver side, or original inner needle bearing?

When you lift the cv axle by hand, how much can you lift it up and down where it joins the front diff?

In my experience, if it is 3/16 inch or more up, and 3/16 inch down, the inner bearing is likely shot, or getting there. On driver side should not be more than an 1/8 inch up or down. I have crawled recently under some brand new Tacos to check that out. Each one had zero play up or down at driver side when new. That surprised me, I expected some but they were basically at zero miles, but will gain some natural play in it with driving. About 1/8 inch up, and down, will be normal after some driving.

I will be getting my third inner bearing on driver side replaced as soon as the ECGS bushing arrives. First one was destroyed going too fast into a large washout. The replacement in there is OEM and maybe 15K miles on it but some hard offroad driving and loose again, so ECGS it is. This on a 2016 Taco with only 73K miles, and roughly 15-20K miles offroad.

Any click sounds at very slow speeds, like below 5mph or only at the 30mph and above? If at the lower speed, have someone else drive it and go forward, reverse, back and forth repeatedly while you walk beside to listen and try and pinpoint the general location.

Also, like many have done on this forum, attach a mobile phone below the truck and video it as you drive. Preferably not an expensive phone.

 

147k miles on it currently I installed taco tabs while had lca off the truck to press lbj and I ordered an ECGS needle hearing replacement kit since I’m replacing cv axles any way it only made sense. My cv axle definitely has more than an 1/8” movement up and down Here is a picture of my radiator support bushings I may go ahead and replace those while I’m at it as well

 

Today I decided to replace the driver side cv axle while I wait for my OEM to arrive from sparks I guess they must be backordered while I changed out the needle bearing for the ecgs bushing replacement and this is how everything looked..

 

Passenger side sway bar along front end

driver side away bar across front end

Pic from passenger side at angle that you can see where it looks as it’s touching or nearly touching…
After changing out tie rod cv axle sway bar end links and bushings. I think I’ve found my clicking or clanking noise! What would be causing this? I have bilstein 8112s set at 2.2” lift from bilstein in front with the sway bar relocation brackets installed.