New 2006 DC Owner

I posted a little bit ago I was in the market for a 1st gen Tundra, and I found a 2006 DC 4WD with slightly less than 150k miles and a perfectly clean frame. Probably paid a bit of a premium in this market, but it was a Texas truck with zero rust anywhere which was a huge plus and it also had a detailed service history with many trips to the dealer. Just drove it over 1,000 miles home to Vermont (why I didn't buy a truck locally).

Unfortunately, the problems have already started. About 2 hours from home I noticed my power steering whining as I pulled off to fill up at a gas station. The reservoir was at or below the minimum line so I topped it off with some power steering fluid with leak stop from the gas station (didn't know I was supposed to use ATF at this point) and it made it the rest of the way home. After another ~60 minutes of driving since I got the truck home the whining came back and it was below the line again, so I'm in the market for a new rack and pinion. Oddly enough the guy I bought it from said he had just replaced the power steering pump because it blew a seal on him. Could the reason the pump blew also have caused this major leak? There are several holes in the boot cover on the passenger side where the leak is coming from, and clearly red tinged fluid on the inside.

After looking at lots of threads on here I am leaning towards the Detroit Axle reman rack. Only seen one negative review for them I think and lots of people saying they have no problem. I also saw someone say there is a guy I can send it to to rebuild the OEM rack for ~$300 (anyone have more info on this? I can't find the thread now). This sounds like an appealing solution but not sure I want to wait that long for a new rack, and I don't have a great place to store it while waiting. The $485 OEM rack isn't a bad option, but I put in my VIN on the one site and it said I need the $900 one. What is the difference between these two, why is one so much more expensive than the other, and is the cheaper one really not an option? I've seen it asked elsewhere but not answered. Seems odd I can get a generic $200 unit for a 2006 Tundra but need a specific OEM one.

In an unrelated issue I noticed some white smoke on cold start the last couple of times I went to start it. This didn't happen after I just got done driving it. Looked this up earlier and it seems my valve covers could be an issue at 150k? I haven't checked the bolts yet.

Looking forward to a lot of lurking on here and expanding my mechanical knowledge. Hoping to do a fair amount of work myself but most I have done on other vehicles to date is brakes/rotors and a lift kit on a KEI truck, and I'm still fairly ignorant about automobiles in general but getting better. Any other advice for what to do with the truck would be appreciated. I know fluid changes are a big one (last done around 100k), and the timing belt which has about half its life left currently. Front shocks were done at ~125k. Thinking I'm going to get a spray in bed liner and definitely going to look into options for protecting the truck during a Vermont winter. Looking forward to having this forum as a resource.

 

1) OEM Steering Rack Only. Its expensive but you’ll not regret it. Remans do not last long per our resident Toyota Mechanic. Others here have done Remans and seem ok, but spend the extra and do it for good.

 

Is the $485 version an option? I still don't understand the difference between the two. I can get behind that, but $863 seems excessive. If I learn to do the job myself I could probably pay for 2 way shipping 15 times with the lifetime warranty and $600+ difference from Detroit Axle. Has anyone had a definitively bad experience with them? I've only found one person saying to avoid them in all the steering rack threads I've looked at, and I believe that might have even been for a 2nd gen.

Would be awesome if anyone could chime in with the guy who rebuilds them. If my memory is correct he has an AOL email address and possibly lives in Indiana? I could deal without the truck for a week or so if this guy knows what he's doing and stands by his work.

 

Get your ready, they’ll help ya spend it !

 

What determines which one I need? I plugged my VIN in on that website (I believe that's the one) and it spit out that I need the $900 one, which just seems cost prohibitive considering I can get a remanufactured one for $200. I understand OEM is better, but 4.5x better when the other one comes with a lifetime warranty?

 

Welcome from So Cal

 

Whats important is that you have informed options and can make your own decision based on price. What would suck is doing the work and the Reman’d one craps out. Now you have to order a new Reman’d (another risk) and ship the old one back AND get another alignment ($150 for the super high dolla one near me).


Your call.

 

Definitely, and that's why I'm looking for the input here and appreciate all opinions. Extra cost of alignment is something I hadn't considered and certainly needs to be factored in.

 

You’ll need new steering rack bushings. Dorman has some for under $20 for set of three last I checked.

 

Good call - I think I also saw I might need a couple o-rings? Any place to look for those?

 

I was able to find the guy/company I was talking about that rebuilds the Tundra racks - makes sense I got crickets since it was from another site. I guess the main appeal here is that if your tube has rusted through they had a part made to replace that. His updated "website" is a 45 page PDF document, which replaced an HTML site straight out of the 90s. I don't know, kind of seems like the kind of guy/company I would trust for this stuff. Anyone have heard of them or have any experience here? Only issue is I would presumably have to have my truck in the way on jack stands for at least a week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCUdLeXuDtI&t=87s

http://www.kaufmanproducts.com/

 

I think what happened to the prior is the rack leaked and pump went dry. When he replaced the pump he should have done the rack as well, he fixed the symptom rather than the problem.

Summoning the mystical @empty_lord for advice on steering racks

 

Welcome and I hope the repairs go well and cost efficiently! Enjoy your truck

 

My experiance with remans has been.. iffy. I put a new OEM on my truck. But that’s not exactly cheap. If you get a reman just make sure it comes with a lifetime warranty

 

I went with a OEM rack, and if I remember right it’s made in America by an American company. I meant to check in see if it can be purchased not through the dealer but from a different supplier.

 

Any idea what the difference is between the two versions he mentioned? Is he stuck running the expensive one?

I get the same feeling from Amazon Prime Video. If something I don't need to watch is on its free, if its a movie I search for its gonna cost me money.

 

From what I could gather this morning the less expensive one fits the access cab models while the more expensive one is for the double cab models.

 

Just got off the phone with this guy for anyone interested. He referred me to his company in Maryland called Accu-Drive since it's on the east coast, but personally spent almost 15 minutes of his time to talk to me about my situation. He said he can't guarantee his products won't have defects, but his are better than 95% out there because they do it right. It seems most of his business is selling the equipment to rebuild these units to other people and training them. He shows them how to do it the right way but people start cutting corners to save a buck or two. Told me if I love the truck and want to get it right he would replace the new pump, lines, and rack and I should never have to worry about it again. Said that's ideally what he would want for a warranty and guaranteed one of 30-60 days regardless, but said if it fails in the next year or two they will likely stand behind their product. New rack is $280 + $200 core charge plus shipping. Core charge isn't refundable if that tube in the video is rusted through.

This is the (non-OEM) pump he recommended: https://www.buyautoparts.com/buynow/2006/Toyota/Tundra/Power_Steering_Pump/86-00880_AN?xref=1450177

Said he thinks it's from China, but they make a good quality pump.

Going to have some decisions to make now...

 

You may want to read the fine print on the "lifetime warranty" When I did this about 5 years ago, the component I installed (water pump I think) failed within the warranty period. I contacted the seller and did receive a replacement. Installed the replacement and when the replacement failed shortly after, I contacted the seller again to invoke my "lifetime warranty" and was told the warranty was expired.

I said "what?, it's a lifetime warranty" and the seller said "Yes, it is a lifetime warranty on the first water pump you purchased. That one failed, and under the warranty we replaced it for you. When the second water pump failed, there is no warranty on the replacement water pump" I said that sucks and they said "what did you expect? for us to keep sending you water pumps for the next 20 years?

 

Wow. That's some shady ass shit right there.

 

That is absolutely bastardly.

 

Yeah, another good point. I think I'm out on Detroit Axle after reading their recent reviews of basically taking money and not shipping products.

Either going to go with this guy's remanufactured which seems to be about as good as I'll get there or bite the bullet on OEM. Anyone have any opinions on needing a new power steering pump and hard lines too? If I go all OEM here this is going to be about $2,000 just in parts. It looks like if the pump caused this (his theory since I made it 1,000 miles before the major leak started) I could maybe get the replacement pump that was just installed warrantied by NAPA. Only question is if I want to put the same model pump back in with a new $900 rack...

 

Buy all new OEM and do it right the first time. You’ve some risk involved on not getting core back plus time down on the truck. I’ll be doing the entire deal if my shtuff blows anytime. All my hoses are near end of life expectancy, the Rack has had a slight leak for years, and the pump is the last thing yet to get me issues.

Hoping everything holds off until the next Front End Rebuild in another 2 years when she goes Mack Daddy.

 

$2,000 in steering parts! Ieek. I'd just go with the old school spinner knob.

 

Back when Men were Men.

 

The "tube" portion of my rack looks brand new as far as rust goes - I can't imagine why I wouldn't get the core charge back. And the hard lines looks pretty much new as well, I really don't see why they would need replaced.

One thing I did just notice when snapping these pictures though is that there appears to be a ding on the tube towards the left side. Is it possible the previous owner ran something over they shouldn't have that could be causing these issues?

 

I'm pretty sure mine has that same ding.

 

Good to know! I was just thinking perhaps there's one on each side for a wrench?