Nasty surprise on new (to me) 2006 Tundra. What work can I do myself?

I bought a 2006 2wd AC with ~165k miles on it a couple weeks ago. I'm very excited about the truck and I've already purchased new OEM LBJs + bolts and planned on replacing those soon. I also planned on replacing the radiator in the next month or so.

I brought the truck to my favorite shop for a fluid service and post-purchase inspection this morning and got a nasty surprise when they just called me. Apparently, this shop did a pre-purchase inspection on the truck in October and found some problems I wasn't aware of:

• Left front lower control arm bushing split - shop recommends replacing steering rack and pinion + alignment
• Leak on left side of steering rack at the boot
• Left bushing holding steering rack in place is worn and causing movement
• Left inner tie rod has excessive play and needs replacement
• Things I'm not concerned about and can fix myself like bulb replacement, brake replacement, etc.

I love the truck but I'm more than a little pissed that I wasn't aware of these issues before going through with the purchase. I guess that's on me, though I tried to buy the October inspection report from this shop before buying the truck and they wouldn't sell it to me (they're now saying that's their fault, the guy who answered the phone has since been let go and should have provided it to me).

I'd love to avoid spending $4k on the truck I just bought. Is any of this work I might be able to do myself? I'm somewhat handy with a wrench and usually do my own fluids and brakes, and feel confident in my ability to do the LBJ and radiator replacement.

I appreciate any thoughts or advice, this group has been an incredible resource so far.

 

If you're confident in changing the LBJ and Radiator, I'd argue you could tackle swapping out a steering rack.

You may have good luck finding one at a junk yard or on eBay. It'd take you a day to do it, but there are plenty of youtube videos out there explaining how to get it done.

 

If you read our Forum and watch a few YouTube vids and are reasonably handy you can do it all.

 

I bought a Detroit Axle steering rack and put it on my truck 2 years ago, cost me maybe $230 at the time, and included tie rods. It wasn't too bad to swap out, did it myself at the same time that I did my lower control arms and suspension. You can likely do it yourself.

I would suggest not shipping your OEM steering rack to Detroit Axle in order to get their lifetime warranty. I kept my OEM unit in case I decide to have it rebuilt in the future if my Detroit Axle unit craps out. That said, it's been 2 years and I've not had any problems with the Detroit Axle unit.

 

First off, if the frame is good, and you checked the timing belt condition and it looks good and/or you have concrete history it was changed (with water pump + pulleys + tensioner) in the last 100k miles or 10yrs, then stop kicking yourself. It could be much worse, you could be this guy who I believe actually read our everything you need to know before/after buying thread and felt confident the frame was OK (clearly, it was very much not OK).

Stop for a sec and think about this logically.

New R&P - you can manage this yourself, but walk in expecting a little tedium, in that some bolts are heard to deal with, and if you can find an extra pair of hands, it'll help. That solves: Steering rack leak, inner tie rod, rack bushing, which is 60% of your list of issues. (All racks should come with new inners). Now how to pre-center the rack, and make sure to count threads on your tie rods, they should be roughly the same count after, and similarly equal count on both sides. Paint markers can be your friend to mark positions sometimes, maybe not in this case.

Now all you need to do is the lower control arm, replace in a pair, and buy during one of the 25% off Toyota Parts Program sales events online, and you should be able to get them for under $250/ea.

Then get a shop to align you, which is $125-250.

And as far as brakes go ...

• Know whether or not you have VSC - if you have an "AutoLSD" button in the clock dash panel, or you have the little silver mini-keg next to the brake reservoir, you have VSC
  
• Be careful with aftermarket parts, especially spring kits, drums, and rotors - Buy it under the Advics brand name, or Toyota, and know PowerStop is a solid choice, all the others tend to be problematic for whatever reason
• Your rear shoes are almost guaranteed to be good, even if it had 300k miles on it, they last forever, so a rear rebuilt is almost certianly not needed
• Pressure bleed or vacuum bleed, but don't foot-pump bleed, to get best results -- and for the love of all that's good, know what an LSPV is (if you don't have VSC), and make sure you bleed that first, before you do the other corners

 

Thanks Shifty. I know the timing belt was done at 95k miles about 5 years ago, so I have about 20k before I'll get it replaced again. The shop also mentioned the frame is in good shape.

Between the LBJs, radiator, and all of this new work, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Is there an order of operations that makes sense? If I'm willing to pay the shop to do some work today, what would you recommend they do first or what is most pressing?

 

I'll link it again since you don't seem to have read it: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

 

Would need pics, really.

Start off with this to maybe help: What is the current problem? Like, actual problem? Can you not get into alignment? Are you getting clunks? Is the truck overheating? Like, I understand with OEM LBJs, that's just something you need to do proactively to save your own ass, and protect your investment. But identify the problem.

Like ... If the problem is "the radiator cap is brown as hell", then sure. Maybe do the radiator. If it has pink coolant as it should, and the coolant hasn't been flushed since the timing belt was done 5yrs ago, then it's time to do it anyway (50k/5yr), and it's an easy job, make sure you use pink Toyota or Aisin SLLC for your fluid, and if there's yellow or any other color in there, don't mix colors. The worst part is getting the fan off the fan clutch without rounding off the hardware, but there's a trick for that!

Or ... if the problem is, "I can't get it into proper alignment" and/or "the alignment isn't sticking", then maybe that's something to discuss further, to understand if the rack/ITR/OTR are your problem, or if it's the LCA. I wouldn't think a single LCA bushing (considering a pair per side) simply being split is going to cause you to get out of alignment.

Rack leaks ... you may want to put a couple ounces of this stuff in your reservoir, and drive it for a while. It will replenish the seals in your rack. It helped stop a slow leak in my driver's side rack bellows. And depending which bushing is toast, replacing it may not be too hard.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, stop for a sec. Take some deep breaths. This isn't rocket science, and there's no way you should be spending $4k on all that stuff unless you're letting the stealership do all the work, which isn't necessary. You should be able to find a Toyota-specific shop to handle it if you don't feel confident, but I'll tell you, there are plenty of young people on this forum who are fairly new to wrenching who've changed every part in your list (LBJ, LCA, rack, tie rods) without issues.

 

This is what I referenced as I was shopping. That's how I knew to check for the timing belt replacement, how I found the correct (OEM) LBJs, why I plan on doing the radiator soon, etc. Apologies if I missed something important, it's a lot of information.

Thanks for talking me off the ledge .

To my non-gearhead sensibilities, it drives fine. I'm definitely not used to driving a truck (this is my first truck and first vehicle with more than 4-cylinders) but I don't notice any concerning sounds or poor cornering. I have another vehicle and don't have to daily drive the truck, so I might try to fit it in my small garage, get it up on jack stands and take it one step at a time.

 

Sounds like I am in a similar league when it comes to skills working on the truck. If you are comfortable with fluids, brakes, and lower control arms, I would agree with others you can do these things. Old/rusty bolts could jump up and frustrate you.

The steering rack will be the biggest job. I have done all the suspension components including LCA with not great prior experience and skills, and did it on my own and learned a lot. If you have the time, it is manageable. If your skill and experience is similar to mine, it will take you some time. Ideally you would have another vehicle and aren’t under the gun. If it is your only vehicle, take on one item per weekend. You can do it!

You will find plenty of threads about replacing these bushings vs replacing the LCA. Replace the LCA and don’t fight the bushings independently. Probably not a critical immediate need.

You can replace the rack bushings without needing to replace the rack. What I don’t know and others better than me could speak to, does the rack need replaced? I do not know the rack well enough to recall if you can replace the boot. You will get better opinions here you can trust and not have to take the shops word for it that they want to replace the rack.

Tie rods should be one of the easier things you do.

Like shifty said, if the truck is otherwise to your liking, these are not big issues and not uncommon for this age. It may have thrown off the offering price, but these things can be fixed on your own for a reasonable price. I’d be curious to get a good answer if the rack needs replaced. Good luck, You will love the truck over the years!

 

Your timing belt needs changing, that's what I meant.

 

No brainer, DIY time!!! Mechanic costs are going up and up, plus if you do it yourself you can confirm it's done right and not totally messed up (personal expeirence)

 

You don't need to be a gearhead to work on your vehicle.
You don't need to be an appliance repair person to fix your washer, dryer, or refrigerator.
You don't need to be a professional painter to change the color in a room in your house.

These are all basic tasks any human can accomplish. You just need to know the basics, have the correct tools for the job, and probably watch and/or listen to instructions from others, or RTFM (read the fuckin' manual), since you can and should already have the factory service manual.

I'm a technologist / systems engineer by trade, dude! Not a mechanic! Granted, I grew up fairly poor, so working on cars and farm equipment was a necessity in my youth, but ... still. I've taught a lot of friends and neighbors how to do this stuff on their own vehicles, and I'm telling you, if I can teach my preschool teacher neighbor next door how to change her own oil and do her brakes, you can do everything you just listed.

The one big "gotcha" I'd warn you about on the lower control arms, or anything suspension-related: On anything with a bushing that "twists" when the truck goes from being in the air vs. being on the ground, NEVER tighten fully to spec until the truck is on the ground. This goes for things like:

• Upper control arms, the long bolt across the top passes thru a bushing on either side
• Lower control arms, the alignment cam bolts pass thru a bushing on either side
• Leaf spring bushings, the bolt at each end of the leaf pack passes thru a bushing

Think about this logically:

• You have truck jacked in the air
• You install the new part, tighten the bolt to spec, pinching that bushing into position
• You drop the truck, that part flexes and you have the entire weight of the truck trying to twist that bushing ... the bushing is going to crack/split/shred.

Truth be told, a lot of repair on anything is just that - avoid the mistakes. Usually that can be done by reading the entire process end-to-end a couple of times, and watching 3-4 videos from qualified mechanics, hopefully they'll warn you about any of these pitfalls/mistakes you can make.

But seriously, think about it. Even if you had to drop $4k into the truck tomorrow, it's still substantially cheaper and more reliable than damn near anything else you're going to get on the market right now. But it's also an unrealistic amount. What you just listed isn't more than $2k in parts, and you could buy a hell of a lot of tools to facilitate install with that other $2k, seriously.

 

Yes! I’ve spent plenty of time fixing things others were paid to do. You will learn a lot, know the work is correct, and hopefully a sense of accomplishment. It is very satisfying to take care of well built things and treat them right!

 

The timing belt has ~70k miles on it, so unless I missed something, shouldn't need to be replaced for another 20k miles...?

 

If they used OEM parts (Toyota/Aisin or Mistuboshi) then you can probably slide 'til 100k and/or 10yrs.

But again, you should really loosen a timing cover and inspect the belt. See if you can spot the writing, to find a brand name.

 

@mja87, On the steering rack, do you know it needs replaced? The bushings can be replaced. Pretty sure the boots can also. Perhaps the shop was over selling you? Maybe it does need replaced, but keeping the OEM rack is preferred.

Here is a video by A1A about replacing the boot. It synchs well with your tie rod end replacements.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HhZhISRoWD4&pp=ygUsMjAwNiB0b3lvdGEgdHVuZHJhIHN0ZXJyaW5nIHJhY2sgYm9vdCBsZWFrcyA=

 

To @DBombs' point, got some pics of the rack, and bushings?

(I guess I should look at your PPI report in the 1st reply, eh? EDIT: Nevermind, it's all text. That's f'ing lame. Give us some pics!)

 

Another tip is to watch a couple of videos, then go take a look at your truck and make sure you can visualize all the steps. Sometimes the video angle means you don't really get a good view of what they are doing and then when you've partially disassembled whatever you are working on, you get to a spot that they skipped over or you don't see what the video shows.

 

This was an amazing Toyota/Honda specific shop that I took our cars to for years, they were honestly great. They got bought out about 18 months ago and have had huge turnover under the new management, and the prices have definitely gone up. I wouldn't be surprised if they were overselling.

This is awesome man, exactly what I needed to hear. I already loved the truck and now I'm much less freaked out than I was a couple hours ago.

 

Ya if the worst things are what you reported, you will have a good truck. Many trucks need some catch up on the maintenance when you buy used 20 years old. My guess is you do not need a rack. You need some bushings, boot, and tie rod. All minor and manageable if that is the case.

Fingers crossed on the rack, post some info, pictures, and symptoms like shifty said. You will find no better resource to diagnose it than the guys on this forum that are much better than me. Worth way more than any mechanic I’ve ever dealt with. Congrats on the new truck, take some pictures of the mysterious beauty

 

Ufta, the PPI lists nearly $300 in just bulb replacement. Please don't do that, but rather use this forum to get all the correct bulbs and replace yourself.

 

This is a big thing going on now. May not be your case specifically, but private equity firms are buying up businesses people can’t live without: Eye shops, veterinarians, auto mechanic, HVAC shops, roofing companies, plumbing shops, and anything healthcare. When they buy, they’re jacking up the prices. It’s the new business model to make money off the common folks, knowing they don’t have other easy options. Happened to us with two vets now.

 

I misread that it was done AT 95k, not that it HAS 95k on it. My b

This is the wonderful part. Private equity rats nest buys X business, raise prices and cut costs (layoffs, cheapen product) but continue to use the same rate of revenue projected 10 years, use that to calculate NPV, increase that business' valuation, private equity company's AUM increases, US GDP increases. "Value creation" yay!

 

Everyone has given you good advice. One thing to understand. The leak at the steering gear boot is a symptom, not a cause. The steering racks internal seal is leaking causing it to leak into the outer boot and collect until it degrades the boot. A steering gears boot is to keep dirt and water out of the inner joint area and ultimately the gear's inner seals. Replacing the inner boot is not the fix. Rack replacement is. One other point I didn't see. Your steering column contains the airbag spiral cable (clock spring) and HAS to be in the center, neutral position so when you turn corners, etc you don't tear it apart from going too far past it's design limits. No biggie. It's centered now. Just when before you take the steering column lower coupling off of the rack's pinion splined connection make sure you've secured the steering wheel in the normal (as it's driven) center position. Use a bungee or something to hold it from turning. I like to go between the A-pillar grab handle and the steering wheel. Or even use the drivers seatbelt pulled out, ran through the steering wheel lower opening, and buckled. The steering key out lock sometimes works but usually it's not on center. A tad of off center is OK just it's easy to take the spline coupling down below and accidentally let the steering shaft rotate. No bueno. Take 10 seconds to bungee or seat belt it and rest easy. As Shifty say's above. Make sure the steering rack is internally centered. (out of the truck before installing it) Do it yourself to be sure. Don't trust it is already centered. Turn the splined pinion shaft with pliers (don't mar it) left to it's stop, mark pinion shaft and the housing close to it. Turn the shaft to the right to it's stop. Mark the housing where your previous marked pinion shaft's mark is. In other works, you've turned your steering pinion shaft approx 3-3 1/2 turns. Know where your left and right hand stop are. Divide your total turns by 2. That is how far (turns) to go from either stop to be at center. It's not gonna torpedo your job if it's off by a few splines. And as said count, or measure from the lock nut, how far your outer tie rod ends are on the inner tie rod's shaft. Make both sides equal. The alignment guy will thank you!

 

Good for me to learn. Thankfully I’ve not wrestled with a steering rack boot before. I was comparing to a CV boot where the boot itself failing can allow the grease to escape. I watched some videos of steering rack boot replacement and can see how it does act as a cover more so than a CV boot. So to be clear, a leaking steering rack boot will be manifesting a leak in the seals of the rack. Is there also grease at the joint connecting the tie rod to the steering rack, and that grease could also escape from a worn out boot without any failing seals?

 

Vehicles from this era are rolling restorations, but so worth the investment.

 

Yes. The boot leaking power steering fluid is merely leaking the collection of the fluid leaked in to it from the leaking internal steering rack inner seal. Yes the the "joint" you mentioned is the inner tie rod joint. And yes, it is factory greased. In theory yes, a deteriorated boot could leak the grease from it out, but not likely. It has just a small amount of grease in it and loss of grease won't be much. In contrast to a CV boot like you mentioned, those CV boots contain the extra grease CV joints have. So, when the axle rotates when driving, the centrifugal force slings the grease out any pin hole, crack or split and makes the mess you see on them. In that case, yes, a boot replacement, joint cleaning and re-greasing is in order there if the CV joint bearings/cage/race is not damaged from running dry or contaminants entering it. Once you see leakage from a power steering rack boot that is your signal to replace the gear.

 

Thank you. Helping me learn.

 

I wanted to provide a quick update since you all have been so helpful.

I brought the truck back to the dealership that sold it to me with the PPI in hand. I told them I'm not very happy that they sold me a truck that needed this much work without disclosing any of it. They're an independent dealership with their own 6 bay shop, and they just called to let me know they'll replace the steering rack, lower control arm, and power steering hose. They're doing most of it for free and offered to split the cost of the LCA with me, so my total cost to have all of this addressed is $300.

I'm positive they're not going to use the quality parts recommended on these forums, but it feels hard to turn down their offer at this point. If the steering rack stinks and needs to be replaced again sometime soon, I'm prepared to cross that bridge when I get to it.