Rack and Pinion-ES250

[ArmyofOne]

The Rack and Pinion on my 1990 ES250 is about to snap i fear , its gotten to the point where the car experiences wheel hop when braking fairly hard (pedal about halfway down) . If you jack the car up, you can wiggle the front wheels laterally about 1/2 an inch . This is whats causing the clunk. Also, the steering wheel doesnt return to center when completeing a turn, the steering wheel will sit at nearly a 45 degree angle when going straight unless at freeway speeds, then it is level. The direction of the angle depends on the last direction turned (if you turn left, the wheel will angle toward the drivers side, if you turn right the wheel will angle toward the pass. side) If you hit a bump with one wheel and not the other, with the car at speeds greater than 35 MPH, the steering wheel will slack for a split second, then return to its previous position.

This has gone on long enough, its beginning to get dangerous. The other day on the freeway, I went to take an interchange curve at about 50, I began turning the wheel to the left, but the car wasnt turning. The car didnt respond until the steering wheel was HALFWAY through a full rotation...that's rediculous.

The movement in the column is smooth, its the rack and pinion below it that appears to be the problem. If this sounds like something else, then please tell me what you think it might be.

Jason at JPImportz quoted me $297 to remove and install a new Rack and pinion in my 1990 ES250+$59 for an alignment, and $270 for the part. Comes all in all to $650 for R&R of Rack and Pinion. This is an incredible deal. A local shop around the corner had quoted me $1300 to do this a few months ago, a shop who i now know is notorious for ripping people off. Another (privately owned) shop quoted me $750 parts and labor. They had Jason beat on the labor by $50 or so, but not on the parts.

My point is this: While you may have to pay a little more, its worth it with JP Importz. You get excellent service, a loaner car, and repairs you can rely on. Snd when its all said and done, in the unlikely event something didnt go right with the repair, you know Jason will make it right. So dont hesitate to drive a few miles and pay a little more, you will be nothing but pleased with the service.

now to the real point of this thread:

What else goes along with this repair? The R&P has been pretty badly worn for about 10,000 miles. I have had the car for 4,000. The previous owner told me it only needed brakes , my lawyer threatended to sue for not disclosing this severe saftey issue (which it turned out he knew about). I recieved a refund of $1800 and some change (after having paid $2,000 for the car). But thats another story. Question is, how many other things have been affected by this? and how many things should i be replacing while he is in there? After P&L on the rack and pinion, i will have about $300 left to play with, is that enough to install new ball joints, wheel bearings and control arm bushings?

[500KCamry]

Originally Posted by ArmyofOne

Jason at JPImportz quoted me $297 to remove and install a new Rack and pinion in my 1990 ES250+$59 for an alignment, and $270 for the part. Comes all in all to $650 for R&R of Rack and Pinion. This is an incredible deal.

My point is this: While you may have to pay a little more, its worth it with JP Importz. You get excellent service, a loaner car, and repairs you can rely on. Snd when its all said and done, in the unlikely event something didnt go right with the repair, you know Jason will make it right. So dont hesitate to drive a few miles and pay a little more, you will be nothing but pleased with the service.

What else goes along with this repair?

That is a deal in my opinion, it is a difficult job to do using jackstands. Why not go with it if you get a loaner to drive?

If you're having that kind of turning problem, I'd save your bucks for tires, you've likely done some abnormal wear to the ones you have.

The shop won't do a wheel allignment if you have a bad ball joint or other issues. You should make them confirm the $59 allignment price after they put it on the hoist.

[ArmyofOne]

you misunderstood or i didnt type right. i am getting it done at JP Imports. Jason is Highly respected on Clublexus and Lexusownersclub.com. he also works on toyota too. his website is here:

www.jpimportz.org

thast where i am getting it done.

the tires are fine for now, they were replaced just before i purchased the car. that was one of my conditions of buying it.

he has worked on my car before, and while he charges a bit more in some cases, he is the only one i trust to service my lexus/toyota. many others int he area feel the same way...his shop is ALWAYS packed! he has a full lift and all the nessecary equipment.

[500KCamry]

Okay. I wasn't sure if you had made up your mind, his price seems good and reasonable.

Seeing as you trust his work, you should know he won't start a wheel alignment if you have a suspension problem (such as a ball joint) that need to be fixed first. So if you want the allignment done, he'll tell you if you have to spend unplanned additional $$$.

Toe-in the tires wear higher on the outside hald of the tread, toe-out the inside half of the tread wears quicker. I was assuming you had logged some mileage with the rack problem.

What mileage have you got on the car? The rack is usually good long term unless the car has travelled alot on rough roads (like gravel).

[ArmyofOne]

142,793 as of tonight.

ots 15 years old and done ALOT of sitting. the last 10 years, it has been driven only 2,000 miles a year.

it would be an inside wear problem. to be honest, im more worried about the rack breaking and me losing all steering than the tires. the tires are good.

i knwo jason wouldnt start that with the ball joints n disrepair, my question was, how much woudlthey cost? and will it damage the rack if i dont replace them right away?

[500KCamry]

Any loose component in the suspension (ball joint, control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, tie rod joints, etc.) will put increased strain on the rack, and is not good for it. Not sure what toyota charges for ball joints, but an after market one here is about $65 CDN.

[ArmyofOne]

so about $50 US max (thats off the conv in my head) thats not bad at all. i can do that. and if hes in there anyway, he shouldnt charge me any extra labor i wouldnt think. thats good.

looks liek i can have this done fairly cheaply.thast better than $1300.

[ArmyofOne]

looks like the following parts are:

Inner Tie Rod Ends: $26.99 X2
Outer Tie Rod Ends: $17.99 X2
Lower Ball Joint: $24.99 X2
Upper Ball Joint: $24.99 X2
Wheel Bearing: $27.99 x2


will that be all i would need?

my other question, jason is getting the rack and pinion for me. do replacements come with inner and outer tie rod ends?

[Toysrme]

And if Jason does F something up, they fix it without a hassel at their cost.


Glad you're stll on the road Army! Don't think badly of the Lexi you have! Just remember they'll all be hitting the big TWO O before you know it and previous owners more than likely drove them into the ground with no maintinance!


Remember, all this work you're having to do is just written off as common with domestics!

[ArmyofOne]

hey, watch it man...my contour went 385K without so much as a muffler needing replaced...


htis rack shoudl never have to be replaced. i m going to lousiana for the weekend (taking the concorde Limited to try out the mystery mod ) i will pick this up when i get back.

toys, PM me and ill tell you what the mystery mod is...

[ArmyofOne]

i think to wrap up the resoration for now, im going to do the following things:

get a carpet cover to cover the ungodly crack on my dash.
have the R&P/related parts replaced
Have the power steering pump and lines replaced
new shocks and struts (i will be doing these myself..Piece of cake and a weekend job).

then i will leave for ADR for 3 months (on the 31st of may).

when i get back, i will buy another car (probably an IS300) and keep the ES250. pull the motor and transaxle and rip both apart doing a FULL rebuild.

[ArmyofOne]

*BUMP*

so does anybody knwo the answer to my original question? what other parts will have worn enough to warrant replacement?