rack pinion gear replacement/removal 97 avalon

[maryland44]

I'm getting ready to remove and replace the rack and pinion gear in my wife's car.The Haynes manual and Toyota service manual differ on whether the steering column has to be removed to extract the gear.In Haynes,the removal of the bolt in the collar holding the gear shaft enabled the mechanic to slide the gear shaft from the collar.The two posts on this site leads me to believe its not that easy.Both threads were relatively old and neither author responded to my mails.In one case,the writer struggled and was only able to separate the two parts by turning the steering wheel and prying the gear shaft from the u joint that's attached to the end of the steering column.I was looking for some further enlightment on the removal from those who have done it.Obviously,technique is important. tx

[toyomoho]

Might check the posts at the end of this page, others have been there. Also suggest checking the Camry posts as the two cars are about the same. Would use the Toyota manual over the other for accuracy.

[zirconx]

Sorry, can't help but I just had to have mine replaced, too. 1 day after I bought the car I found a large puddle of power steering fluid under the car. The shop I bought it from agreed to put in a new rack for $380, which I think is less than half what it would have been at the dealer. He said it took him most of the day, don't know how hard he was working on it though.