[Startup123]

Recently I went for alignment and they told me I need first to replace the right tie rod and one of the front control arms. I went to do it at another shop who don't do alignment but gave me much better price including replacement also for the other control arm, the sway bar links, and the complete strut assemblies because my front suspension was in a very bad shape. I purchased and provided the parts myself. Anyway, when removing the old tie rod the mechanic didn't find anything wrong with it but there was power steering fluid not outside but inside the rubber boot of the rack which formed a small puddle on the floor I think about 1/3 cup. With the rubber boot removed I didn't see a strong continuous leaking from the rack and previously I haven't noticed any leaking under the car. After I found out the prices at Rockauto for rack/pinion assemblies and the labor cost, the mechanic saw that I'm not very pleased and said that I can continue to drive like that for a while until the leak gets much worse. After he finished and I left the shop, I felt the steering lighter than before and comparing to my other car which is a new RAV4 the steering wheel of the Avalon is a lot more lighter with very little resistance but easy to control. I have at home 2 bottles of AT-205 Re-seal and want to put in the power steering fluid reservoir but I need to know how many quarts of power steering fluid is in the car in order to know how much re-seal to put. In this YouTube video demonstrating the AT-205 Re-seal usage there is a chart for the needed amount.
I will greatly appreciate your help with this and any advice you have.

 

[93celicaconv]

I'm not going to tell you what to do. If you only plan to own your 95 Avalon for a year longer or less, that stop leak product may work for you in the short-term. But if you plan to own it longer, I would not use a stop-leak product at all. That valve that controls fluid pressure and direction will be compromised by your stop leak product. I would ask your mechanic if he has capability to regasket your existing rack rather than you looking to put that stop leak product in it (if you plan to keep it more than a year). There are gasket kits available to fix that leak properly. It's not a very difficult job to rebuild a rack - hardest part is getting the rack out (it is tight in there, and sometimes that universal joint gets rusty and very difficult to slide off the input shaft of the rack). Attached is a Toyota diagram of their gasket kit for your steering rack - but the same can be purchased elsewhere (auto parts stores, RockAuto, etc.).

 

[Startup123]

thank you 93celicaconv
I'll check if this or other mechanics can replace the gaskets. I wonder if there is some video or instructions for replacing them.

 

[ND Camry Owner]

+1 I would start with replacing the seals first if in fact it can be done without pulling the rack.
Just curious what price did you expect to pay for a rack and get it installed?
The prices I saw on RA were very low ($220) for such a part. Install should be around another $300 or so.

 

[JohnGD]

I don't know the exact PS capacity, but it's likely between 1-1.5L.

You should be able to source the correct seal kit from an online or local dealer. I see two different ones on rockauto. The rack with a lock wire looks like:

I doubt most shops are capable of rebuilding racks. Some have trouble installing racks to keep the steering wheel centered. And given a new aftermarket rack with 3-year warranty is about $200USD that's probably the better option.

More Information for BBB INDUSTRIES N3110164

One member rebuilt the rack. I see a rebuild video in the thread too.

Gen3 Restoration Thread

This is a great thread. Keep it up. Wish you had videos!

www.toyotanation.com