1990 Es250-rack And Pinion Repair...what Else...

ArmyofOne · January 13, 2005

The Rack and Pinion on my 1990 ES250 is about to snap i fear :cries: , its gotten to the point where the car experiences wheel hop when braking fairly hard (pedal about halfway down) :unsure: . If you jack the car up, you can wiggle the front wheels laterally about 1/2 an inch :o :o . 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. :blink:

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. :blink: :blink:

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 :censored: , 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?

ArmyofOne · January 13, 2005

*bump* :whistles: :D

tckcumming · January 14, 2005

*bump*:whistles: :D

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Just a thought....

My '93 ES300 had similar symptoms a few years ago. Yours sounds like it's more severe than mine was, but very much the same - a real "loose" feeling on turns, steering wheel not returning to center, funny "slack" feeling on bumps, etc. I was sure my steering rack was shot. I took my car to a little local garage in a small town in PEI (I was on a road trip, didn't want to drive 100's of miles with "wonky" steering). The mechanic got a BFW (Big F---ing Wrench) and tightened the two bolts that hold the steering rack mounting brackets. It took him about ten minutes. Problem solved! I had the steering checked by a Lexus dealer when I got home, everything was perfect. No problems since.

Wouldn't it be great your problem is something simple like that? Don't know if you've already checked the steering rack mounting brackets, if not it's certainly worth a look.

TC...

blake918 · January 14, 2005

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?

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I agree with everything Josh said about JP Importz! I'm 150% satisfied with my repair experience. Overall, I got a great deal. Jason was extremely polite and respectful, the repairs were done very well, my car was washed and vacuumed when I came back for it, and I was given a late model GS300 loaner car! B) I drove a little distance to JPI(a little more than 550 miles round trip), but it was all worth it. He even called yesterday to follow-up that everything is holding up fine, and I was still satisfied. I'll certainly be back when it's time for more repairs.

$650 for the an installed rack isn't bad. If you have the means, definantly go for it! ;) $300 could buy a few parts; I don't know what they cost on the ES, but ball joints are about $100 a piece on the LS. After the rack, she'll drive like a dream!! B)

:cheers:

ArmyofOne · January 18, 2005

Just a thought....
My '93 ES300 had similar symptoms a few years ago. Yours sounds like it's more severe than mine was, but very much the same - a real "loose" feeling on turns, steering wheel not returning to center, funny "slack" feeling on bumps, etc. I was sure my steering rack was shot. I took my car to a little local garage in a small town in PEI (I was on a road trip, didn't want to drive 100's of miles with "wonky" steering). The mechanic got a BFW (Big F---ing Wrench) and tightened the two bolts that hold the steering rack mounting brackets. It took him about ten minutes. Problem solved! I had the steering checked by a Lexus dealer when I got home, everything was perfect. No problems since.

Wouldn't it be great your problem is something simple like that? Don't know if you've already checked the steering rack mounting brackets, if not it's certainly worth a look.

TC...

yeah, i already checked the rack itself, i tghtened everything i could, its too far gone. it seems like those bolts coming loose were the beginning of the issue, then the problem went unrepaired for a few years, and the bolts being loose resulted in the rack wearing prematurely. every mechanic i have talked to (including my own father) has said that part of 100K service on most cars includes the tightneing fo certian steering components and suspension components. apparently this wasnt done.

now, how much longer can i drive on this thing before it breaks?