Power Steering Fluid Leakage? Toyota / Lexus Passenger Sedan Rack and Pinion Replacement (With Video)

Around six months ago, my Toyota Avalon customer was complaining of power steering noise. I check the power steering fluid reservoir which was low on oil. With the wheels off, I traced fluid leakage emanating from the inner tie rod end boot. I removed the outer accordion boot clamp, squeezed the boot, and out spurted the power steering fluid.

I advised him that if he kept on adding new power steering fluid containing a stop-leak additive, that might swell the seals to stop the leakage. After months and months of doing this, he gave up after a friend of his complained of oil spills in his driveway.

This article, via video, will show you how I replaced the rack and pinion assembly with a re-manufactured unit. The replacement part cost approximately $300 and took around 4 hours of labor to replace. I have seen repair quotes between $1,200 to $1,400 to perform this replacement.

Toyota rack and pinion units are virtually identical in structure and design going back amount 30 years. The variations in design are minor.