I've been experiencing some unpleasant noises anytime my TL is in gear and even more so as soon as I turn the steering wheel either direction. I've had my mechanic take a look and they said the steering rack is starting to go bad. I have no leaks so far but I'm preparing for the worst and would like some guidance on which steering rack to purchase.

The reman ones from RockAuto don't seem like a bad deal but I have no experience with any of these brands. RockAuto is out of stock on all new racks besides the new Cardone one.

There is also this one on Amazon too.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

Can you 100% confirm that it is indeed the rack? I know the PS pumps in these cars tend to go bad quicker than the racks themselves....especially if you say the rack isn't leaking.

There are various options to rebuild or replace the pump, which is much cheaper (and less time) than replacing a rack.

I'd get a second opinion before you just buy a new rack.

 

What noise are you getting ?

 

Your rack is either leaking or it's not, there really is no in between. The noises are caused by the power steering pump which is a fairly easy fix.

 

The power steering pump was replaced by the previous owner about a year ago. I've had no leaking from the pump or the rack though. I have a 2008 TL as well that I did the PS pump rebuild myself on due to it leaking so I'm familiar with the PS pump on these cars. The noise I'm hearing is kind of hard to explain... as soon as you put it in gear there is a metallic vibrating noise coming from what sounds like the steering rack. Furthermore, as soon as you start to turn the steering wheel either direction the noise gets a little louder. Once you let go of the steering wheel the noise gets quieter. I could try to record the noise for you guys... not sure how it would turn out though.

 

That will help with a video

 

Above is the link to the video I took earlier. The first half is the car in drive. It makes the same noise in reverse and low. The second half of the video is the car not in gear, neutral and park, the noise is no longer there. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! If someone can come up with an answer that isn't the steering rack I'll love you forever haha

 

Doesn't sound lke a rack issue to me. Assuming the pump is in good shape, it could be something simple like a tired belt tensioner. Regardless, I do not think it is the rack.

 

Hmm... not sure. I replaced the serpentine belt tensioner less than 5000 miles ago when I bought it. I've also had the timing belt and water pump service done too only a couple thousand miles ago and that included the pulleys and the belt tensioner. I'll look into the tensioners though. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Timing belt would be irrelevant. Do you know what brand of tensioner you used when you did the serpentine belt?

 

Sounds like the tensioner. A stethoscope/screwdriver easy check

 

Gates off of Amazon

 

Fair enough, a Gates tensioner is up there in the better brands category.

At this time I'm thinking I'd make a "RedNeck Stethoscope" (a short length of garden hose), put one end up to your ear and wave the other end around (carefully so it doesn't get snagged by the moving parts) while someone is turning the steering wheel back and forth, this will help you isolate where the noise is coming from.

 

Not sure if this will help but I noticed that the noise doesn't start happening until the vehicle is up to the operating temperature as well.

 

Sounds like a rattling heat shield.

 

I honestly had a problem with gates tensioner making my belt squeak and it wasn’t more than a year old. But I did get another one and so far so good

 

Me too, especially on cold rainy mornings. Went back to OEM and never looked back. Price difference is not that much. In fact, the Type S tensioner or the facelift seem to have a lower cost tensioner.