Assuming that you don't have an oil leak somewhere above it that is dripping down, it looks like you have a very small hole or crack in the rack boot. A little bit of oil/fluid can make a BIG mess! You will have to take the van to someone that knows what they are doing (and has the proper tools) to get this replaced. Since the rack will have to come out, while you are at it get the other side replaced as well. If the one boot has deteriorated to the point where it has a hole or crack in it you can bet that the other side has deteriorated to the point that it will soon fail and need to be replaced. After the repair is complete you will need an alignment.
All of the rubber boots are considered "normal wear" items (like tires) and will harden to the point that they will eventually fail and need replacement. That is why most extended warranties exclude them in their coverage.

 

Thanks for the response Wag. Only the bottom of the boot is wet. The very top and everything above it is dry. You seem to indicate that maybe just the boots themselves need replaced. From what I understand, there's only a small amount of grease present inside the boot. I personally think the rack itself is leaking P/S fluid...accounting for the drops found on the garage floor. If it is leaking, is the only option to replace the rack itself? I think a rack overhaul (if there is such a thing) is beyond my capability, but maybe a rack replacement would be manageable. I'm working on a tight budget so I will be very inclined to ignore any warnings and try to tackle this myself...except for the alignment. Please discourage me if you feel so inclined. By the way, I have read where it is a common problem for the rack to fail on 2005 Siennas...particularly on the passenger side. Thanks again.

 

Remember what I said, a VERY small amount of oil/fluid leakage will make a BIG mess under a vehicle. It can appear that a leak is much worse than it really is.
The only other places where the rack could be leaking are at the input shaft seal and from the hoses/hose connections. Just by looking at your picture, my guess is that it is the boot since it looks like grease on the boot (most steering racks contain about 8-12oz of gear lube held in by the boots), but to do a proper diagnosis someone will have to get under there and clean up the mess to find where it failed.
Boot failure is relatively a common occurrence as they get dry and brittle when they age in the hostile environment under a vehicle (boots on both the CV joints and on the steering rack). In your case it appears that you had a boot failure a bit sooner that one would expect, although something could have gotten kicked up from the road surface to damage it.
The stealership will try and sell you an entire rack but you don't have to replace the rack, the boots themselves can be replaced if you do it soon enough. This is not an overly difficult or complex job for an experienced technician. What you DON'T want to do is let the problem go or you WILL have to replace the rack. If fluid is leaking out of the rack then dirt and water are getting into it.

 

2005 Sienna XLE Ltd AWD 120K miles

I see SO many owners reporting problems with the Sienna Steering rack why doesn't Toyota have a recall ?

First I had the steering fluid return line crack- ok no big deal - I had it replaced a month back
This week I took my Sienna in to the dealership and I'm told the entire steering rack needs to be replaced- cracked boot and cracked return line Total $2000. This is ridiculous. I was considering buying another Toyota but it seems Hondas have better reliability

 

(most steering racks contain about 8-12oz of gear lube held in by the boots)

I don't know where you read that? They are just dust boots. That's all.

Seems the end seal on the rack has failed. I am not sure if they are rebuildable or not (I don't think so).

You may want to look into an aftermarket rack. I am sure the dealer is going to be $$$

 

I just want to reinforce what Robo5 said. The rack itself is leaking. Those are dust boots and should have NO oil in them. I hope I can be of help as I have been in the exact same situation with my '04. Mine looked just like that. What I did first was find the tear in the boot and sew it up. You can do that or just replace the boot. You likely have a hole in it somewhere that let dirt get in and mess up the end seal. which I assume is what happened to mine since there was a definite tear in it. Next I sucked out the fluid in the the Power Steering reservoir and replaced it with Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak. This has worked fine for months and I have had to add very little more to it over time. No leaking either. I don't know how long this will last but if I have to replace my entire rack it will be with a remanufactured one. And I will probably do it myself or have a trusted mechanic do it. This is not something that has to be taken to a Toyo dealership to deal with.

 

I stand corrected. Newer racks must be different than the older ones.
The last rack that I replaced the boots on was for my 1990 Corolla, it used 8oz (if I can recall the amount correctly) of 80w-90 gear lube. The rack had to come out because after the boot on one side was replaced, it had to be clamped vertically in a vise to dump the fluid in before installing the other boot. MANY years earlier I had an MG that I had to perform the exact same procedure on.

 

I stand corrected. Newer racks must be different than the older ones.

No worries. We are all here to help and learn.

 

Thanks for everyone's comments. I'm inclined to go the same route as Robster (sew boot and add stop leak). The timing is certainly right for that sort of fix. I'm always a little leary about using that kind of stuff though. I'm a little concerned what effect it might have on the pump itself. Plus, the manual calls for ATF instead of P/S fluid. I think I'm leaning towards just pulling the rack out and replacing with a remanufactured one now. Then I won't have to worry about it. I'll probably do it myself. I hate that about me. Anyone out there done that for a 2nd generation Sienna? I just don't want to find myself removing the dashboard to get to it. I'll post a "lessons learned" when I'm done...or after the tow truck picks it up.

 

Unfortunately I have exactly the same problem with my 06 Sienna. The dealer is quoting $1500 to fix this. I am not much of a DIY person so I am wondering how much it would cost if I get an independent shop to fix it with perhaps a reman'ed part.

The other thing I am wondering if it is actually a defect with the Sienna. I've owned quite a few cars, one racking up almost 200k miles in similar driving conditions, I've never had a problem with the steering rack.

Thanks!

 

Unfortunately I have exactly the same problem with my 06 Sienna. The dealer is quoting $1500 to fix this.

What? $1500 is R I D I C U L O U S!!! An independent shop should not even be half that much. A remanufactured rack is no more than $200 and labor is not that bad. I can easily see this costing no more than $500 total. You really need to ask around for a good independent mechanic in your area who is well trusted and just stick with him.

 

Unfortunately I have exactly the same problem with my 06 Sienna. The dealer is quoting $1500 to fix this.

What? $1500 is R I D I C U L O U S!!! An independent shop should not even be half that much. A remanufactured rack is no more than $200 and labor is not that bad. I can easily see this costing no more than $500 total. You really need to ask around for a good independent mechanic in your area who is well trusted and just stick with him.

$1500 is going to be a fairly typical charge for this kind of repair at a stealership.
One cannot get this kind of repair done for $500. $900-$1000 (with an alignment) would be a good price for this. Where did you come up with the $200 price for a remanufactured Gen2 Sienna rack? From what I have seen they are at least 2 times that much (after the core return).

 

I looked up for the entire steering rack price at 1sttoyotaparts.com. No such luck. The boots were under $10 a piece. I'm sure the labour is a b-itch even as a DIY it might take a day or two with the proper tools and patience.

Keep us posted. I would see about getting a boot repair kit covering up the boot as best you can and putting some lucus stop leak in it until it's fully fixed.

There is something called a Rakboot from Australia (not sure). Here is the video on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrtQwjjLQFA. Not sure if this would work on the Sienna.

Regards, JC.

 

Where did you come up with the $200 price for a remanufactured Gen2 Sienna rack?

One place is http://www.steeringrack.com. They are a bit more than I remember at about $237 after you have sent the core back. I had found another steering rack rebuilder online but cannot find it right now and I thought they were closer to $200. I definitely forgot about the alignment which is easily $60 by itself. As for labor, it just doesn't seem like such a difficult job to me. But I have not actually replaced a steering rack so my opinion doesn't mean much.

 

I've heard some bad things about steeringrack.com. I initially chose not to use them and just go with a reman from Autozone...absorbing the additional $$ for convenience. Then I came across www.rackdoctor.net. I've heard plenty of good things from them and the price was WAY cheap. I couldn't pass it up. I should receive it in the next couple days. I'll let you know how everything comes out.

 

Rackdoctor.net!!! That is the site I was trying to remember but could not. I am very glad you found that as that is what I would recommend most.

 

Ok...I just wrote a step by step howto, but somehow it got erased. I'll do it again but I'll keep it simple this time. You pretty much just follow the steps in the manual. Remove tires. Remove tie rods. Keep the nut at the inside of the outer tie rods in place so you can use that placement later to keep things aligned. Beat hard on the knuckle to jar the stud loose. I also tapped on the stud itself some (keep castle nut on the end to prevent thread damage). Completely loosen the stabilizer bar. This requires removing one of the two stud/ball joints on the stabilizer linkage on each side of the van. Use lots of WD-40 before breaking free the bolts holding the stabi links. I would use a wire brush and possibly even work another nut on and off before trying to remove the actual nut completely. These were serious trouble for me. Use WD on the stabi bracket bolts too. With the stabi bar completely loose, you can hold it up out of the way on the driver's side with a tie down strap. I used a 17mm flare nut crowsfoot socket instead of the SST (09023-12701) that the manual calls for to remove the return tube assy. To get the intermediate shaft disconnected, you remove the pinch bolt that holds it to the rack. I had to spray some WD on it to help loosen it up. I pulled on the shaft from inside the van underneath the dash while someone else hit it upwards from underneath the van. I used an appropriately sized crow bar and a hammer to drive the shaft upwards off of the rack. One person can do it. It just takes some force. The rack mounting bolts (two bolts with nuts) were difficult to break free. They had been coated with loctite or something. I couldn't quite get an impact wrench on there good enough. The rack should come out the driver's side. I ended up underneath the van like I was bench pressing the rack. I tilted the top of the rack towards the front of the van and just wriggled it out. Remember to get the return tube off the old rack and place on the new. Replace o-rings. Do whatever you need to to keep the left and right distances the same as with the old rack. I first lined up the racks on the ground and made sure the overall lengths were the same. Then I measured from the mounting holes to the nuts that I mentioned earler and made sure that distance was the same on the new rack. The alignment will be off no matter how much care you take. Just don't try to take the van to an alignment shop on icy roads. I did. Not fun. I did not flush the fluid. I blew through the hoses connecting to the reservoir after removing the rack though. I'd be happy to share any more details. Feel free to ask. Give yourself a good couple days. It took me longer because I'm just generally slow and I didn't have much time in the evenings. I'm far from a mechanic, but I'm glad I did this myself. It's not an easy job though. I spent about $179 for the reman rack from rackdoctor. That is after the core and includes shipping and return UPS label. I spent about $8 for the crowsfoot from RockAuto. I spent about $15 for ATF from Wal-Mart. Finally, I spent about $54 for an alignment. So far everything works great. I'll let you know if anything ever changes.

 

HunterTom, that is great and thanks for the write up! If I ever get to that point I will also do the work myself. How would you rate the quality of the new rack you received? Did it at least appear to be well put together? I am guessing that the intermediate shaft has plenty of room to move upward without disconnecting any other other part of it?

 

Any update on this project from the OP?
Were able to replace your steering rack on your own? I am curious to hear all the details and all the challenges. My 2007 Sienna may have a tiny little steering rack leak (boot is punctured and a bit wet), so i have been wondering what would it take to do it on my own.

 

Robster, I thought the reman rack looked fine. It was an obvious redo, but all the necssary things had been appropriately replaced. The intermediate shaft has plenty of room to move. I sure didn't think so when I was trying to get it loose though. It just took some pounding.

 

Just got done replacing the rack on my 2005 Sienna. It also had the torn boot/leak on the passenger side. It took about 5 hours all said and done, and probably could do it in 2 if I had to do it again. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be... there are only 10 bolts or so to undo, and I found enough room to use a breaker bar on the stuck bolts (the 2 main ones holding the rack in place required quite a bit of force) I also got the rack from rackdoctor.

 

update on the rack install. I was checking the brakes yesterday and noticed to my surprise that the new rack has a torn boot on the passenger side and is also leaking fluid...

I'm not sure when this happened other than sometime in the last 2 weeks...

I flushed the system last time so that was not the problem...not sure if it was just a bad rebuild or if it happened at the alignment place.

Ended up buying a rack from Oreilly's and installed it yesterday. The reason for not going back to rackdoctor.com is that we are leaving on a trip next weekend and would not have had enough time to have them ship another rack. (They don't stock racks, but rebuild them to order).

It took 3 hours to install this time around, and I'll keep an eye on it for a while to see if this is a recuring problem or just bad luck.

 

Had more time to look at the old rack and noticed the boot was wrapped around the shaft. Looks like the alignment place (Firestone) turned the tie rod without loosening the boot, causing it to fail.

So, if you decide to replace the rack yourself, be sure to check the boots right after getting it aligned and make sure the tech didn't get lazy.

 

Wow that stinks ,how long ago was the alignment,think they might man up to it ?

edit : I see 2 weeks , so now you need another alignment ? They should at least through that in for free .

 

I have used http://www.rackdoctor.net/ and found them to be geniune and good, basically owened by a single individual and and very good and professional one.

 

Some comments. Get a tie rod remover and avoid all the hammering. I have one of these and it has been very helpful on a number of cars. http://www.amazon.com/OTC-7315A-Universal-Tie-Remover/dp/B0002SRFOY

I suspect the boot failures are not a design flaw, rather they are vulnerable to damage from road debris and also as mentioned above, alignment shops not paying attention to what they are doing. If you see the boot damaged, but your PS reservoir is stable, then just replace the boot. If the rack end seal is bad, it will show up as continual fluid loss.

Finally, if you plan to keep the car for a long time, put a filter on the PS return hose. Hydraulic systems will last for along time if the fluid is kept clean. The single biggest killer of hydraulic systems is fluid contamination from oxidation and particulates. Here's the one I use. http://www.amazon.com/A1-Cardone-20FLT2-Remanufactured-Steering/dp/B000HS49IE