I need a steering Rack for 2001 Prius

Yeah there's a place here in North Carolina that's probably got two or three of them at one point they were trying to get them back on the road but I think they've given up as the screens and the plastics inside on the dash and whatnot are all failing like they do so you could probably get it It's a place called reliable towing in Fayetteville North Carolina and he would be agreeable to shipping The guy's name is King yeah no kidding but he's a good guy I know him pretty well he's very reasonable human being very nice fella I've done some work for him I should know his number by heart but I don't But you want to call reliable towing in Fayetteville North Carolina where fort Bragg is the army base and ask for King if his brother answers he's kind of goofy You want to speak to King leave your number he will call directly. I am sure he can help you out You are prohibitively far away but you got to do what you got to do I would be shocked that somewhere in California some breaker yard can't provide you with that piece but then again. I've never really looked at these I would think some other cars would be pretty much identical like an early Yaris I would think the rack would be almost identical The tie rod ends may be different measuring and seeing what that is just changing the outers usually but I'm not certain about that model the steering power and all that is above your knees and most of these so you're just connecting to a pretty basic manual type rack and then the part above your knees is taking over the feedback and the power steering portion of it and all of that. We've changed racks and other vehicles with racks from other vehicles with similar here before when we couldn't find we were looking but for a manual rack like this that's powered up stream without a power steering pump and all that I would think that should be reasonably not too hard to source You do know for a fact that A1 cardone does not or cannot do anything?

 

It does look like to me in the master catalog A1 cardone has you covered at about $136 should not be an issue I see them on eBay parts geek and a few other places so I don't think they're really that special to be honest with you everything that deals with the steering and power is above the flex joint on the rack inside the car so if the rack will bolt to the firewall and reach the steering knuckles in the straight ahead position and bolt up should be good to go I'm just being funny here but still looks like they're covered pretty well that rack there's not much to it it's not a very expensive rack You should be able to fix it pretty easily I would think in that year model much newer not so much doesn't yours have an adjustment ring around the big end down there where the flex joint slides on the spleen shaft that should be completely able to be broken down and dealt with which is what A1 cardone is doing for you so why bother

 

Yeah, the gen 1 rack was kind of not like other cars, because the power steering electric motor and torque sensor are built right into it. Later gens moved that stuff farther up the steering column so they could use a more standard manual rack instead.

I do remember seeing an A1 Cardone product listed, at least at one time.

 

I'd be interested to know how they diagnosed that. Not saying it's not accurate, did they tell you the codes? And the P/S symbol lit up?

I wonder whether simply unplugging it's harness connector at the ECM behind the glove box might allow her to drive it, even if it's hard to steer.

I do have a couple of cars with complete steering/suspensions - it's just a PITA to remove them. I see you're in San Jose - most of the first gen Prii left in America are in California. probably 70% of these at auction are in CA. And that's because most were sold there, and now, no one there wants them because they require CARB cats, and all the thieves are stealing the cats. The dismantlers should be overflowing with these parts in CA.

Be nice to know why yours keep going out, if they're really going out. The symptom you described - real hard to turn all the time - makes me suspect an electrical issue first, or at least, that'd be the first thing to check.

 

SYK, if you have this car covered by comp and collision insurance in CA, the slightest scratch will make your insurer total the car. You probably only have the coverage because you're a long-time customer. They look for reasons to cancel these policies because odds are it's a matter of time before the cats are stolen and they're paying out the nose for CARB replacements. And, as soon as they do repair the car, the cats just get stolen again. It's only in CARB states because they have to have high-dollar cats. Not that I'd suggest getting a scratch.

 

Would one be better than the one you've got?

What's wrong with the one you've got?

 

Hey, guys - I was talking to Ginny about disconnecting the power steering harness as a long-term temp fix to allow her to drive the car. I have no idea what's wrong with her steering, but this seems so easy that it's worth a try. Still, she's doesn't work on cars at all, so I'm thinking - couldn't she just pull a fuse or relay to accomplish the same thing? Or maybe just to test, and if it does allow the car to revert to manual, non-power steering, then go forward with disconnecting the harness.

 

I had hoped someone else could confirm that pulling a fuse would work for that test. I can't see how it could hurt anything, but just don't know that, if nothing changes, it means its a mechanical part broke. Of course, if you pull the fuse or relay and it does power off the electronic steering systems, and it does change the way it steers you know it did something. I was just trying to have a controlled experiment, lol, since I'm not there and you're a newbie.

The fuses are under the under the dash. They're part of the "EMPS" circuit. Here's pics of the fuse box location and the location of the EMPS fuse and relay. Pull both, I guess, and see what it does. Note: the fuse diagram is turned 90d from its orientation under the hood.

 

One thing that used to go wrong with those racks was the pinion nut coming loose (there was a recall). The symptom would be really hard turning the wheel in one direction especially (left, if I remember right).

 

She said that she'd taken it in for the recall. IDK the steering system, but just thought it was worth cutting the power to see what that changes. I've read of others pulling the harness under the glove box and keep driving the car. Would pulling those fuses do the same thing? Ginny is not confident of pulling the harness connector.

 

That recall was many years ago, IIRC within the first 2-3 years of the Classic's history. I wonder whether a dealer would, or could, perform the recall service at this late date!? I had it done to my '02 at the time, and have never had any steering problems, knock wood.