Toyo Steering Billet Steering Rack: First Look

When it comes to larger tires on the 4Runner, Tacoma, and GX platforms, steering has always been a concern. Whether you’re running 40s, 37s, or even 35″ tires, and depending on how hard you wheel, you may want to consider upgrading your steering rack.

The Toyota off-road community is no stranger to upgraded and modified steering racks. From 200 series Land Cruiser rack swaps and modified Tundra racks to the JD Fabrication slide rack, we all understand how beneficial the mod can be; however, we’ve also seen the shortcomings. You can only take the OEM Tundra rack housing so far. It will never be a true Tacoma/4Runner/GX-spec rack. 

We don’t need to get into the philosophy of tire size, upgraded steering racks, inline intercoolers, upgraded steering pumps, bump steer, and tie-rod geometry today, but instead briefly look at the legacy options on the market and see what’s new in the Toyo Steering Billet Steering Rack.

What’s changed in this new rack vs. modified racks from companies like Solo Motorsports, BasikBiker, PRG, and even older Toyo Steering designs? While these “Legacy Racks” were effective, once swapped, they typically carry over the limitations of the original housing.

To put it simply, instead of modifying an OEM housing, the Toyo Steering billet rack was designed from the ground up to correctly integrate Tundra internals for the Tacoma, 4Runner, and GX chassis. Most existing rack conversions work, but they introduce compromises in pivot location, rack width, or housing alignment, which can cause issues with VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) and VSC (Vehicle Stability Control). This doesn’t happen in all scenarios; however, it continues to be a consistent challenge that off-road shops are running into. So much so that some off-road shops stopped offering Tundra/LC200 rack swaps altogether on some builds; most of them being factory length.

The Toyo Steering billet rack eliminates those variables and many other challenges by building the rack from the ground up, specifically for our chassis.

Find It Online: 

• Toyo Steering Billet Rack: Check Price

Overview

The ToyoSteering rack uses Tundra internals cut to spec, tie-rod threads machined to spec, finally proper alignment of the bore axis relative to the mounting points, tighter control over tolerances due to the 3 piece billet housing/bronze bushings, multiple bushing mount options for wider frames (GX470, Tacoma, 4th Gen 4Runner) + narrow frames ( GX460, 5th Gen 4Runner) and easy seal verification during assembly – all serviceable in the field via the billet threaded end-cap.

Everything from bore axis and pinion angle to rack width is engineered for each make/model once the order comes in. Everything is made to order. 

Instead of reusing the wider Tundra cast housing that reduces usable steering angle, the new Toyo Steering billet housing is built to the correct width for each chassis, resulting in full usable stroke.

Common problems with LC200 racks and modified Tundra racks have been addressed:

• Reduced bump steer, especially while turning
• Reduced stress on steering and suspension components
• Utilizes full stroke of up/down travel due to OEM-equivalent housing size

Each rack is built around the customer’s setup:

• Tundra tie rods
• LC200 tie rods
• OEM-spec Tacoma tie rods like Apex Tie Rods
• Clevis style kits w/ stainless/chromoly tie rods
• Shortened rack cannot be threaded to M24x1.5 (GX460, 2GFJ, 5G4R)

Each unit is built per order around your specific steering setup. Every setup is different, so it’s important to call Toyo Steering before ordering to confirm tie rod fitment. For our steering setup, we’re running 74Weld portals and require factory-length tie rods. Since the shortened billet rack cannot be threaded for M24x1.5, and we typically run Apex tie rods, we had our rack bored out for M14 Tacoma-spec Apex tie rods.

Two bushing configurations are available:

• J120 platforms, GX470, Tacoma, 4th Gen 4Runner
• J150 platforms, GX460, 5th Gen 4Runner

For Tacoma applications, a shortened lower intermediate shaft is included due to the non-telescoping upper shaft design. On SUV platforms, the factory telescoping shaft accommodates the pinion without modification.

Geometry and Pivot Location

Many conversions, especially longer LC200-based racks, do not maintain OEM inner pivot locations.

This alters toe curves through suspension travel and during steering input, which can lead to inconsistent steering feel and added stress on components.

By maintaining correct geometry, this rack avoids those issues while still benefiting from stronger Tundra-based internals.

This rack maintains OEM equivalent pivot locations, keeping steering predictable and consistent.

Width and Stroke Optimization

The wider LC200/Tundra rack housing reduces usable steering angle.

This new billet rack housing is machined to the correct width for the platform, with multiple bushing mount options for wider frames (GX470, 2nd Gen/3rd Gen Tacoma, 4th Gen 4Runner), and narrow frames (GX460, 5th Gen 4Runner), allowing full usable stroke without sacrificing geometry.

Housing Design

This rack uses a 3-piece billet housing and bronze bushings on the outside with tolerances within a thousandths of an inch, allowing proper alignment of the bore axis relative to mounting points, much tighter tolerances to prevent deflection, easier seal assembly verification, and it’s serviceable in the field via the billet threaded end-cap.

Bore Axis Location

The bore is positioned correctly relative to mounting points, eliminating the need for eccentric bushings or relocating mounting bungs. This also improves tie rod clearance at the coilover.

Pinion Location and Angle

The pinion is moved closer to the center and angled upward slightly. This improves u-joint alignment and eliminates frame interference, removing the need for frame notching.

Rack Support and Strength

Bronze bushings are used at both ends of the rack to prevent deflection under load. This is critical during off-road stress, where traditional setups can deflect and damage seals.

After talking with Toyo Steering in depth on this, we now have a better understanding of how heat affects this rack and what would potentially fail first, given enough stress.

For this rack to see its full potential, it should be paired with an upgraded steering pump and an inline intercooler, depending on tire size.

There is some confusion out there around Tundra racks and how they “overheat” or get too hot, which results in seal failure.  It’s not the rack itself that’s overheating. It’s the hydraulic fluid reaching a certain temp. When fluid temps climb high enough after repeated stress, seals can soften, turn gummy, and eventually fail. The goal with any steering rack is to keep the hydraulic fluid temp low.

To get the most out of this rack, especially on larger tires, it should be paired with:

1. A higher-capacity steering pump
2. An inline cooler

A larger pump increases fluid volume and flow, which helps manage heat and maintain consistent pressure.

An inline cooler adds surface area, but airflow becomes the limiting factor. At low speeds, especially when rock crawling, there’s not enough natural airflow to cool the fluid effectively. Because of this, a fan on the cooler is recommended. Constant airflow is what actually keeps temps low under slow, high-load conditions.

Toyo Steering has an intercooler kit ready for multiple platforms and is still working through an upgraded GM-spec steering pump solution.

We will be running the Toyo Steering intercooler kit + a JD Fabrication Howe TC steering pump kit on our next 5th Gen 4Runner build to turn some 38″ Falken M/Ts.

Materials and Components

Quick breakdown: 

• Rack Housing: 6061-T6 aluminum housing offers correct geometry compared to modified cast housings.
  
• Hardware: 12-point hardware and mil-spec fasteners with cadmium plating for strength and corrosion resistance.
  
• Hydraulic Lines: 5000 Psi-rated, heavy equipment-grade designed to handle sustained load and pressure spikes.
  
• Bushings: Delrin and 17-4PH stainless flanged sleeve, eliminating metal-on-plastic wear
  
• Seals: OE-grade seals are used throughout for reliability and serviceability.

VSC, VSS & ABS Steering Problems

Any rack swap requires a zero point calibration of the steering angle sensor. That is typically standard across all setups.

With this rack maintaining OEM-equivalent geometry, there have not been any reported issues with VSC or VSS systems when properly calibrated. I’ve also talked to a few guys who are running this rack and have not performed a zero point calibration, and have zero VSC or VSS issues.

We have yet to install our rack, but we will follow up with a post review once we start pushing the limits with a set of 38″ M/Ts.

Final Thoughts

Okay, so let’s recap… what’s changed since the legacy Tundra racks?

• Bore Axis Location: Repositioned correctly. No eccentric bushings or relocating mounts. Proper tie rod clearance at coilovers.
  
• Pinion & Angle: Moved closer to the center, improved u-joint alignment, and eliminated frame interference.
  
• Rack Support & Strength: Bronze bushings, tight tolerances to prevent deflection under load.
  
• Rack Housing: 6061-T6 aluminum housing offers correct geometry compared to modified cast housings.
  
• Hardware: 12-point hardware and mil-spec fasteners with cadmium plating for strength and corrosion resistance.
  
• Hydraulic Lines: 5000 Psi-rated, heavy equipment-grade designed to handle sustained load and pressure spikes.
  
• Bushings: Delrin and 17-4PH stainless flanged sleeve, eliminating metal-on-plastic wear
  
• Seals: OE-grade seals are used throughout for reliability and serviceability.

The Toyo Steering Billet Rack finally features OEM-spec steering, matches geometry across different steering setups, eliminates fitment/install challenges, and increases strength for guys who actually wheel and want something dependable both on/off-road.

After 16 years of waiting for a proper steering rack upgrade, it looks like we finally have something promising.