sounds like your steering rack bushings are bad..
had same issue before ..from 9 o clock to 3 o clock car wouldn't turn at all
replaced the bushings and perfect

So than just the bushings and not the entire rack...

right..tmengineering sells them

nice write up

dude thanks for the writeup, excellent job

did this yesterday.. fairly easy... thanks .. this writeup was very helpful.. without it, I probably would have spend a lot more time figuring things out...

I am in the middle of this. Everything is disconnected and I'm at the part where I have to "use my back muscles" to pull this thing off. After about 15 minutes of trying to seperate this thing I was wore out and took a break. Sprayed PB Blaster all over that area and let it sit for about 40 minutes. Tried to yank it off for another 15 minutes to no avail. Sprayed more PB Blaster on, did the same routine over and over. Cannot get this thing seperated. I wedged a pry bar in that little clamp to try an "open it up" a little more but I just cannot get this sucker separated. And I come on here and people are saying it was fairly easy for them, ha. Damnit why won't this sucker just come apart!

Just an fyi for everyone who might do this. Go to oemlexusparts.com. Look up your car. Input this part number, 442502415084. You can buy the reman rack and pinion direct for $383.

Is that with or without a core?

Does not look like there is a core charge. I had it in the cart with shipping and tax figured. No mention of a core.

Just had my rack assembly and p/s pump replaced. Now the car drives like its has no power steering and the wheel is super tight to turn!

Any ideas?

Sounds like you have air trapped in the system. Believe it or not, the air in the system does not bleed out on its own. Take it back to the shop that did it and tell them to drain and refill the system. Or, try to move the air out by jacking up the front just enough to get the tires off the ground, start the car and turn the wheel lock to lock several times. Before you start, note where the liquid level is on the PS dipstick. If much air comes out, the level will drop. I doubt there is that much air in the system, but it never hurts to look first. This MAY get the air out. If not, take it to whomever did the job and tell them it is not right.

Jim

Great writeup, I will be attempting this Thursday. Hope it goes as well as it did for most of you guys

This is a nice write up for sure!

Make sure the flow control valve is installed properly in the pump. If it's in backwards there's no power assistance at all.