Toyota Repair: 1998 avalon power steering, rack assembly, rt side

Question
HI TED
MY AVALON IS LEAKING FLUID FROM THE RT SIDE OF THE RACK. CAN THE SEALS AND ASSOCIATED COMPONENTS BE REPLACED RATHER THAN REPLACING THE RACK? IT LOOKS LIKE A STRAIGHT IN SHOT TO THE RACK, BUT THE MANUAL I HAVE DOESN'T COVER REPLACING THE SEALS AND I'M A LITTLE GUNSHY TO TRY REPLACING THE PARTS WITHOUT AT LEAST HAVING SOME IDEA WHAT'S INVOLVED. ANY INFO YOU CAN PROVIDE WOULD BE APPRECIATED. I DON'T HAVE AN SPARE THOUSAND DOLLARS SITTING AROUND RIGHT NOW AND IF I CAN HANDLE IT THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
THANKS IN ADVANCE
DICK

Answer
It takes a few special tools and knowledge to replace the seals and bushings if necessary,this is very time consuming and the tools are expensive(more than a new rack) the dealers and most repair shops have stopped doing this a long time ago, it's just not cost effective and by the time the labor hours are added up it comes close just replacing the rack assembly, we either use a factory remanufactured unit or an aftermarket one, you may want to consider using an aftermarket unit from an autoparts store such as Autozone, they run around $300 and you could install it yourself.