For at least a year, the steering on my 4runner has been very "loose" feeling. It had a lack of response and seemed a lot worse off road. The steering had a lot of play that resulted in a wandering feeling at highway speeds and difficulty with getting a proper alignment.



When I bought the truck, the boots on the steering rack weren't in the best condition. After awhile, I noticed that the rack was leaking from the inner TREs. I decided to replace the rack with a new one from Safari, LTD. I was very satisfied with the rack, but the steering was still not like factory new. I went on a search for what else could be wrong. I found that one of the fittings on the rack was leaking, so I tightened it properly and stopped the leaking. That helped some, but still not where it needed to be. The search continued to the internet.



I found this thread on TTORA that diagnosed steering play.



Today, I finally followed the instructions to fix the problem in the steering shaft that causes the play.



I was amazed at the difference that it made when I got behind the wheel tonight. I did not realize just how bad the play in my steering shaft had been. It is like a new truck now.



I was equally amazed at how easy the job was. It's well worth the hour or so that it took to do the repair.

Take pictures of all components so that you can remember their proper orientation when reassembling.

There are only 3 bolts and 2 springs that have to be removed once you get the column clam shell off. Don't fool with removing the kick panel and ignition. It's unnecessary. Of course, you do have to unplug 4 or 5 electronic plugs from under the steering wheel.





The three bolts are the two 6mm allen bolts that the tilt function pivots on (shown just below spring in pic above) and the 12mm bolt at the bottom of the steering shaft near the firewall (shown in pic below).





This is all you will remove.





This shows one of the tack welds (one on each side) that I had placed on the loose steering shaft joint. A local off road fab shop did it for free. I paid them by putting one of their stickers on my truck. Some people have drilled through the shaft and pressed in a roll pin instead of using tack welds.



**************************************************
Disclaimer: As stated in other threads on this topic, this fix involves altering a safety feature (the slip joint) that was designed into the vehicle and should only be performed at your own risk. This is not a manufacturer-approved repair, but a user-discovered fix for the problem.

In hindsight, I would have ground out half of the tack material before reinstalling the steering shaft. This would increase the probability that the slip joint would still function properly in a crash. I may take it apart and do this soon. Also, one tack would probably be sufficient.

Gonna tackle this tomorrow, thanks for the push!

Awesome write up ugamurph! Great instructions for anyone with this issue to follow.

I just did this fix last weekend. All I can say is WOW, I love driving my truck again!

Also added a couple other bits while I was in there.

Thanks @TRDHighlander . But, I can't take credit. I simply followed instructions on the TTORA thread.

I just wanted to share it here to help others with that problem.

After putting in new rack bushings I still had some play. I found the instructions on TTORA and did the mod and HOLY COW! what difference. Thanks for the great write up and instructions..

Glad it helped. I took my 4runner on a very rocky trail ride this weekend. It was amazing how much better the steering responds now.

great info, thanks!

I was thinking about doin this but I think I'm goin to try it with a twist. To me it makes more since to braze the joint. If you do it right the braze will fill the joint and act as a brass bushing. It's not as strong as a tack so it should allow the joint to slip if a head on collision were to happen. The only thing I'm not sure about is the heat. I'd have to do it with torches and it would heat up the shaft a lot more than just a tack. Think I can do it without melting anything?

@Dwelds247 That could work. I'd be a little worried about the heat warping the steering shaft. Also, brazing would create a bond all the way around the joint. Not sure if that would allow for the joint to slip in the event of a crash. With one or two small tacks, I feel that the force of a head on crash would overcome the tacks and allow the shaft to collapse.

In hindsight, I wish that I had gone back and ground out half of the tack material before install. This would increase the probability that the slip joint would still function properly in a crash. I may take it apart and do this soon. Also, one tack would probably be sufficient.

You don't have to grind that much off. When I cut a tack I only cut it half way and hit it with a hammer. With the size of tacks I saw in the pics just a line 1/32-1/16 deep would give them a weak point to break at.

Thanks for that info.

This is great info. So far I have been lucky. My factory one is still solid. Its really easy to test too. Just like it says on TTORA just grab the shaft and yank!! LOL

Awesome.. Thanks for finding that link and bringing this mod up. Looks like I will have to get this done on both mine. As far as steering goes, my 98 is really good after servicing the rack and suspension with new bushings and alignment, but my stock 02 is somewhat sloppy as described by others so it makes sense to me to start here for the 02 and tack up the 98 for reassurance down the road/off road. Free mod and a big improvement it sounds like.

Glad it helped. I like driving my 4Runner much more now that I've fixed that problem.

Just did this to my steering.
Now its nice and tight