ugamurph
New member
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.
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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.
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.
