Steering Column U-Joint

rwh963 said:
update: blaster may have smoothed out the joint for now. stopped at an independent shop, and they quoted 1.5-2 hrs for the job.

stopped last the toyota dealer, service writer quoted about $900!! parts and labor.
said the part was about $400, and plotted 3 hours labor. total rip!!

i will either do this myself, or pick up used or new shaft and hire independent.
i have lots of tools, ramps, confidence, but just like brakes, i don't want to get part way through and run into an issue, then i have to get a tow.

i think a low mileage part will run about $75 +/-. the yoke and bolts will be new.
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I would again suggest not going with one from a savage yard, before I would do that I would go with an after market one from anywhere around $25 and up, or even better a refurbished OEM shaft like this one on Ebay for $27...

It's the last one from these search results.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...313&_nkw=Toyota+Part+No.:45203-35310&_sacat=0
 
thx for the suggestions. i just ordered a new oem toyota one from a michigan vendor off ebay. $137 with tax shipped. i can pick up the bolts and yoke art the dealer (tax free NH!).

And then I'll have to decide to do the job myself or not. 70/30 not right now. if it was tool deficiency, i would be happy to add to my tools for the cost of the shop labor. when the indy shop says 1.5-2 hours, they are really saying 45-60 minutes!
 
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Wow! Bought the shaft from an online source (after the dealer tried to give me the shaft!). $137 shipped w/tax! bought on the 18th, arrived on the 20th!! best discounted dealer price i could find was $195, so big savings over even that good price. here is a good pic:
 

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i honestly don't know why a shop can't do this replacement in a comfortable hour. three bolts and knock it out and in. i'm gonna carry the part around and go into couple of good shops and offer $100 flat labor for the job.
 
rwh963 said:
i honestly don't know why a shop can't do this replacement in a comfortable hour. three bolts and knock it out and in. i'm gonna carry the part around and go into couple of good shops and offer $100 flat labor for the job.
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It would be a 1 hour job if those splines and the 3 bolts aren't seized up .
Then it becomes an all day job.
 
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Hunter61 said:
It would be a 1 hour job if those splines and the 3 bolts aren't seized up .
Then it becomes an all day job.
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I dunno about all day but easily can go over an hour unless you've done many that have rusted in place. You also have to line it up right or the wheel will be off. I think I adjusted mine one spline at a time 4 times before I got it right. Had to drive it each time to verify it.
 
MikeinNH67 said:
I dunno about all day but easily can go over an hour unless you've done many that have rusted in place. You also have to line it up right or the wheel will be off. I think I adjusted mine one spline at a time 4 times before I got it right. Had to drive it each time to verify it.
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I found that I didn't need to worry about that. Got it right the first time. The upper spline had master teeth on the shaft, yoke & the shaft going to the steering wheel and would only go on one way.
The bottom spline didn't but, the spline on the shaft on the steering unit had a built up line of corrosion under where the compression slot was on the old steering shaft. That line of corrosion acted as a master tooth and the only way I could fit the new steering shaft on was by lining up the compression slot on the new shaft with that line of corrosion left by the old shaft.
 
Hunter61 said:
I found that I didn't need to worry about that. Got it right the first time. The upper spline had master teeth on the shaft, yoke & the shaft going to the steering wheel and would only go on one way.
The bottom spline didn't but, the spline on the shaft on the steering unit had a built up line of corrosion under where the compression slot was on the old steering shaft. That line of corrosion acted as a master tooth and the only way I could fit the new steering shaft on was by lining up the compression slot on the new shaft with that line of corrosion left by the old shaft.
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Maybe I shouldn't have wire brushed the splines. :D
 
rwh963 said:
Wow! Bought the shaft from an online source (after the dealer tried to give me the shaft!). $137 shipped w/tax!
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I know this is a 2 year old response, but any chance you'd be willing to share the source? That's a pretty decent price from what I've been seeing.
 
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Montego Murph said:
I know this is a 2 year old response, but any chance you'd be willing to share the source? That's a pretty decent price from what I've been seeing.
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rwh963 said:
yes, here you go: https://www.ebay.com/str/autopartsworlds
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Here's a direct link to that seller's listing for the shaft, the search function from the link posted didn't work well at all but I eventually found a listing from the seller, it a little more than $137 now but not by much.

GENUINE TOYOTA 03-09 4RUNNER FJ CRUISER STEERING COLUMN LOWER SHAFT 45203-35310 | eBay
 
Hey guys I ordered the Steering U-joint column from Amazon for $60 and just received it. I usually buy OEM parts from Toyota but in this case the dealership here in Canada wanted $542CAD for the part. I can’t afford that right now, parts are ridiculously expensive here. Anyways after unboxing the part from Amazon I was amazed how small it was. For some reason I imagined it would be longer. Currently I don’t have time to do the repair to compare with the OEM part on my truck. It measures approximately 14.5” long (see photos). Does this seem right to you guys? I’m just double checking because I won’t try this repair for at least another couple weeks and I don’t want to miss the return window if this part is incorrect.

Thanks in advance.
 

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Looks right to me. Air hammers are a big help to get these things off. I think I may have dremeled parts off the old one too. Not a fun job.
 
I'm not having any steering UJ tightness issues but I'm hearing/feel clicking or play in the steering column while going over bumps. This is very noticeable while wheeling. Could this be the worn splines on the intermediate shaft?

Both tie rod ends are newish and they're tight.

Intermediate Shaft - Toyota (45220-35170)
 
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