Something in steering wheel rattles.

You guys have been awesome! I still have more questions though..... I have this slight annoying rattle in the steering wheel. The wheel itself is solid and not sloppy. It seems to be on the inside of the center where the horn and....airbag...? Normally, I'd be inclined, perhaps even eager to tear into it to find out what's loose, but here's the problem.......... I don't know if this would be a big huge mistake with springs, ball bearings, time delay exploding photo cell gas packs and so on. Is this advisable going in there? We bought a 1997 Tacoma brand new in the day and it seems to me, that this one had the same rattle from day one. Can I tap into your expertise here guys?

 

Steering shaft slip joint! It's not really that hard to get out, I welded mine a couple months ago. Lots of 1st gens have the problem

 

Yep, Read that link. Then go right to post #42 and you will find that is really simple and quick compared to the initial write-up. Only 3 bolts and 2 springs hold the column in place, plus a couple of wiring plugs. Only the 2 piece clamshell cover just in front of the steering wheel needs to be removed. The lower trim panel/e-brake stuff can stay (on a 99 at least).
Literally 15-20 minutes to get the column on your bench. If you do not disconnect the battery you might get an air bag trouble code if the ignition switch is turned during the procedure. Best to just disconnect the battery.

 

Now..... I could be wrong here but my steering is super tight and the sound which is very very subtle, sure seems to be coming from the horn button area, but I could be mistaken. I'll look into it a bit closer.

 

Let me ask you this guys......... I get the impression that this problem with the slip joint is confined to tilt wheel steering. Mine is non tilt. Is this an issue with straight non tilting steering?

 

I'm still trying to figure out if the non tilt steering has the problematic slip joint also?

 

Sorry for the late reply and thanks for the PM.

The non tilt units do appear to suffer from this problem (post #61 in the TTORA thread). From the diagrams below, the slip joint section of the steering shaft looks identical to a "tilter". The low mileage/abuse of your rig suggests to me that if you do have this problem, it might be just beginning. Just a thought.

Go back to post #1 of that thread to the "Diagnose Your Truck" section. Instead of holding the lower end of the shaft with your hand, use a pair of Vise Grips. Then give things a twist, you will get a much better "feel" for any play or clicks because it looks like pulling a non tilt steering shaft is a lot more work.

The non tilt column procedure is very similar to the original tilt column procedure (removing the entire column assembly) before the short cuts were developed. The reason being that the steering shaft must be tapped out of the "column tube" in the opposite direction as the tilters. Hence the need to remove the entire column assembly then remove the shaft.

These pages are from an online 2003 FSM but as far as I know they should be the same/similar to the 95s. They are the same as my 99 paper FSM.
The removal process is very confusing, make sure to follow the "4wd" steps.

Red arrow shows location of slip joint, covered by the column tube.


Blue arrow points to slip joint.

 

Thank you DP. I need to bookmark this for the time being until I get the chance to study it. There's no doubt that the rattle needs to be addressed, and I might try inserting stainless steel shim stock that I have on hand. Either way, I'll be sure to document it and post it here. Hey, I hope my PM was of some help to you. Let me know if I can help you further huh?

 

Was at the dealer the other day and figured what the heck, and asked how much.......... $511 plus tax if it took less than an hour!!!!!