2012 Steering very stiff

I'm original owner of a 2012 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 5-speed MT with 98,000 miles. First week of April I bought a new auto which I primary drive now. The Tacoma mainly sits idly in driveway and is mainly been driven on weekends for short trips. During those short trips I've been noticing the steering has become rather "stiff" at low speed turns? Today it was very noticeable. I checked the fluid. Perfect ( I flushed steering system November 2019 @ 91,000 miles). Air pressure in tires great (newer Michelin tires with less than 10,000 miles). And no leaks or nothing out of ordinary under hood.

After a long test drive city/hwy driving it loosened up a tad. I then stopped in a large parking lot and kept turning steering wheel from left to right fully then it like loosened up? Drove it home and it felt fairly normal after that. Is my power steering pump on it's last leg, or is it frozen/stiffened up due to inactivity of driving? Anyone else had this experience. Truck has been basically trouble free until recently sitting idle. I appreciate any input.

 

Check the Intermediate Steering shift joint.
They are known to rust up and cause this issue.

 

The universal joint on your intermediate steering shaft is corroded and the joint does not want to flex as it turns. It's a fairly common issue and not a terribly difficult fix. Avoid using aftermarket shafts as the ones I've seen are pretty pathetic looking. If you use an OEM replacement shaft, make sure you coat it with Fluid Film or something similar on a regular basis to make sure it doesn't corrode like the original.

 

This ^

 

The aftermarket shaft I just put on my 06 was actually beefier than OEM and cost 70 bucks, if it doesn't last that long then I'll go with factory but it looks pretty well made.

 

I deliver parts for a local Toyota dealership. I delivered an OEM shaft to a another repair shop a while back. They brought out the Dorman shaft they were planning on installing in a customer's Tacoma to compare it to the real deal. I swear the Dorman part was 30% smaller in cross section. Oh, and they said it didn't fit for crap. The only positive thing I could say about the Dorman part is that at least it had a horrible looking dipped paint job. (The OEM part is not finished.) Needless to say, they bought the OEM part.

 

I got a 2012 2.7 4x4 in January with 115K from a rust state. Dealer was sketchy and tried to sell it to me with a bunch of things wrong... including this intermediate steering shaft seizing up. They inspected and said all good, but come to find out it needs to be replaced. After looking around a bunch on TW, I found some good info, including a CV boot that would be good to install over the new one.

In the meantime, spray with PB blaster or other anti-seize and then spray with some white lithium grease. This made mine work fine for about a month or two before having to do it again. Bought a cheap $60 replacement that look ok and will install once I do the front suspension.

One question would be once new one installed, what type of grease should be used under the aftermaket CV boot to keep it from rusting & binding all over again?

See below for a bunch of threads/resources related to this problem.


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-lower-intermediate-steering-shaft-fix.638653/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...steering-shaft-replacement-and-review.544954/


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tacoma-2005-2015-intermediate-steering-shaft-replacement.541884/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-lair.495066/page-1772#post-17351582

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-lair.495066/page-1778#post-17358252


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-lower-steering-shaft-rebuild-diy.543377/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/stiff-steering-try-this-fix-first.103255/page-2

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/steering-column-fix.88077/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/jerky-steering-u-joint.473012/


make sure you draw lines on the existing shaft and collars. You may need to turn the bottom collar to line up with the oem Mark's. Compare side by side before installing.

 

And don't forget to tie off the steering wheel so that it doesn't rotate freely and break the clock spring when you disconnect the steering shaft.

 

Thanks for all the tips. Today I did buy a new OEM Intermediate shaft which was the problem. Took 4hrs start to finish. Truck steers like new now. Rust was a big issue obviously.

Two problems: 1.) I now have a malfunction light on the dash now? Yellow light showing vehicle skidding or something. While working I noticed I did unhook by accident a vacuum line that goes into the master cylinder. I just plugged it back in before starting vehicle. I'll go to Autozone tomorrow and have them do a analysis test and see what it was.

2.) This one is making me sick to my stomach, I did bungee cord the steering wheel from get go so it wouldn't be canted. Once I had old shaft off moved wheels just a hair so I could wire brush the spline on the power steering pump spline since it was so corroded with rust. So now wheel is can't about 30 degrees to the left. I made sure wheels were straight ahead before I hooked everything back up. Guess I did something wrong. How do I fix this? Thought I was I going to come out smelling like a rose on this job, NOT! I'd appreciate any input on getting this correct.... thanks!

 

Undo the coupler, straighten out the wheel, then slide back on, mine was chanted a tiny bit, but it bothered me so I did what I just explained, it's best to paint marks on the shafts, but i didn't do that, be patient, you'll get it!

 

When I compared my old to the cheaper no name part the new one was actually a tiny bit thicker, u joint, and finish was really good, cant go wrong with Oem but this part was surprisingly well made.

 

Thx. I secured steering wheel first in the incorrect canted position, then took intermediate shaft off (again, but much easier thanks to applied anti-seize), then turned steering wheel to it's proper position and secured it, then re-splined shaft back on. It's perfect now! Malfunction light still on? I'm sure it just needs re-flashed since the vacuum line on master cylinder popped out. I appreciate all the great advice as usual!

 

check for disconnected/broken wire for wheel sensors.

 

I will do that, thank you! I still think it's a that vacuum line that I accidently pulled out of master cyclinder removing/installing new shaft. A big gush of air came out when it came out. But I'll get back under truck and check the sensors and all and any connections in the area I was working under the hood. Hope it's something simple. Appreciate the input.

 

Are you speaking of the vacumn line to the power brake booster?

That shouldn't set the light you are seeing I wouldn't think.

Regardless, disconnect your neg battery terminal for a few minutes. The light should be cleared when you restart the truck.

If it returns you'll have to investigate further

 

Yes Bill, the power brake booster (I couldn't think of the name). I'm heading out the door to Autozone for a quick analysis to see what code is causing the Yellow Malfunction icon i.e traction control. Thanks for this tip!

I did check both front wheel sensors and electrical lines a bit ago and both were in place plus traced all lines to fuse box and all is ok. The fuse was also good. I'm sure it's something simple..... thanks!

 

Disconnected battery for 15 minutes. Still have the Yellow Malfunction light? It could be wheel sensors, yes. But what's the chance of one or both going bad when I was working around them (both are still connected)? Truck is almost 9 years old. Autozone couldn't help since it's not a Check Engine Light.....

May have to take to dealer if I can't figure out soon. Light is annoying and does needs addressed.

 

Did you accidentally press the button on the dash?

 

Well do you also have the Brake Light on? It looks like you do. If so I would check the brake fluid level as a low brake fluid will also give you both lights.

 

Brake fluid level good. The brake light you see is due to emergency brake is on.

No, tried that. Thx.