Lazy Man's Guide to the Replacing the Intermediate Shaft

Let me preface this by saying I'm not a mechanic, and I typically don't know what I'm doing. I tend to look stuff up on youtube or stare at it long enough and figure it out.

This is how I replaced my intermediate shaft.

My Intermediate Shaft Symptoms:

• Felt like I had a flat spot when turning the wheel where I had to muscle through the turn
• Steering wouldn't return to center
• I sprayed the U joint with PB blaster and the symptoms went away temporarily

Parts I purchased:

• Replacement Intermediate Shaft - At the time 6/3/2020 the cost was only $39.50
• OEM Part No.: 90080-11555 - BOLT, W/WASHER - Quantity of 3
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  • I bought them from Toyota Parts Deal because it was the same as Amazon, but somehow faster shipping. They shipped out a week later than they should have, but whatever.
  • Also, the bolts legitimately came in a large flat rate box (I'll post photo at the end)

Tools I used

• PB Blaster
• Hammer
• 2 pry bars
• Long flat head screwdriver
• 12mm ratchet wrench
• some extensions to place on top of my pry bars to I could hammer them
• Patience
• Extra Patience
• Anti-seize
• bungee cord for added piece of mind
• wire brush - to clean the shaft section between the coupler and firewall

Procedure:

• I sprayed all the bolts and the shaft daily for a few days while waiting for the new oem bolts to arrive. I think this took the headache out of loosening the bolts.

• To start, I left my truck on the ground and didn't jack my truck up at all. Maybe I could do this because my truck is lifted, IDK. I did however make sure my steering wheel was straight and then I wiggled it until it locked. I added a bungee cord wrapped around the steering wheel and hooked onto the seat adjustment bar.

• I made sure my steering coupler was orientated with the gap facing up and the heads of the bolts facing outwards.

• I removed the little splash shield thing on the driver side wheel well and popped the hood.

• From the top or side, use the 12mm ratchet wrench to remove the 2 nuts on the coupler

• From underneath, remove the nut on the bottom where the intermediate shaft meets the steering rack

• I then placed the tip of my flat head screwdriver into the opening of the lower coupler and tapped it into place with my hammer to widen the gap.
• I repeated the process of spreading the coupler on top with a hammer and a flat head screwdriver.
• For the top coupler, I repeated the process with my prybar, hammering it into the gap forcing the coupler to open up.

• PRO TIP: Keep the prybar toward the top of the coupler wedged in for the next step.
• With the prybar wedged in in the coupler gap, hammer the coupler back towards the firewall. I struggled with this initially, but once I had the prybar wedged in two hits from the hammer and the old intermediate shaft fell out.

• I was able to gently wiggle the shaft off the steering
• To install the new one, I put the top shaft in knowing it could only go on one way, with the flat spot where the bolt goes through facing up.
• Then gently guide the lower part of the intermediate shaft onto the splines, and adjust so you can start the new OEM bolt by hand
• Once satisfied, tighten then lower pinch bolt (i threw some anti seize on the splines and bolt for my impending rack replacement)
• To reset the top coupler, I shoved two prybars into the gab and wiggled the coupler down until the flat spot on the splined end of the intermediate shaft lined up for the bolt hole for the coupler.

• Thread the bolts in by hand (they should start easily) and then tighten down.

• Replace the splash guard thing - and if you're an ogre like me who breaks everything use zip ties to fix it)

• The last thing I did was remove the bungee from the steering wheel, close the hood, and go for a test drive.

Overall the most frustrating part was smacking the top coupler towards the firewall enough to free the old intermediate shaft. I struggled for a while, but once I had a prybar at the gap toward the top of the coupler it was smooth sailing. Also, my steering wheel was perfectly straight and I didn't need to mark anything or hope that nothing was misaligned, because I didn't jack my truck up. Therefore my wheels didn't turn, and I locked my steering before I did anything else. And there you have it, the lazy way to replace an intermediate shaft.

Oh, and here is the box my bolts came in :

 

Good Job!

 

Absolute bastard to change, good write up, pics will help when added.

 

Thanks!

Yeah I agree. I texted @EatSleepTacos while I was doing it to complain the the ECGS bushing install was easier

 

Curious, did this flat spot in the steering come with a clunk on certain wheel drops or bumps? I just got done wheeling mine and have a similar issue, but also an annoying clunk on random bumps now.

 

Excellent write-up and pics.

Mods sticky this!

 

Just saw this! and the flat spot / clunk happened on smooth paced roads, which told me the U joint in there was going bad

 

How has that lower steering column held up for you? Debating if I need to go oem on this one.

 

How worried would you be about screwing this up? I should do this or get it done. I'm good at basic wrenching, but for such a crucial component I'm tempted to go to a shop.

 

If the steering wheel spins freely, it will damage the spiral cable. It's basically the only "risk".

Rust makes it harder.

 

Wonder if this cheaper intermediate shaft is worth it or should you go a different route? Anybody else use this before?

 

Has anyone else used this intermediate shaft? How long does it last?