Steering column "clunk" noise?

There's a section of the steering that is part of the firewall that has a coupler. It's called the steering coupler boot. Mine is trashed and developed alot of play that I found recently. It's highlighted in the thumbnail

 

Thanks for the pic!

You're talking about the green #11, yes? I replaced that the same time as the intermediate shaft #7.
I bought a spare #9 thinking it might have worn or something but it was fine so I just reused the stock one.
#10 is just the internal boot, no function.

I replaced #8 a while back when I had to replace the steering rack, so the u-joint was still in pretty good shape.

I'm concerned that maybe the clunk is coming from #4 inside #1, but I crawled up under the dash/steering column and tried to rattle things but didn't seem to get any movement.

 

Yes #11. Hmm what about cab mount bushings? I don't recall if I mentioned that yet but I had alot of steering play due to the front cab bushings/radiator support being totally shot and allowing my cab to move freely from the chassis and caused some significant steering slop.

 

Yep, did those.

...which is about the time that this issue started. I've verified that they're all torqued correctly, but do you think they could be related?

 

Did you do all of the cab mounts? I belive the tq spec was 38 ft lbs. They can act up oddly if not torqued properly or if your other bushings are old.

 

I did the four cab mounts and the two radiator core supports... are there more?

 

Negative that would cover all of them. Your situation is definitely a unique one. I replaced all of the parts mentioned and somewhere in between got rid of the vibes.

Pretty sure you have checked but inner and outer tie rods? Steering rack bushings? How new is your steering rack?

 

Have someone rotate your steering wheel side to side, while you view the rack at the bushings. It may have more side to side play than up and down.

I may be able to get a video today or tomorrow to help.

 

https://youtu.be/T8fNi5q0O7Y?si=VjYAong_2-e-4d5e

Here’s me trying to film while my buddy turns the wheel. I realized it might not the best as I’m moving the camera when I tell him to change direction… do I need to reshoot?

 

Here’s a better one:

https://youtu.be/e4Ak-AzmAiw?si=4Vszz9gsE1sZic5o

It looks like there is movement at the bushing. Is that a normal amount of movement?

 

Here is a good example for reference.

https://youtube.com/shorts/dt9cE14dKi0?si=ekU4_uUsjJLGb0wS

 

Hey guys - my '05 Tacoma has had this steering clunk for a few mos and I'm finally looking into getting it fixed. Found this thread with some great ideas on possible fixes. I'll most likely end up taking it to a shop, but wanted to do some due diligence first (before they bend me over). See my short vid and let me know what parts I might need (45263-35020 washer, intermediate shaft, steering coupler boot, etc.) TIA

 

Oh wow, that's pretty well blown out.

 

So I might need ALL the parts lol

 

Lol. Maybe

 

I'm trying to find a fix for that shaft in the column #4 that's inside #1. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I did intermediate shaft and lower shaft with new slip joint. The clunking is a bit worse now within the steering wheel.. The part I'm thinking that would replace/fix the inside is lil rich for me $$$. The 'retainer clip' at end of shaft keeps popping off and sits on top of the new intermediate shaft by the 12mm bolt above the brake pedal.. Any advice would help

 

After struggling with mine the two reasons I can see for that retainer clip popping off are the clip being worn out or the shaft having too much "pressure" on the clip. The latter likely caused by one of the splined sections into either the intermediate shaft, lower shaft, etc. If the male spline sections are not seated far enough into the female splined coupler clamp things the overall length of the assembly becomes too long and wants to push the upper shaft up into the steering wheel area (it is collapsable and tapered so once that retainer clip comes loose it is free to rattle and clunk within the housing/bearing.

Hopefully this is making some sense lol. You could try tightening a small worm gear hose clamp around the shaft below the clip to hold it up better, but I would guess this is a bandaid fix rather than fixing the problem. My intermediate shaft needed to be seated down about 1/2" deeper into the coupler than it was. This was due to a previous intermediate shaft replacement not seating it far enough.

 

Peter603Taco Thank U
Okay I'm following you. I'm going to push my intermediate shaft down into the coupler (I too didn't think mine looked right from previous owners repair..). Do you know how far the rod should be extended coming from the column? It seems the further the intermediate shaft is pushed into the collar - the U joint under the dash is canted (not straight). Is that okay if it's canted when steering is straight and the moveable adjustment for the steering wheel still works.? I'm trying to find a new retainer clip or will try what you mentioned. Just unsure how long that rod should be extended from within column.

 

The rod/shaft coming down from the column should be at a fixed length due to the ring retainer clip, it sits on a small groove on the shaft. In order to get it there in the right place I removed the pinch bolt from the column shaft to intermediate shaft the end in the drivers footwell), slid the steering shaft up into the column enough to disengage it from the intermediate shaft and let the intermediate shaft u joint flop freely. You can then pull the shaft down out of the column by hand until you can see the groove and slide your clip up onto it (my new clip was pretty tough to get on but once it was on it was secure).

Upon reassembly was when I realized the bottom of my intermediate shaft needed to be seated further down (accessible from drivers side wheel well behind the inner rubber splash shield. I knew that because the bottom of the shaft coming down from the column would have been into the u joint by more than 1/2". I had to remove the pinch bolt for the bottom of the intermediate shaft, pry the clamp open with a flathead and then pry bar, and oil the heck out of it to get the splined shaft freed up and able to slide down another ~1/2". I dont have an exact measurement but I would estimate about 3/4" engagement, I just got it as far as I could.

Now, when reassembling the intermediate shaft to steering column shaft, make sure you get it inserted as far as possible (without the end of the shaft hitting the u joint) so that you dont have a lot of pressure "upwards" on the steering column shaft. If I remember right it will be a little canted but shouldn't feel like its binding. I found the easiest way to insert the column shaft into intermediate shaft coupler was to remove a 12 or 14mm head bolt that runs horizontal and holds the bottom of the steering column housing up. You should be able to see it if you lay on your back looking up. Removing this allowed the bottom of the column shaft to drop down a couple inches, gave room to slip the splined section together by putting the u joint at an angle, and then wiggled them while I straightened out the u joint to get the splined part fully into the intermediate shaft. Sorta like you would pull a driveshaft or axle if that makes sense. Then lift the column housing back up a couple inches and reinstall that bolt.

Hope this is still making sense, its just what I found easiest. Make sure to mark any of the splined sections before removal and maybe tie off your steering wheel so you don't mess up your alignment

 

Mine has developed this same problem.