Steering issue - trying to diagnose

I'm a Tacoma lover, have been registered and lightly lurking for years, but am not a mechanic so go easy on me here. This may be a fundamental question.

I have a 2008 4WD Tacoma with 110k on it. Just recently had the leaf spring recall completed.

Very recently I have noticed that some spots on the steering require a lot more effort to turn the steering wheel than before. It's not consistent which spots or which direction and seems random. The tires were recently rotated and have even wear. The power steering fluid is not low, I have seen no evidence of leaks (not having to replace any, no spots on the ground). I hear no noise that I can identify as related to the pump/belt. The steering wheel is not vibrating at all. Basically, nothing related to power steering as I can recognize is going on.

What I do see occasionally is that the front end rocks a lot on 90 degree turns. More than it used to for sure. I had been thinking that it was just age of the suspension but I am starting to wonder if it is doing the same thing, to a lesser extent, as turning in 4WD on dry pavement. Could the tires be out of alignment and it's causing the steering to be inconsistently difficult as well as the whole front end to dip and then bounce back? I'm trying to understand all of the variables here with the mechanical knowledge I have.

 

Is that reasonable at 110k? I did have to replace the right front wheel bearings last year. This hasn't seen any off road use.

 

Yeah, everything mechanical on this truck is stock. That is definitely beyond my ability to repair, though. I'm good with repairing a ton of nonautomotive things but I don't have tools/location/auto knowlege to do anything deeper than brakes and such.

 

Could be your stabilizer (sway) bar bushings &/or links from what you described. Take it & get it aligned would be your best bet. They should be able to tell you what's wrong, either way.

 

Thanks, I suspected that was going to be the situation, but I thought I'd ask. I just had to have the starter replaced too. Maybe it's just time for this truck to start wearing down.

 

It is the Intermediate Shaft that connects the steering to the rack and pinion. To be more specific the universal joint in the intermediate shaft is binding causing your problem. You will need to replace the shaft.

See the Universal Joint in the picture below.

 

i would check alignment first. a good alignment shop should be able to check out your suspension also.

 

If the steering has any sort of "lumpy" feel while turning the wheel, Jimmy is bang on. If you wish to verify before replacing the part, crawl under your truck and spray that column U-joint with some penetrating lube. If it improves noticeably, then the shaft MUST be replaced, the penetrating lube is not the cure, only masks the dry and rusted internals of the column u-joint.

 

Grease the steering wheel universal joint. Wd40 works just fine

 

For a temporary test, maybe.

WD40 is not a suitable lubricant for a greased joint. In fact, it's good to remove grease.

It's not an effective for frozen bolts and such either. Proper penetrating fluids have a much different composition.

Water Displacement test 40 is good for many temp fixes, cleaning pine sap off paint, etc.

To @ChadTower. I assume this is a winter driven vehicle? That's a good contributor to the demise of the joint @Jimmyh points out I'd think. If that's the case, and he has another successful diagnosis, I recommend you spend time doing a through inspection of the frame and other driveline components for rust inspection, potential repairs and preventative maintenance. Help ward off salt damage!

 

WD40 isn't a lubricant. Just so ya know.

Grease isn't a fix. If the U-Joint comes apart when going down the road you will have no steerage and will be screwed.

 

Is this something I can do in my garage?
I'm having this exact issue.

 

Yes it should be fairly easy for anyone with rudimentary mechanical skills.

NOTE: To the wise, Do Not spin the steering wheel while the shaft is disconnected! It will break the spiral cable. It would be a good idea to tie it off so that it cannot move. ( The spiral cable is the electrical link between air bag, horn steering wheel controls etc and the rest of the truck ).