Steering column fix

wonder if this works on a fj too, my shit rattles and drives me crazy.. Will update later tonight and take a look.

 

Bumping an old thread. I did the zip tie mod and definitely tightened things up, but while I was down there I grabbed the shaft at the firewall and there is a decent amount of play, and clunk. I also grabbed it at the firewall in the engine and it has some play and makes a clunk. Is that normal? Was the zip tie supposed to tighten up at the firewall as well?

 

I did this mod and it worked great. After about 2 years I got a "creaking" kinda feel/sound from that area. Could not figure it out for the life of me. Finally I tried to grease up the zip tie, thinking maybe it was too snug and causing the creaking clunking I was feeling and hearing. Sure enough it worked! FYI for anybody else experiencing similar things.

 

Good info! I had a ticking/clunk the other day, 1st thought was the zip tie. Turns out it was a lost pin from the flap that covers the engine bay in the wheel well haha Easy fixes are nice.

 

Worked like a charm on my Taco. Ive been beating myself up for 2 years trying to figure this out from time to time.
3 zip ties later and im truly amazed. Great job OP

 

I'm giving this a try to see if it helps...





I'm going to go drive the truck now and see if it helps. I'll report back in a little bit

 

So, after driving over some somewhat bumpy roads and on the freeway, I didn't notice any difference. It's possible that I needed a thicker, more heavy duty zip tie in there or more of them
The fix probably works, I think it just depends on the particular vehicle and how much play there is etc

 

Not sure your ziptie is in same place as in pic from pg 1...............

 

Hmm...that's a possibility. I'll go out and have a closer look in the morning.

 

For those of you installing zip tie you are defeating purpose of this joint. Yes the design of this joint sucks but it is meant to isolate steering wheel from steering rack and by installing zip tie your going to feel and hear every pebble in road unless your truck is loud or rattle trap. I tried the zip tie and immediately removed it. Do what post 11 says, what he is doing stretches the rubber in joint making it slightly less flexible eliminating clunk.

 

I can't get a zip tie in there....no room.

 

This is really interesting. I was out this weekend, first time with my new truck in the woods on some pretty rough two track. I'm getting a rattle coming from my steering column. I've been tearing my hair out trying to figure out what is causing it. Especially since I just put on new shocks and have an alignment. I'm very meticulous about properly torquing down my bolts and double checked everything. Nothing loose.

I think this is the issue. Is this a common problem on Tacoma's? I have an 09 SR5 Manual btw.

 

I still can't figure out my rattle either. I've tried the zip tie trick and tightening everything down. Nothing has worked.

 

Yeah, it's frustrating. I just got my truck, so I'm not thrilled about the first time getting her off road to discover there's an annoying mystery rattle. Mine all is felt through my steering column. So I'm gonna check that out first.

 

I think mine might be from the steering column hitting against the firewall opening. It is certainly frustrating. My "fix" so far, has just been turning up the music. I've heard a lot from other drivers about a similar problem, so I think it is very common.

 

Seems like a silly problem to have for a truck that's known for being used off road. I hope that steering zip tie fix works. I do feel better to know that it's a common problem and my truck is not on the verge of breaking down. Cause breaking down in the rough is not good.

 

On the trail today and couldn't stand the clunking any longer. Quick search on here and found this thread. I had a zip tie with me so I performed the Quick fix on the trail. Nice and tight!!

 

Where'd ya go?

 

Just up to here, a bit further and back



Haven't been up there in a while. Looks different. They chopped down some trees and got rid of the brick pump house thing in the middle of the dam.

 

Love this forum. After removing sway bar, had some steering rattle. While moving the shaft like in post 11 would probably work 2 mins and a zip tie, tightened right up!