Steering Intermediate Shaft Replacement.....??

Yup. as long as nothing turns, you should be okay.

 

Correct. Just another piece of mind step in case you do need to rotate something for whatever reason. You should have to though and can just lock it and go to work.

 

New shaft & bolts arrived. I gave the u-joint a healthy coating of grease and slid on the boot. Now waiting on the weather. I've decided that I'll do the swap.

After lubricating the u-joint and the boot, they were quite tricky to position and secure.....

 

I jumped into it today. I was able to remove the top 2 bolts but no joy on the lower bolt. I've been drowning them in a penetrant and the top bolts I removed were still very difficult to remove. I spent 4 hours so far and I was hoping that I would have been done by now. I'm going to hit it again tomorrow hoping I can persuade #3 to release without breaking.

 

I seem to remember 2 out of 3 being easier as well and fighting the third.

A touch of hammer action from different angles & intensity’s (depending how long you’ve been there) and gentle movements tightening and loosening that stubborn bolt and it will come out eventually.

Or...give it hell, snap it off and get a saw/grinder out. Tough in that spot so I recommend the first option.
Good luck.

 

I finally got the lower bolt out. It took a good 2 1/2 hours. The rest of the day was spent fighting the upper collar. I spread it with a chisel, hit it with heat and still it fought me. I started on the lower collar but that looks like it's going to be a bear to get off the rack. Not fun....

 

Any special techniques used to remove the lower collar from the rack? Not much room to swing or pry....

 

Mini pry bar followed by a sacrificial screwdriver to get more space? Hammering and wiggling anywhere you can hit? Pull up by hand and hammer towards the firewall on the upper shaft?

I remember wiggling and patience on mine.

 

Finally got it replaced. Separating the lower sleeve from the rack was a bear. Tried prying and some hammer action but no joy. Broke out the air chisel and even with that it took a long time to finally break free. For me, this wouldn't have been such a difficult job if it wasn't for the rust & corrosion. On completion at least I have the satisfaction of a successful replacement and a lot of sore muscles.

Thanks to all who chimed in with helpful tips!

 

Epilogue - After all the fighting with the removal of the old shaft, I was too knackered to take it out for a test drive. Honestly, I was a little concerned about the steering wheel being straight. I took a short drive today. My fears were unfounded and it's spot on straight. Even though the worst was over, I didn't want to revisit it to make a correction. I'm kinda pumped up. Score one for the old guy!

 

Well Old Guys Rule!

 

I just replaced mine last week. There wasn't a rubber boot over the u joint on mine. It must have been replaced before and not put back.

 

The rubber boot is a Dorman #614-20 I purchased on Amazon. I came across it in another thread about replacing the intermediate shaft. The boot requires a minor alteration. The boot isn't OEM. Toyota in their infinite wisdom never intended for one to protect the U-joint.

$20 Dorman 614-020 Universal Rack and Pinion Steering Boot Kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ESF5QK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8

 

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

More info on the boot....

 

Thanks I will have to keep that in mind once I have to replace it again.
I live in a very salty and harsh maritime climate. It will be interesting to see how long the unprotected u joint lasts.

 

Installing the boot might be a good idea to do now. If you had the fight I had to get the old one out, pulling the new shaft out and sliding on the boot now will be a lot easier. Living in a marine environment is rough on everything. Many years ago I lived right on the water on Long Island. Everything rusted, attacked by the salt air.

 

I used a pickle fork for ball joints. After several good soakings, the coupling slid up easier than I thought it would.

Yes, I've had the displeasure of replacing the lower intermediate shaft.