Diagnose Intermediate Steering U joint?

Hey Everyone, Hope your Tacoma's are all doing well.

I have a new clunk that I'm hearing on my drivers side. It only happens when I turn left at some speed. Happens about once a night at various places on my 20 minute drive home on country roads. Going straight over bumps and train tracks doesn't cause it. I don't feel any stiffness in my steering. My driver's side tire was a little low by 5 pounds the other day. I filled it up and it seems to be holding good. Shortly after I re-filled the tire was when I first heard the clunk. About two weeks ago. Seem to be getting worse this week. I quit listening to the stereo to see if I could hear it more.

I jacked the truck up myself and heard a couple pops as I jacked it up. Not sure if that's normal. I tried to see if I could feel any play in the wheel. Up and down seemed good. Side to side I have a little play but I could see the steering shaft moving a tiny bit but other than that play I couldn't determine if anything was bad.

I took it to a shop today for an inspection. They told me I had a bad Intermediate Steering U joint.

I'm wondering how I might diagnosis this for myself?

I've found plenty of threads on replacing it or fixing it. I'd like to confirm this part is bad for myself. Can any of you guys link me to any threads where I can read more about how to diagnose the shaft u-joint?

Most of my front suspension has been replaced with-in the last couple years....

- The lower control arms were replaced by the previous owner in roughly 2018-19. I seen the OEM sticker on them.

- I replaced my steering shaft in 2022 with an OEM remand at a shop.

- I replaced my CV axles in 2022 with new OEM at a shop. They did the needle bearing swap at the same time.

- I replaced my wheel bearing hubs in 2024 with the NSK bearings I bought off the guy who's selling them on this forum. I did this work myself.

- I replaced my tie rod ends in 2024 with new OEM at the shop I took it to today.

I'm sure it's quite possible that any of these part are bad again. Maybe I didn't tighten the wheel bearing hub screws properly. The ones I took off were quite easy to get off and I used red lock tight when I put it back together....

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks so much!

 

Often that joint seems to be 'frozen' or rough working.

Use a squirt can to put some lubricant on it. Motor oil, trans fluid, something with a bit of body.

If the problem goes away, it's an indicator you hit the right spot.

That's not a 'fix', it's a verification test.

Let us know the final result.