Hard steering?

Hey everyone,

I am currently driving a completely stock 2012 2.7 access cab 4x4 with 5 speed with the original Dunlop Grand Trek AT20 tires.

Three weeks ago, I accidentally rubbed my front passenger tire against a curb while making a turn. Later, I noticed that my mpg went down and it took more effort to steer. So I went to an independent shop to get and alignment done in addition to tire balancing. In addition, I asked the shop to do a suspension inspection just to make sure I didn't mess up the tie-rod ends, etc.

For the alignment, here are the before and after specs for the front:
_________________________________________________________________
Before:

Left Caster 2.1
Right Caster 1.8

Left Camber 0.4
Right Camber -0.1

Left Toe 0.20
Right Toe -0.15
Total Toe 0.05

After:

Left Caster 2.2
Right Caster 1.8

Left Camber 0.4
Right Camber 0.0

Left Toe 0.10
Right Toe 0.05
Total Toe 0.15
_________________________________________________________________

After I got my truck back, I noticed that the ride was smoother. However, the steering wheel still felt stiff, there is some bump steer, and my wheel sometimes drifts to the right or left after going over a bump. In addition, the truck decelerates rather quickly after letting off the gas, even if I am in 4th or 5th gear on the highway. At this point, I started looking at things myself:

- The power steering fluid was at the "low hot" level. So I bought some Prestone Power steering fluid made for ASIAN vehicles and topped off the reservior. Below is an image of the exact product I used. After taking the truck for a 2 hour drive, there was no change in the stiffness of the steering.



- Next, I checked the tire pressures. All my tires were at 32psi. I increased the pressure in all the tires to 35. After doing this, the steering wheel still felt stiff.

- After this, I took the truck to a parking lot to see how many turns I could do left or right starting from the center. I was able to turn right 1 3/4 turns, and left about 1 7/8 turns. This seemed odd. Would I be correct in assuming that the wheel should turn an equal amount in either direction?

I am kind of at a loss at this point about what could be wrong. Can anyone offer any help with this?

Thanks!

 

???

 

After reading a couple of threads about folks having a similar issue being caused by the intermediate shaft #2 u-joint, I decided to have a look.

Sure enough, the u-joint had some rust on it. It wasn't nearly as bad as some of the other pictures I have seen on here, but rust was on the u-joint. After dousing the u-joint in PB Blaster and then spraying it with White Lithium grease, I went for a test drive. There was a definite improvement in the feel of the steering. It didn't feel as stiff as before, but it was still a bit stiff.

I inspected the outer tie rods and the control arms, and nothing seemed amiss with those.

Since I realize that the Prestone PSF that I added before was likely the wrong thing to add, I will be doing a complete power steering flush today.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will fix the problem completely.

 

So after flushing and topping off the power steering with Pennzoil ATF, the truck seems to be steering fine now. It feels a tad stiff, but I can now turn the wheel with one hand. It was fairly difficult to do that before. It steers smooth and I haven't noticed anything else wrong underneath the truck, so I will assume that everything is okay.

I just hope that I won't have to replace the intermediate steering shaft anytime soon.

One question though, is there an aftermarket boot that you all can recommend to put over the steering shaft u-joint to protect it from the elements?

 

Hey guys,

I think I spoke too soon with regards to my steering. When I had my front end in the air after the power steering fluid flush, it didn't seem to have any problem turning when I started the engine.

When I took the truck for a drive, things seemed fine for the first 15-30 minutes. However, it started to get really stiff again after driving longer. I also noticed that when on the highway in 4th or 5th gear (even going down a small grade), the truck seems to slow down a lot more than it should. In general, the truck seemed sluggish.

Seriously...not one person on here has any idea what is going on???

 

No disrespect, but it may be in your head. You bumped a curb. In a truck. Don't make a thing out of it. Good luck.

 

This... You may have another issue, but to give you an idea of the strength of these trucks. I was whipping around in the snow, and slammed up on a curb with the passenger tire side at about 25mph with 0 damage, still drove straight and turned fine. Probably just over thinking it.

 

With all due respect, I don't think I am imagining things. Here is why:

- Truck slows down when I am in high gear going downhill.
- Gas mileage has gone down considerably.
- When I stand in front of the truck, it looks like both front wheels are toed out too much.
- Steering is stiffer than when I first the truck. I could literally steer the thing with a few fingers. Can't do that now.
- Sometimes, I have to center the steering wheel myself after a sharp turn at low speed.
- When adding gas to accelerate from a stop, I can sometimes feel the truck hesitating.
- Overall slower acceleration.

Today, I returned to the shop where I had the alignment done and demanded another alignment this Friday (work was warrantied). The mechanic and I ruled out the power steering pump as a culprit. Tonight, I will try rotating my tires (as per the mechanic's suggestion) and see if that makes any difference.

While I admit that I do tend to over think things at times, I assure you that I'm not doing that this time. When you have driven a vehicle for a while, you become sensitive to changes in handling and performance.

 

Then the only thing I can think of is an alignment issue, or a really bad wheel bearing (causing friction). But a small bump shouldn't have caused either of those.

 

Well, I finished rotating my tires and went for a test drive.

It looked like my left front tire had a bit of wear on the outside edge. The right front tire looked just as worn, but was even wear. However both front tires were more worn than the back. So I moved the rear ones directly up front, and crossed the two front ones to the rear.

For the test drive, I immediately noticed a difference. After completing some turns, the steering wheel re-centered itself as opposed to before when I sometimes had to re-center it myself. The steering is tight, but it feels like it is easier to move now. I let go of the steering wheel when I was on the highway. It took at least 30 seconds before I had to adjust the steering wheel. This is definitely better than before, when I almost always had to white knuckle the wheel to keep the truck straight.

So, definitely better than before. However, I am still going to get the previous shop to run another alignment just to be on the safe side.

I am really surprised how much of a difference just swapping the tires made.

 

The outside of a U-joint can be as rusty as your frame...that's not the important part. The important parts are what's inside that you can't see. Spraying them with PB Blaster isn't really going to do anything long term.

You need to get a grease gun and grease the u-joints at the zerks.
Here's a link on how to do that
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...ntire-drive-shaft-u-joints-5-zerks-total.html

 

Thanks for letting me know!

 

OK I am ready to give up,

This morning when it was cold out, the steering was stiff again. The steering wheel centers itself, but it is still stiff.

I am wondering if this issue is being caused by the steering shaft. Everything else looks fine.

At this point, I think I'm just going to get the alignment redone and monitor the tread wear. There is no other way for me to troubleshoot this other than throwing parts at it. I really don't want to spend 2000 on a new steering rack in vain.

 

Another update:

After lunch today I returned to my truck and started it up. With the truck still stationary, I decided to turn the steering wheel to full lock and full opposite lock. Before reaching the lock in either direction, I heard and felt a clunk on the steering wheel and on the floor.

After work, I went to the shop where I had the alignment done and explained what was going on. One of the techs went outside with me and I attempted to duplicate the knocking in the steering. After turning the steering wheel to full lock/opposite lock multiple times, I was only able to duplicate the knock once.

The tech admitted the sound wasn't normal, but then said that I should just keep driving until the problem gets worse. This pissed me off because somehow the alignment was "corrected," yet the tech admits that something is wrong.

From bad past experiences, I don't want to go back to the Toyota dealer where I am. However, I am still under warranty and think that it might be worthwhile to try to get it covered (omit the part about the curb hit though lmao).

 

If your truck is under warranty, go to any dealer of your choosing and have them inspect /repair.

 

That's exactly what I am going to do. I am going to be going up to the Nanaimo, BC dealership on April 1 and have them do an inspection, along with other warranty work that has to be done.

After talking to one of the Toyota mechanics over the phone, he seems to think it could be the steering shaft. He also told me that it should be safe to drive the truck.

I've pretty much gone as far as I can go with regards to checking and inspecting stuff myself. So until I drive up to Nanaimo, I'm not going to think about it anymore.

 

Sounds good. Post back with results when you have them. I'm curious to know.

 

Consider it done

Are you having the same issue Crom?

 

Sounds like something is going on with either your steering rack or power steering pump. You could always take the serpentine belt off and make sure the pump pulley can be turned fairly easy by hand but since its under warranty just take it in to the dealer.

 

I'm praying that you are wrong about the steering rack

One thing I overlooked was the serpentine belt. I was always under the impression that one should be able to twist the belt 90 degrees MAX to ensure proper tension.

I twisted my belt at the top of the engine midway between the power steering pump and the alternator. I was able to twist it to 100-120 degrees. Not sure if this is too loose. I'm pretty sure I would hear the belt squeal in addition to charging problems (alternator), and overheating (water pump) if the belt was too loose.

Thank you for all your input and suggestions folks. It means a lot to me!