Intermittent, random, stiff steering

I think I found my culprit. Looks like my steering shaft has a bend. Any idea how that would happen?

 

That’s perplexing for sure, is it bent on the interior portion of the shaft or the exterior portion?

If it were bent the whole time, how would changing the pump have made a difference for the time that the issue went away?

I’m not being cocky here, I really don’t know!

 

So I lifted the front end, placed my camera on the shaft and turned the wheel. I could see a wobble in the shaft above the u-joint. Then I found a youtube video that references a TSB on the U-joint that indicates premature failure due to rust/grime. The guy in the video says that most people juts hit it with some WD40 and live with regularly lubricating it. Yesterday, I hit it with some brake cleaner and then some WD40 and the bind went away. I drove it around town for about 90 min and never felt the bind. This morning I could feel it very slightly on my way to work. I sprayed it again and the bind is gone again. I think the wobble I was seeing in the video I took was from the u-joint binding rather than the shaft being bent. I went ahead and ordered the new shaft (Autozone and O'reilly's wanted $265 but Rock Auto had it for $135). Should be here tomorrow and I'll probably replace it next weekend.

 

Yup, that I did try. I replaced the original u joint in my shaft thinking that may be the culprit. While my u joint did have some wear, there was no corrosion internally. The shaft on my truck may have been replaced by a prior owner, in my case, changing the u joint did nothing to alleviate the issue. I wasn’t surprised though as my issue was completely random and not consistent to one angle of the steering wheel.
There’s also a flexible coupler on the cab side of the steering column and it can develop play over time. Some simple weld the two flanges together, bypassing the soft coupling. Some use zip ties to stiffen up the aging rubber as it softens. I plan to explore the soft coupler next before changing the rack or pump.

 

Try lifting the front end and with the engine running have someone cycle the steering wheel while looking at the power steering reservoir. If the stiffness coincides with bubbles or froth in the reservoir, it's most likely a pump. If not then it's likey a rack issue. Not sure fire but also rack issues tend to manifest more when they're cold... slang at gm was "morning sickness", along with they tend to give issues consistently. Whether that be at a certain temperature, certain steering input or certain position. Pumps tend to cause more erratic issues that are less predictable... not an absolute but what i've experienced.

Short of getting the fancy power steering system pressure tester and running those checks thats the closest a guy can get for diag.

In my experience, issues like what you two mentioned are caused by the power steering pump but i'd be lying if I said I actually hooked up a power steering system tester and didn't just guess and get lucky. Mind you i've always just rebuilt the pump myself for this issue. Never actually replaced it. @jsalter did you use a reman pump or new pump?

 

First thing I did to address the issue was change the fluid, I bled the pump with the front end in the air. Started with the engine off turning lock to lock, then bled it the same way with the engine running.

My truck never exhibited any binding whatsoever with the front end elevated. Once the system was bled I also didn’t have any additional bubbles.

My binding only occurred after the engine had warmed and only arose during warm ambient temps. It really mimicked a piece of trash in the pressure line that would temporarily obstruct flow, and then, when it passed via me applying more force to the wheel, the system would operate normally again until the issue arose again at some random time interval and steering wheel angle.
No consistency at all in my case.

 

It was new.

 

I’ve read some pretty variable reports on the functionality and durability of non-OEM pumps and racks. If my issue returns, which I suspect it will when the temps get over 80f, I’ll probably take my truck to a shop that has the correct fittings to run a diagnostic test on my power steering system, that way I can isolate exactly where the issue is and replace the faulty component with a Toyota replacement. Likely along with a PS fluid filter in the low pressure return line.

 

@Scalleywag I know this is an old post, just curious if you ever found the culprit, my truck started to do some of the exact issues this week, and I’m hoping to find a starting location to look.

 

No I did not, it stopped just as quickly as it started.
I do know that my truck has the same reman aftermarket steering rack that was on it when I bought it, I also have excessive play in the steering wheel. I’ve already done the intermediate lower steering shaft and have isolated the play to the rack preload bushings.
I intend to replace my rack with a genuine Toyota rack soon.


I’ve toyed with the idea of adjusting the preload bushings but have not read any successful reports of people doing so.

 

I don't think this will help your issue but for adjusting the rack preload (2nd and 3rd gens to the best of my knowledge have the same racks)

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...tre-pre-load-adjustment.832994/#post-30147373

 

Great info! Thank you very much!

 

had same in 2004 4runner, it was a little ujoint on the steering shaft. lubricate it or replace it like i did

 

Rack's your huckleberry. Had similar issue after new frame swap back in 3/20. All new front suspension. Stiff steering, wouldn't return to zero after turning. 3 inspections & alignments. New rack was the fix. Bite the bullet...