Need help with steering

New here so be easy on me. I've got a 2010 Tacoma sport long bed. I bought it last year from the original owner, it had the frame replaced two weeks before I bought it, under the factory recall. Bone stock when I bought it. I installed a 2.5" suspension lift in the front, with new upper and lower control arms, ball joints, replaced hub assemblies, have replaced the rack and pinion steering and a few other things. Everything is brand new as far as suspension on the truck.
That being said!!!! I still have a wobbly steering wheel. I feel like when I'm going over any type of bump or dip in a road I'm constantly getting my steering wheel rocking back and forth like crazy. I've had it into the suspension shop 9 times and they can't find anything.
Has anyone dealt with this? I love the truck, love the suspension but the steering is driving me nuts. Off road it's miserable to drive and that's what I bought it for. I don't know if it's from when they did the frame replacement or what? HELP!!!

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld! You mentioned all the suspension work but nothing about doing an alignment or wheel/tire balancing. Have you checked those things? What about tie rod ends?

 

Thank you for pointing that out! It's been aligned a few different times trying to fix it, they've tried different caster settings and location points, Inner and outter tie rods have all been replaced as recent as 2 weeks ago when I did the steering rack, brand new tires and rims within the last 4 months, just had them balanced and rotated again last week.

 

OP, can you post your last alignment sheet specs?

 

They aren't saved in the computer at the suspension shop that has done all the work for me unfortunately

 

What about the slop in the rag joint? Common problem, common complaint
Let me try to find the thread.....

 

Look this thread over.
could be the rag joint, or possible steering shaft u-joint that's going bad

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/steering-column-fix.88077/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-lower-steering-shaft-rebuild-diy.543377/

 

Thank you for sending that to me! I'll be the first to admit I am not mechanically inclined. I am planning on taking the truck to the Toyota dealership I've always worked with over the years. I am wondering if it's worth having them replace the steering shaft.

 

I'd only replace the steering shaft if that's actually the issue.

dianosis could be as easy as a friend sitting in the drivers seat turning the wheel left to right while you hold onto the steering shaft to see if you feel any "clunks" or excessive movement.

usually the steering shaft ( lower portion in the engine bay ) seizes up causing difficult turning. I would investigate the rag joint first.

 

Thank you for all the info!!! I'm going to see if there are any Toyota enthusiasts here in Utah that may be able to help and diagnose it with me as well!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dr7df3dRNQ

found this video online. I believe this is what you are talking about?

 

Yup, That's the rag joint, and a cause of a lot of peoples "clunks" or bumps felt in the steering wheel.

what's interesting is on that intermediate shaft, if you look lower down towards the steering rack, there is the other U-joint ( the one that usually seizes up and causes hard steering, or clunking while turning the wheel ) so really there is a lot of moving parts on that whole series of parts that could be causing your issue.

I'd do what he did and pop off that cover and do the old wiggle test, see if your satasified with that being the culprit before putting any money down on a fix

 

Another option. The bushings are bad on the steering rack? Or it wasn’t torqued down properly?

 

Sounds like bump steer. Really need to see what caster is set at.

 

We are planning on doing the wiggle test and replacing that intermediate steering shaft this weekend. When I had the steering rack done, I made the dealership put the tech on it that i've worked with for years, he's the only one i'll let work on my trucks when I take them to the dealership. As far as the caster goes, i'm going to track down the paperwork today to see what it's set at.

Thank you for all of the help on here!