Steering wheel clunk

Has anyone done this mod to a 2nd gen tacoma. It's that little clunk/ rattle noise when offroading or hitting pot holes. If anyone knows of a wright up please let me know. Unless its the same as the 1st gens.

 

bump

 

There is a way to use a zip tie to fix it, or you can go to the dealer and buy the parts to do the TSB to it

Zip tie method

T-SB-0119-10

 

Did the zip tie mod about 4 months ago. Works like a charm. About the only thing that seems to work on my truck, lately.

 

what is the tsb and does it replace the whole thing? is that a toyota part number?

 

thanks ill have to check the zip tie mod out

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/88077-steering-column-fix.html
It's happening tonight.

 

If you have been struggling with a clunk, shake, or vibration felt in your steering wheel that is most pronounced at slow speeds on rough roads and trails, then this fix may work for your truck. I bought my 2014 back in November of 2013, and within 300 miles I felt a clunk in the steering wheel driving on the icy roads in my neighborhood. It was much more pronounced in the spring when I took the truck off road, so I did a lot of searching on the web and first tried the zip tie mod. In the 12,000 miles since, I have tried zip ties in varying thicknesses, numbers, and positions; the elimination of the rubber disk in the rag joint by rebuilding my upper intermediate shaft with bolts, spacers, washers, and nuts;adjusting the tilt and telescoping of the wheel away from the extreme points/stops; the TSB intermediate shaft; adjusting the steering rack guide screw; lower tire pressure; replacing the sway bar bushings; and even the building my own custom rubber damper for the shaft using hose clamps and the rubber from bicycle grips. None of these ideas has produced the kind of result I discovered when I did the fix documented below. I got the idea from a 4Runner thread that seemed to recommend making the opposite adjustment (pushing the yoke and shaft up), which I tried and determined it only made the problem worse. Shoving zip ties/other stuff in there or welding/taking the rag joint out, in my opinion, creates a conductor for vibrations to travel up between the rack and the wheel.

But to first understand why this particular fix works, you need to know that the either the soft rubber bushings that hold the steering rack to the frame and/or frame and body flex are allowing the steering shaft to be pushed towards the steering wheel by 1/4” or more on bumps. Just look at the grease spot below the bushing on your rag joint to see evidence of this. The only thing taking up the slack and preventing you from feeling this is the rubber disk of the rag joint (also called steering coupler). Replacing the steering rack bushings on a brand new truck seems a little ridiculous and is a rather extensive project, so this fix seems like the next best thing. I am also concerned that replacing the steering rack bushings with harder ones would subject the rack to harsher impacts and more wear, so I’ll stick with this for now. I would, however, be interested in hearing from anyone who replaced the rack bushings on a low-mileage Tacoma to learn how it improved their steering.

Next, it is my belief that the driver feels the clunk when rubber in the rag joint compresses enough that the steering shaft has nowhere else to go and then moves laterally. The fix I have discovered unloads the rag joint and gives it more room to absorb impacts. I think the shaft pushes up towards the driver more than it pulls back down, so setting it a few mm more against the direction it moves gives it more space before it bottoms out. In some rough off road driving, I would estimate it has taken out 90% of the clunk and vibration on climbs and level ground and 70% of the same on descents, when the front of the truck and steering rack have more weight on them. I have been told by folks at two dealerships and even an independent Toyota service center that all of these trucks clunk. I have read similar remarks on other posts on Tacoma World and elsewhere. I hope this helps some of you relieve your clunk and reduce it to more livable levels of vibration. To do this, you may need a helper to assist you in holding the rag joint down under the dash while you tighten the upper bolt on the yoke under the hood/over the wheel. You are essentially shortening the shaft slightly as you move the upper shaft closer to the lower shaft in the yoke, and the best results may be seen with a brand new TSB shaft with a tight bushing, but I have not tried that yet. Please let me know how this turns out for you and how much it improves your steering.

 

Been trying to fix that clunk but no success. It's really bad on bumpy dirt roads, but even noticeable on pavement. I have a 2013 TRD 4x4, tried the zip tie fix and it didn't do a thing. I think the newer models have that greenish color spacer ring on the shaft that does what the zip tie would do. But still i need to fix this. Does anyone know if the slip-joint weld fix works for 2nd gen Tacomas? I do have a 3 inch Toytec lift with 32 tires. Any help here would be awesome! Thx.

 

So this is the culprit in the photo attached. I can only assume it popped out when I replaced the lower steering column and there was probably some wiggling front and back on that column.

When I took the plastic cover off the ring was just sitting there above the joint.

I just ran four zip ties through the joint and so far it’s running like a dream.

 

Can you send a pic or explain how you ran the 4 zip ties plz? Mine just started knocking and it’s driving me absolutely crazy

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-fix-will-make-your-day.435015/#post-12574327

 

Thank you @TnShooter
Just as an FYI, I still have not had a problem since this fix.

 

Was reading this and went out and checked mine I have slight play but can’t get my smallest zip tie in but while i was checking that I noticed my retaining clip that has teeth was down on the shaft not on the groove I believe a tooth broke off is why it won’t go back into the groove. i used a zip tie to hold it in place. Is this alright?

 

I would think it would be alright since it wasn’t holding anything and the zip tie put it back in place so it won’t drop to the bottom of the shaft. It’s loose it don’t grip on the groove but I don’t see why that wouldn’t be fine. Let me know if I’m wrong.