Steering Wheel column loose tilt adjustment

anyone have this issue and or a fix?

My steering wheel about a month ago developed 1/4-1/2” of extra play.

It feels like the whole steering wheel and column are coming loose and when I hit any bumps
it feels like it’s jumping all over the place.

If you grap the steering wheel top and bottom and push the wheel up and down there is almost 1/2” play. But there is no play if you do this left to right. Almost feels like the bolts holding the column to the frame have come loose.

Steering wheel and column have never been removed before.

Any ideas where to start looking?

Also has tilt steering

Steering rack and ujoints were replaced a year ago by dealer.

 

there is a thread on this on the forum somewhere regarding the collapsable column and how they "fixed" it. I think they disassembled the column and tack welded the collapsable portion together. Is this your issue, I dont know, I know that it only really effected a certain year of Tacomas.

 

Yes I read that thread but I have NO play from right to left and only play from top to bottom.

If it was the pin or joint I would think the play would be in both directions left to right and top to bottom

 

I have seen a thread where the steering wheel is loose. Get the cover off and there should be a nut that holds the wheel down. Check there first.... or can you physically feel the entire colomn moving up and down?

 

It’s the whole column and steering wheel you can feel move up and down, not sideways ,

Because it’s a tilt didn’t know if something in there area was going out

 

Could be that the lock to keep it in one place is losing its pressure/ability to keep it in place. I would pull the column cover and play with he tilt mechanism.

 

You'll know if you watch the column under the dash while moving up and down at the wheel.

It won't move as much as the wheel as its closer to the pivot point, but you'll be able to rule out the tilt mechanism.

 

So took the steering wheel and column out,

The tilt mechanism was actually the problem with 1/2” play from north to south position in the wheel not left to right.

Of course they don’t have the parts of sale anymore.

Found a complete steering wheel column with the tilt from a truck with 130k for 100.00.

So that was my fix, it’s going in today.