Tacoma 2005-2015 Intermediate Steering Shaft Replacement

I have a 2wd and coudnt find any aftermarket parts for a 2wd i had to go w Oem the 2wd is a shorter shaft any ine else have this issue

 

I normally look up the OEM part number and price, then search. That way I'm a little more confident of fitment. If the price difference isn't too bad I go OEM. Boch Toyota South online parts has decent pricing (an '09 Taco 2wd 45203-04011 was 165.00).

 

Link?

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/INTERMEDIA...ted|Submodel:Base|Engine - Liter_Display:4.0L

 

It says 2.7 4cyl 4x4. But it fit my 4.0 v6 4x4 pretty eays to do.

 

thanks!

 

$50 seems pretty reasonable for that. I already bought the new, greaseable u-joint, haven’t gotten around to installing yet. A bit less cost but a bit more labor, but being able to re-lube should mean never having to replace it again.

 

Where did you find a greaseable one, I paid almost $200 from the stealership for an OEM part because the first one I bought off of ebay didn't fit.

 

There’s a thread about it. I’ll try to find it and post a link.


That was easy, here ya go https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-lower-steering-shaft-rebuild-diy.543377/

Iirc I paid $20 for the u joint on Amazon.

 

I just had mine out while replacing the rack. It was still tight, no play at all. I have the All Balls greaseable joint in my basement just in case mine fails. It was still in perfect shape though.

I ended up stretching a bicycle tube over it and packing it with grease while it was out. Not sure how long it’ll last, but I’ll give it a go. If the tube splits, it’s not too bad to get the shaft out and replace it with a larger one (dirt bike maybe?) that may last longer and not stretch so much.

Edit, I uploaded the wrong pic, but you get the point. I ziptied the ends to help stop water ingress.

 

I tried the bike inner tube and it blew out before installation. So I got a larger diameter one and it seems to be holding. Having a tough time getting the steering wheel straight again. My splines were very rusty on both ends. May just take it in for proper alignment at local shop.

 

Nice write up. Do you recall where you purchased the parts used (yoke, shaft and three bolts)?

 

I believe I bought them from camelback Toyota

 

I’ll check mine tomorrow to see if it’s still intact. I have my doubts, but maybe I’ll get lucky. I’ve put 10k miles on it since I did the rack in February.

Edit: 1/4/22- tube is still holding strong. Not a ton of miles on it, though. :shrug:

 

Thanks for the great write up. I just want to add that when I replaced mine, I had trouble remove the 1 bolt on the bottom of the shaft and once I got it out the splines were so rusted I had to use a sledge hammer to break it lose.

And in doing so, I move the steering alignment. Once I installed the new shaft, I try to get it as close as possible to center and my steering wheel was only off slightly when driving straight.

But the problem I had was, I could not go over 15 mph without my anti-skid light coming on and VSC trying to brake the truck.

To correct this, I had to do a Zero Point Calibration. Hope this helps someone that may encounter this issue since it seems intermediate shaft issue seems common on the TACO.

 

Is there a difference in a more expensive intermediate shaft over a cheaper one? Is there an OEM brand better than another?

 

I know you asked this a while back, but I think it's worth answering. This part isn't just a u-joint and some metal rod, it's the part that's meant to crumple in an accident to keep the steering wheel from slamming into you. I've seen these as cheap as $34 on Ebay, and the OEM part is north of $175 depending upon what discount you get. The cheap one probably will work like the OEM in an accident, but personally I think it's a lousy place to be trying to save a few bucks to find out.

 

I tackled the shaft replacement this weekend, and of course it was a pain but in the end successful. As the OP pointed out, spreading the ears of the yokes helps tremendously. I found using a prybar I have that's essentially a giant flat-blade screwdriver to keep the yoke open a bit more on the shaft connection to the steering box allowed my air chisel to make fast progress. Yeah, the prybar would fall out after a few seconds, but some lather/rinse/repeat and it was finally off.

I didn't try to mark the position of everything before removal, so come installation time I just got the wheels and the steering wheel pointed dead straight and did a test installation. I was off by one spline, took ten minutes or so to correct that. I made sure the wheel was in the center of the clock spring range, which is a little over 5 1/2 turns.

For as bad of shape as the seals were in, the u-joint was in better shape than I expected.

 

You also got almost 13 years out your oem one, so what’s $200 for another 13 years. Whose to say the aftermarket ones will last nearly as long.

 

The track record for the vast majority of aftermarket OE replacement parts don’t have the same longevity as actual OE parts. Aftermarket parts are purchased for cost savings, most of the time. You do you, but OE parts are superior to aftermarket OE replacement parts.

Also, failing? It’s been 13 years. Parts don’t last forever and need to be replaced. It’s simply reached the end of it’s expected life and it’s time for a new one. Nothing on a vehicle lasts forever.