Stiff steering

[stanrob]

Hello once again my friends, with another problem this time: my steering has gradually stiffened.

My most trusted (or least untrusted) mechanic sprayed something from underneath on what I thought was the u-joint in the steering column. That cleared it up for several months; now it's back. He told me I would need to replace a certain part (unspecified) and he doubted whether I would ever find one. Does anybody agree and/or know what this part might be?

It's harder to notice as I begin a turn. When it becomes more obvious is coming out of the turn, requiring effort to straighten. It varies from day to day and even from left to right. Doesn't matter whether the car is moving. It seems to take conscious effort to activate PS, both turning and straightening.

[dlb]

first thing i would do is check the power steering fluid level.i doubt that's it but check the easiest, cheapest things first.

failing that, if the mechanic lubed the u-joint, things got better for a bit, and now they're bad again, the u-joint is failing. it's easy enough to spray lube on it so you can try doing that yourself. if it doesn't improve, there is a thread that covers replacing the steering u-joints, although it is quite a task in that there are no new u-joints available. that means you have to find a good one at a wrecker, remove it, remove your bad one, and install the good one. or you might be able to remove the bad u-joint, take it to a parts place, and find a new one that fits but you will need a parts person who is savvy and wants to help you.

anyway, here's that thread.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9448&p=68644

[marlinh]

I agree with dlb, that it is probably the u joint. It is not that difficult to replace the shaft. You should be able to find a good one at a wreckers and install it. You can then repair the old one in the future and have a spare.

[Petros]

the tough thing would be finding a u-joint if that is what you need. Toyota did not sell the u-joint, but the whole steering shaft assembly with the u-joint in it, and it is no longer available. The '83-84 is different, and harder to find. Also, the manual and power steering shafts are different lengths, so you have to get the correct one if you are buying the whole shaft assembly. The '85-87 steering shaft u-joint assembly was still available from Rockauto and a few other places last year. I do not see it in the on-line catalog right now, but others may stock it.

Or you can try and find a matching u-joint and replace it yourself as I show in the thread linked above.

[dlb]

also, don't the tilt and non-tilt steering columns have different joints? would stanrob need to find a donor that matches both tilt/non-tilt AND power steering/manual steering?

[irowiki]

Is power steering the majority? Every second gen tercel I've ever seen has power steering.

[dlb]

my second parts terc (an '84 sr5) was manual steering. i now wish i kept all the steering components from it. hindsight is 20/20.

[Petros]

all Tercels '85 and later were tilt (I think federal requirement), and hence the change in steering shaft after the non-tilt steering wheel of the '83-84 year.

the only non-power steering I have seen was '83-84, where it was an option (I have seen both for those years). I suspect '85 and newer were all power steering, for that is all I have seen for the later models. It may have been an option, but none were ever delivered to the dealers without the power steering option, so it becomes defacto all power steering after '84.

[dlb]

all Tercels '85 and later were tilt (I think federal requirement), and hence the change in steering shaft after the non-tilt steering wheel of the '83-84 year.

both the '87 DLX automatic and the '86 DLX manual i had were non-tilt.

[Jooseppi Luna]

On the manual steering bit, did the manual steering Tercs have a different steering ratio or not? If the ratio of the power steering is already favorable, you might try just eliminating the PS.

[marlinh]

Maybe that was a states thing Petros. All the DLX's I've had up here were non-tilt steering and manual. That's why I was surprised Everett had both features.

[Mark]

Every Tercel I've ever had have been manual steering, but they were all '84 or older.

[Petros]

so the tilt steering is for SR5 models '85 and newer? seems like a wasted feature, once you set it to your preference you never use it again.

[irowiki]

Multiple drivers in the same car!

[tercel4wdrules]

It seems like Dorman may have discontinued the steering shaft u-joint, but perhaps Advance Auto still has stock: http://tinyurl.com/kpth7gq