Steering momentarily locked-up, mid-turn

[The Professor]

Just like the title says, this happened twice recently. I was going around a corner and when I went to unwind the steering wheel, there was some unnatural resistance, then the steering felt like it released and went back to normal.

The car is an '87 4WD with power steering and about 186k miles. I'm thinking steering shaft u-joints, but I don't know these cars very well. Maybe it's something else?

Thanks in advance!

[dlb]

steering u-joints are my first guess too. the last t4 i owned had very stiff steering. i remembered someone on here had a similar experience and sprayed pb blaster on the joints and that alleviated the symptoms, so i tried the same. worked like a charm. replacing the joints is obviously the definitive repair but for the work involved, and if you can get another several more years out of the current joints with just a spray from a can, i say try the spray.

[Petros]

Almost certainly it is the u-joint. sometimes the rack will disintegrate and cause problems but they act differently, you will feel the roughness when you turn the wheel. to verify, soak the steering shaft U-joints in penetrating oil, do it every few days until you can get a replacement. It should smooth it out, but likely the seals and bearing are shot so lubricating it is only a temporary measure. There is a thread that shows how to replace them, with a part number to get a replacement. It is possible to take it out and repack the bearings with grease, but likely your needle bearings are too far gone at this point. they were not designed to be serviceable, but to replace as an assembly.

you will not see a listing for the u-joint for the Tercel, Toyota only sold them as a complete assembly (yoke, spline shaft, u-joint), which are hard to find (actually the '85 and later is not so bad, sometimes Rockauto.com has them). but you can replace just the u-joint if you are willing to do a bit of work to drive out the old one and install the new.

[The Professor]

I liberally sprayed down the U-joint and the steering hasn't locked up again, but I can hear a faint clunking while turning the wheel past a certain point in either direction.

I looked for a replacement and found about three different options from $50 on up to well over $100. Is there any difference between the U-joint on a manual vs. power steering system?

[Gottolovem]

Yes their is a difference between the two.

post a photo of the one you have i might have a good replacement for you (not sure if my extra is manual or power)

[Petros]

there is no difference in the u-joint itself, but in the assembly there is. toyota never sold the u-joint separately, but sold it as an assembly with the spline shaft and yoke on each end. the power steering shaft assembly is shorter than the manual steering as I recall. There are a few after market suppliers that had these assemblies available, oddly no one ever listed the correct u-joint part number separately for these cars. if you buy the assembly you need to get the correct one, '83-84 was different than the '85-'88 Tercel4wd, as is also the manual and power steering assemblies.

Lucky for you Tercel4wd.com to the rescue! There is a thread that lists a replacement u-joint part number that I think forum member Xirdneh discovered and posted, and so you can replace just the u-joint using your old shaft, and you do not need to worry if you got the correct length. These u-joints are not under much load, so I do not think spending more will necessarily means it will last longer.

Also consider that it could still be the steering rack that is breaking up internally, though that seems unlikely at this point.

good luck.

[lannvouivre]

the power steering shaft assembly is shorter than the manual steering as I recall.

The U-joint assembly is at least an inch shorter for PS than manual. Source: I have a power steering rack and manual rack to compare side by side on the sidewalk, and the gearbox on the PS is much longer.

[xirdneh]

There is a thread that lists a replacement u-joint part number that I think forum member Xirdneh discovered and posted,

i remember the post but it was not me
someone found an RV "U" joint that fit

[jimcrazy]

u joint

[The Professor]

Great! I'll have to look into that kit! Has anybody put together a walkthrough on the u-joint replacement?

[ARCHINSTL]

Great! I'll have to look into that kit! Has anybody put together a walkthrough on the u-joint replacement?

Odd you mentioned that - after seeing jimcrazy's post, I wondered how U-joints were removed, so did a Google Search and found a number of Youtube videos on the subject; MUCH easier than I'd imagined!
Tom M.

[jimcrazy]

professor if you can not find one I can ship you one, they are 30.00 Canadian plus the shipping, I keep 3 or 4 on the shelf

[Petros]

I did a picture step by step here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9448&p=68628&hilit= ... int#p68628

[ARCHINSTL]

I did a picture step by step here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9448&p=68628&hilit= ... int#p68628

OOPS - sorry Petros - I'd forgotten about your guide!
Tom M.

[xirdneh]

i just ordered one allballsracing.com 19-1010 "u" joint on amazon for 15.00 (free shipping)