powdermnky007

I have a 98 T100 v6. When I turn the wheel to go around a corner sometimes there is a medium amount of resistance. It's not a the very end of the steering turn, it's someone in the middle. 99% of the time the power steering feels great, easy to turn the wheel. It's not at high speeds when you are only turning the wheel a little bit, only at low speeds, when taking a corner as you are turning the wheel more.

I will turn the wheel to make the corner, once I have made it through the apex and have loosened my grip on the wheel so it is just sliding through my hands returning to center. That is when it the resistance will get you. It's just enough for the wheel to stop returning to center automatically. The wheel will hang and I have to apply pressure to 'get it past the hang up'. Then it will continue to return to center.

I did some searching on this site and on google for anyone with a similar problem and was unable to locate a forum post on the topic. It's not a huge problem, because when the issue happens I'm usually going slow, so it's easy to correct the problem.

I am planning on getting under the truck and playing with it to see if I can make it happen. I might jack up the front end of the truck and turn the wheel to see if I can find the exact spot where it happens. I know that will change the steering geometry so I'm not sure if that will help.

I found an exploded view of the steering shaft \ column and it had lots of stuff on it, so I'm not too sure where to begin. Any ideas?
Thank you in advance.

FoCo_4_Low

any other symptoms/problems? Is your steering loose or does it pull at all? Tires shaking/unstable? Any belts squeeling? Two things come to mind initially.
1) an old, dirty and sticking steering damper (the shock absorber thing attached to the relay rod) cheap and easy to replace
2) a steering gear box that has been banged around and is slightly out of alignment (do you 4-wheel your truck at all? this is common on rigs that have seen some rough trails) expensive to replace.

powdermnky007

Steering is not loose at all, feels great, very tight and smooth. No noises, no pulling, no belts squealing.

The truck is 99.9% highway only, it's a 2 wheel drive model. I've driven it in my dad's field a few times, on flat ground, going slow 5-10 mph through the grass. It would go through bumps, but not as severe as hitting a pothole on the interstate.

The vehicle is totally unmodified, no lifts or oversize tires. Good idea on the steering damper. I'm not sure if the truck has one, but I will look under it and if it does I will change it out.

FoCo_4_Low

Ok so based on that vehicle history I'd say you can rule out the steering gear. I'd try the damper, you definitely have one, its mounted in the very front of the truck in the bottom, center. You can't miss it under there, its the only thing that looks like (basically is) a shock absorber. Its just mounted with two bolts one to the frame, one to the relay rod. Take that bad boy off (~10min with a 14mm(?) wrench) and see if the rod pushes in and out smoothly and evenly, my bet is it doesn't. RockAuto has several different ones ranging from $16-$55 http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...,parttype,7412

powdermnky007

Crawled under my truck and it doesn't have a damper. It's a 2wd model. I read on another forum that toyota quit putting steering dampers on t100's after the 95 or 96 model, I can't remember what year for sure.
I tried to make the steering mess up tonight on the way home and couldn't. Turned sharp right and left turns and it worked great the whole time. Very intermittent. :\

FoCo_4_Low

Good to know, I didn't know they ever took them off. It must just be a joint/connection that is sticking somewhere. Tie rod ends would be a good place to start, those always wear out with time and if the ball joints in them are going bad it would cause sticking in the steering. Another steering part that almost always goes out with time (especially on trucks) is the idler arm (more specifically its usually the cheap polyurethane bushing inside there that wears out). I had to do my idler arm last summer, its real easy only 4-5 bolts, no problems getting at it and maybe $40. I'd say those are by far your two most likely culprits. It could potentially be another joint in the steering system like where the relay rod hooks to the idler or pitman arm (I think those are ball joints as well). Here is the best diagram I can find online of the suspension/steering setup on our trucks. The idler arm is the left-most thing on the diagram and you can kind of see how it all works from there

powdermnky007

The pic above is for 4wd all the 2wd has for steering is a plain ole steering rack. No pitman or idler arms. The post below has a pic of what mine looks like.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...estion-144546/

I didn't see any grease zerks on any of the ball joints anywhere under there. Can anyone confirm if they are all sealed?

250000_yota

Powder, it sounds like you might have a power valve sticking in the steering rack. It can happen with age. I'd try a power steering flush. Either take it to a shop, which offers power steering flushes, or, do it your self. Use something to suck the fluid out of the resivore, then fill it with fresh fluid, and run it around the block. Repeat this one or two times, or, if the fluid looks real dark, until it looks good and golden.

Also, as far as grease goes, on my 4wd, there was one 10mm bolt on each ball joint, that you remove, and install a grease zirk into. You can get the zirks at any auto parts store. Just look for metric grease zirks. If I remember correctly, they are M6x1.25 thread pitch.

powdermnky007

Will do. This is my first Toyota. I am familiar with Hondas and I know they require special power steering fluid. What type of power steering fluid should i use in the Toyota?
Thank you!

250000_yota

Toyotas aren't like Hondas. Use what ever you see fit. Personally, I had very good luck with lucas power steering fluid in my last truck. Honestly, Lucas and BG products are the only two on the market that I see results with. Everything else is snake oil in my opinion...

FoCo_4_Low

powdermnky, sorry I have been giving you all this inapplicable advice about the 4x4 steering system! I didn't even realize that the 4x2s had such a different setup. I think 250k_yota is right. That system is quite a bit simpler and the only thing that could really be sticking is the rack and pinon assembly.
On an unrelated note, is your screen name a reference to you being a skier/boarder? If so rock on brother! Keep that yota plowin' through the pow up to the slopes.

powdermnky007

Hey, it's all good! I am just happy someone responded to me! You still gave me lots of good info. I am relieved to have a rack and pinion, 4x4 stuff is complicated! I am planning on doing a flush over the weekend and I'll see what happens and post back here.

Nah I don't ski, the name powdermonkey is the same screen name i've been using since high school. It was in one of our history books and i thought it sounded cool.

Powder monkeys were members of a warship's crews during the Age of Sail. They carried bags of gunpowder from the powder magazine in the ship's hold to the gun crews. Powder monkeys were usually boys or young teens selected for the job for their speed and height — they were short and would be hidden behind the ship's gunwale, keeping them from being shot by enemy ships' sharp shooters. In recent times the term has been applied to a variety of workers who deploy explosives. The use of the term 'powder monkey' in English dates to the late 17th century.

powdermnky007

Flushed the steering system Friday afternoon. I pulled the return hose off the reservoir and let it dump into a drain pan. Left the engine off, had my wife turn the wheel back and forth and I kept the reservoir full. Put it all back together and so far it's driving great. Time will tell as it was an intermittent problem. If it reoccurs I will update this post.
Thank you for your help!

250000_yota

Good to hear powder. What kind of power steering fluid did you decide on?

powdermnky007

It was the only Dexron II\III stuff that the local autoparts store had. Valvoline DEX/MERC ATF. I would rather have had something that said straight Dexron. I'm sure it'll be fine though.

250000_yota

There is minimal difference between dexron and Mercon. Hence why they sell them as one product. It will be fine.

powdermnky007

Thanks for the reassurance. The steering still hasn't stuck yet so I'm thinking it's fixed. Thanks for the help!