June1978

I'm having the same exact issue with my ES- my shaft makes the same noise- anyone had this issue? Other youtube videos I've watched people changed a dampener but this looks like its the shaft itself

Thanks

Arsenii

Hello,

It is a little hard to tell through the screen, but it appears that the only thing that can cause such backlash in the wheel is one of your u-joints. There should be two of those, one you showed on the video, the other is under the hood, right before the rack. To see which one to blame, grab one part of the shaft, after the u-joint and and try slowly turning the wheel, more like twisting them apart, see if you will be able to feel a backlash. If so, then you need to replace the u-joint, if not, do the same with the one on the outside of the vehicle. If there is no backlash, use a stethoscope or a long screwdriver to carefully listen for a click, and where it is coming from. While some bushing can give you a backlash, it will not be in rotation, it would likely be axial or radial movement.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

June1978

Can't replace the U-joint- the steering shaft is sold as one piece


The guy in the video responded to my comment and said the entire column needs to be replaced- yikes!- that's a costly repair and labor intensive. Just doesn't make sense that the column needs to be replaved when the noise/clicking is coming from the steering shaft itself- you can literally hear and feel the play in the shaft

Arsenii

It appears you are actually the lucky one, if you do have a 2002 ES300 - the joint is completely separate from the rest of the system, so it can be replaced without replacing the whole shaft. The number provided above is for the next generation ES, the actual Part Number for your specific U-Joint is 45209-33010. At least in my 2000 Lexus ES300, which has a very similar setup, it appears that all you need to do is unscrew both clamping screws, then slide the joint down and out of the car, so there is no need to take the entire column apart.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Oro

I have not encountered this, but heard of it a number of times. People have said a high-tack grease eliminates the noise. Did that not work here?

June1978

I own a 2002 ES300 and 2007 ES350- I'm reading this happens on a lot of Toyota and Lexus'. For Camry, the dampener needs to be replaced/greased. Like in this video (look at all that labor!)


Others have said that the entire steering column needs to be replaced- seems like a different fix based on whether you have a camry or lexus? From the video I originally posted, it looks like the steering shaft is loose which isn't a big deal- the shaft is $60 on Ebay and may take about an hour of labor. But in the same video the guy commented and said the steering column needs to be replaced,not the shaft

I want to be sure instead of throwing parts at it- before I go to the stealership, I'd like some input. My Toyota mechanic looked at it and said the entire column needs to be replaced- I just don't believe that. The noise is clearly coming from the shaft when I move it

Arsenii

Now you need to make up your mind on the car you are actually having issues with. Both videos you linked are for much newer cars with completely different systems. In 5th-gen ES350, which you linked first, the shaft with two u-joints is one assembly, so it will be quite tricky to take out without messing with the steering column. Camry that you linked next has a completely different issue altogether, since it has an Electric Power Steering, which has a motor with a dampener that came loose. If you have issues with either of those cars, you picked the wrong forum, since it is only for 1st to 4th generation ES.

If, on the other hand, you do have issues with your 2002 Lexus ES300, then you have an older model, which was still designed to be repairable, so to replace the u-joint, you probably won't need to throw half of the car apart, you should be able to slide the joint down and out of the car, replacing just that joint and not the entire shaft, like on the 5th-gen ES350 linked above. As for the Camry, your ES300 does not have Electronically Assisted Power Steering, so you do not have that unit shown in the video. That Camry is at least 10 years younger than your car, hence why it has more modern features, and subsequent headaches that come with them.

As for your mechanic, I am not sure why he believes that the entire column has to be replaced, even if there is something that failed in it (which I sincerely doubt), it is still serviceable. I explained why I think that your column if probably fine in my previous post - the column will not give you a backlash in Rotation, in will more likely shake up and down or from side to side. If the backlash is only present when you actually Turn the wheel, then it is not a column that gives you issues. To be sure, you can ask your mechanic why he believes the column needs to be replaced, and what exactly he implies by the "column". If you clearly feel the backlash coming from the u-joint, then this is what needs to be replaced, and if you are careful enough at marking both shafts to then realign them, you can do it by yourself.

Mine is also sort-of "clicking" a little bit, I can definitely tell that that click is coming from the u-joint. I did try forcing some grease in there, and while it did work for some time, the noise did come back in a while..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Arsenii

While digging through Google the other day, I accidentally stumbled across a very interesting product made by Toyota, Part Number for which is 04007-76133. It is a pretty thick grease that comes in a syringe with a long, flexible needle, which is specifically designed to quiet down squeaks and rattles in steering shafts and u-joints. I have never tried it myself though, but nonetheless, it still looks quite interesting..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

June1978

You're the greatest- sorry about all the confusion. This was for my 2007 ES350. The 5th Gen forum is no help and nobody ever responds despite 200 views. So I thought I'd come here and see if anyone can lend a hand.

I had to change the sway bars and two front struts yesterday to pass state inspection and the car rides so much better- very smooth and firm. The noise is not very apparent like before. The only time I hear it now is if I go over large bumps like a bunch of steel plates on the road because of construction. I will however try to grease up the shaft a bit more and see if I can fix this issue myself. For now I think I've decided to live with it.

By the way, I swapped the front with Monroe quick struts and so far so good. I do hear very minor creaking when pulling in and out of the driveway (very slow speeds) but they ride smooth and firm

Thank you again for all your help- I owe you a nice Xmas gift

LeX2K

Is this the same stuff that shows up in TSBs to get rid of intermediate shaft rattle? For those that don't know there is a TSB where you inject grease through the boot into the collapse/extent portion of the shaft they tend to bind up and rattle/groan wondering if this is the same issue.

June1978

Just looked and although my model year is not listed, I'm going to give this a shot. Found a few good write ups on how to do this.

BTW- I just got back from the dealership and they told me the noise is being caused by my serpentine belt and low power steering fluid- LOLOLOL....unreal. Absolutely nothing to do with shaft noise that you can clearly hear when checking for play under the dash

Even worse, The serp belt was changed 2 days ago by an indy mechanic- when i told the service advisor this, he went hmmmm and went back to talk to the tech. than they came back and showed me a picture of my "worn" belt and questioned whether or not I really changed it- crooks!

And the oil leak I have on my passenger side, dripping down to the power steering pump and rack/pinion boot, they said "lets start with the valve cover gaskets"- what? You're supposed to clean the area and use powder or dye to pinpoint the issue- instead they did a visual inspection and want to play a guessing game at MY expense! What a disappointing visit- not to mention $179 gone

I left a bad google review of this dealership just now- just horrible

LeX2K

This is why I never take my cars to a mechanic. Only exception is wheel alignments with I could do them myself. BTW OEM belts are cheaper than the generic stuff you buy at Autozone and the like, one of the few OEM parts that is less expensive.

Arsenii

Seems like it, though I haven't heard of that TSB before you mentioned it (the number of the TSB is T-SB-0296-08 by the way).. I just stumbled across it looking through a bunch of Toyota OEM greases. Frankly, that list is so massive it is already bordering insanity at this point, which raises a TON of debates online, like a Lithium Glycol grease (P/N: 08887-01206), which did manage to blow some valves because of its rather deceiving name.. I recently got some to try when my caliper started leaking, and it does feel rather nice, I will make sure to report back when my calipers will get seized, at least as I was assured by some people.

Hope this helps and best of luck!