The factory service manual is Toyota's version of a Chilton (and 100x better).

 

IF I remember...big IF there, i will see if i can look through my toyota fsm and see if i can find how to adjust the steering gear box and hook you up. like i said though...IF. I forget everything.

 

And you can easily track down when the slop is coming from. Have someone sit in the driver's seat and slowly crank the steering wheel back and forth, just to the point the front tires move. Then follow the steering linkage from the firewall down and find out where you have motion upstream and no motion downstream. The point where the motion stops is where the slop may be coming from. And it may be more than one thing, a little bit of slop in a few places can add up to a lot.

 

yesterday i tryed to track down the "weakest link" myself. i grabbed the steering shaft and rotated it back and forth while looking at the tires for movement. the steering shaft moves half a turn to the left and rite without moving the tires (truck on jack stands) that to me looks like excessive play in the box? im no expert though. if for any reason i am writing this wrong i will try to explain it better. if your standing in the front of the truck looking into the hood at the steering shaft and you can in-vision a straight line going straight up (through the hood) (straight line is just a reference) when i turn the shaft towards the passenger side, the straight line would be pointing at the pass tire, and when i turn it to the rite the straight line would point to the driver tire... that's a complete half a rotation before the tires even think about moving. does that seem normal to anyone? also the steering shaft moves with little to no effort back and forth. to me it should seem a little tighter the that. im moving it from under the hood and just grabbing the steering shaft.?? im such a newbie.. lol

 

Yes, but the key is to see if it is just the shaft from the steering wheel to the box that is moving and nothing after the box. Also, on the shaft, there are u-joints, and the rubber rag joint that all can have play in them. So the key is to see if the entire shaft is rotating back and forth 1/2 turn as one solid piece and that motion stops at the steering box, or does the pitman arm on the box move as well. Adjustment screw is on top of the box, look straight down at the box. Jamb nut to loosen, then a long flat bladed screwdriver to turn the adjustment screw.

 

thanks for the tip. today i will get a buddy over to turn the wheel while i inspect ALL the linkage. I do have another question though... my rearend leaks a quart a week of gear lube. I didn't think it was the pinion seal but i replaced it anyway because it was cheap and easy to do but the leak is still there and i believe its the gasket for the housing/3rd member. Does the 3rd member use a gasket or RTV sealent? also does it require pulling the axle shafts out of the housing? is there any tech tips i need to know or any do-s and don't-s?

 

Either gasket or RTV (Special Grey or Toyota orange FIPG). Snug up the nuts around to see if that helps. They don't take a lot of torque, only 19 ft.lb. and even that is pushing it from what I have seen. I use a small wrench and tighten by hand. If that doe not help, check that the breather vent on top is not clogged, that is a likely cause (builds pressure inside the axle as it heats up and if that pressure can't vent, it'll push out through the weakest point). And to repair/replace, pull out the axle shafts (4 nuts hold each into the housing, disco. e-brake and brake lines), pull out, clean and reseal. I prefer the RTV over the factory paper gasket as I have had the paper gasket start to wick gear oil out after some years and not really enough to drip, but with the wet film of gear oil all over it is messy.

 

+1 for FIPG. FWIW, tightening my 3rd member made it leak worse. But...it didn't make a big difference because every friggin seal on my rear axle leaks right now (breather's not clogged).

 

Yikes BMCELL!!! sounds like you need to stuff a picture of chuck norris in your rear end?!! lol thank you for that advice everyone

 

That...did not sound good. LOL

 

lol, sorry about that BMCELL, i totally didnt want that to sound like that! lol. anyway, yesterday i pulled out the rear end breather and cleaned it up with brake cleaner and then checked the bolts on the 3rd member and sure as ˟˟˟˟ the 2 bottom bolts were loose. i tightned them up and put the breather back on and and i havent noticed a drip yet. also i tryed to tighten the adjustment on the steering box but it didnt help at all. im just going to do like you all suggested now and take it back to the place of alignment. thanks again everyone!