I have a significant play in my steering wheel I don't know the cause if it. I took it to the dealer for the steering rod replacement about three months ago and the play in the steering wheel has worsened since. The dealer said it has nothing to do with the rod. Does anyone know how I can fix it.

 

It's probably an alignment issue. I had the same thing on my 3rd gen and once aligned, a lot less play in the steering.

 

I had some play on my steering wheel until I replaced the idler arm. Found out about this during the 50N recall repair and Toyota had suggested that I replaced the idler arm if I wanted the wheel alignment to have a desirable result.

 

I think the FSM says not more than 1" play (in one direction) at the rim of the wheel,, while engine is OFF.

Mike in AR

 

My 4runner has the same issue, so Im tackling it part by part. First I'd check, tighten repack or replace your wheel bearings. Next, you might want to replace the steering stablizer/dampener. They aren't very much and being a shock absorber it will wear out over time especially if you've been driving with a vibration for a long time like I have. Thats my 2 cents