Column shifter becoming sloppy

I used a small amount of superlube silicone grease, it’s all I had. I was having trouble shaping it on without. Grease made it easy

 

I’m doing it now I saw where Dorman says you can put it in hot water too to make it more pliable

 

Glad I did this today the original bushing was non existent just some dust in the cover that I took down. Much better now

 

Mine too

 

Hmm could this be a early truck vs late truck thing? I need to take a look at mine but if @KNABORES trucks bushing was fine but everyone that has done this in this thread have been newer it makes me wonder if they made the bushing different in later years.

 

I'd be interested to see. You can find out really quickly, less than 5 minutes.

Start the truck
Turn the steering wheel to 3 o'clock
Take out the screw on the column plastic at 3 o'clock
Turn the steering wheel to 9 o'clock
Take out the screw on the column plastic at 9 o'clock
Turn off the truck, tilt the steering wheel all the way up
Take out the screw in the middle of the bottom plastic
Push in the bottom half of the column plastic at the mid-seam on both sides and pop the bottom half of the plastic down

You'll see very quickly if yours is toast. You don't need the bottom half of the plastic on, and most local auto parts stores carry that specific part, if yours is toast you can drive to the store, get the part, install it in the parking lot, and you only have 3 screws to reinstall.

The only difficult part of the process is popping the plastic off, then getting it back on. The rest is cake.

 

Don't have a lot of time this week but I'll try and get to it soon and take a look. You talk about having play in neutral, I assume up and down play but I don't feel like mine has much slop but maybe I'll be surprised. I do remember driving @Tundra2 truck in my yard with a new shifter and it was buttery smooth so maybe I don't know what I'm missing.

 

It's possible you're good. I'm interested. Maybe this didn't plague the '00-'02 or something.

 

I think you're remembering this thread by Rusty - https://www.tundras.com/threads/1st-gen-shifter-replacement-prep.150034/

 

My 00 has no slop and shifts fine.

 

That's the one, and I was supposed to link it up in the megathread. Going over to do that now.

It feels almost like it was the lower of these two bolts he circled that is what the assembly is still showing play on. And maybe a little bit of back/forth movement there is fine. Or maybe that bolt has backed out a wee bit.

 

I just did this mod on my 2006 that has 82000 miles. My bushing was totally gone except for a little ring at the base. Man, what a difference! The shifter stalk feels like a normal car now. Many thanks to the OP for starting this thread.

 

Strange thing is my '07 Sequoia with about the same mileage has zero slop in the shifter. I may need to go investigate what the difference is...

 

Today I opened up the steering column on the 2007 Sequoia to have a look at the shifter for comparison. It is factory, and as stated previously, it feels perfect, unlike my 2005 Tundra, which seems loose.

The factory bushing seems to be in good shape, but otherwise I don't see any difference.

A few pics and a short video:




https://youtu.be/C4xnnoSv0ss?feature=shared

 

I just finished inspecting this assembly because like many of you, I noticed "slop" and had concerns. Everything looked better than I expected based on others experiences, including the factory lubricants, but I did notice the white nylon ball in the main assembly that rides in the curved groove is probably my issue. I'll have to address it soon-ish. Thx for all who posted stuff. Very helpful.

 

Just got my bushing in the mail, gonna replace it in the next couple of days. Never noticed it when shifting, but there's a decent amount of play when it's in gear.

 

Same.

 

So the Dorman part is the way to go here?

 

Pull your steering housing and check yours first. I’ll send you mine if you need one.

 

If you need it, yes. Verify before buying maybe, unless you want to buy it and just have it on hand.

although, if your shifter is sloppy (1” play or more) both before shifting into gear and after shifting into gear, yours may be blown too.

 

Wasn't the case with mine. I bought it and then uncovered to find OEM is in great shape. The minimal play I do have is elsewhere in the assembly - would require a yank to figure out what can/cannot be fiddled with really.

 

@KNABORES found his was nicely intact too.

 

well damn. Mine has almost a full inch of play in neutral.

Add another winter project to my list

best part about this forum - finding out about common issues and addressing them before they put you out of commission

 

It literally took me 10 minutes. The worst part of the entire job is separating and reattaching the clamshell around the column. Well, and the tediousness of starting the truck to turn the wheel back/forth enough to take the two column plastic screws.

 

There was nothing left of mine. The remaining piece was on the bottom of the clamshell and it disintegrated when I picked it up like others reported

damn mine was nasty under there. Also found a random white clip but can't locate the source



Also couldn't find the source of those black flakes of plastic on the blinker switch side

this explains some problems my brother reported when he borrowed my truck early last year before I started the restoration. He was having a hard time getting it in drive at times. I was afraid it was something much more serious. I think The cable must've almost totally come off. It did it to me when I got it back but then I just moved the shifter slowly back-and-forth from park to Drive a few times. and it's worked fine since. Albeit with a lot of play.


fortunately, the parts store has it in stock, so I don't have to wait for scamazon. I should be able to get it fixed in a few minutes and have time to go back to New Jersey and fly my super duper drone with the new light kit tonight

EDIT:
Got er done

I still have about a half inch of play but better than the 1 inch I had before

and I'm speaking of at the end of the gearshift handle, not at the base

 

I have virtually no play if I'm shifted in gear, and like 4x less play (maybe 1/8"?) when I'm in park. Hopefully I didn't get that backwards. But there's definitely a hint of play in mine. However, it's coming from the actual articulating metal plates that make up the shifter assembly base.

 

Dang, just did mine. I think that was the fastest fix ever. Took longer to go get the screwdriver!
As others have pointed out, raising the steering wheel tilt, shifting the lever to '2' and inserting the bushing into the shifter cable hoop first definitely make it go faster and easier.

 

Just browsing tundras.com and of course I find another thing to work on. My bushing has disintegrated into chunks of yellow crud.

 

I'm guessing you had that backwards. Mine has much less play in park, but it still has a good bit of play in gear.

I took the clamshell back off to confirm. It is not from vertical movement as it was before replacing the part ITT. It is that wobble from side to side that you referenced here:

 

You're right, I fiddled with the shifter yesterday while sitting in a line of cars. Definitely solid as a rock in park, but more play in gear/neutral. About ¼" of travel in the latter. But virtually all gone.

I dunno if it's possible to shore up the plate movement that allows that little bit of travel or not. I'd need to pull the assembly to see where it's coming from. It definitely shifts more firmly now, though. I notice it every time I get in the truck.