DIY: Steering Shaft Seal

Weird. I've apparently always had a light tapping with mine. Others have reported the same, so with mine being so low-mile, I went to listen and sure enough, I had it. Almost like a sewing machine. Sounds like valvetrain chatter I think, but I was told it's the injectors firing off. I didn't remember hearing it at first, but now I've heard it, I can't "unhear" it.

 

$5 in Owen’s Corning fiberglass will tell you in a few minutes.

 

I’m just gonna slap a new one on, if it doesn’t solve the problem it will sure help it

 

Chances are if the noise just suddenly appeared, it’s that boot.

 

It all started after the head gasket was replaced, which would make sense if it was something internal. The fact that it is audible outside the cabin adds to that conclusion

 

Aha! Most probably an exhaust leak from removing/replacing the exhaust manifold. Here's a DIY method to cobble together a stethoscope and search for the leak:

https://www.instructables.com/Find-an-exhaust-leak-without-burning-your-hands/

Or you could just buy one:

$30 Lisle 52750 Stethoscope Kit

https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-52750-Stethoscope-Kit/dp/B0015DLMOO?th=1

 

Didn’t know that you have to remove exhaust manifold for this job?

 

Yes...you said "head" gasket. If you meant "valve cover" gasket, then no. But the stethoscope will help you identify an exhaust leak regardless of the cause, and the Lisle unit will help to isolate mechanical sounds as well.

Another thing that happens when someone works on our engines is that one or more of the vacuum lines gets reinstalled in the wrong place, or left off entirely. That can cause a hellacious nose! Snap a few pics of your engine compartment and no doubt someone here will spot something.

 

Yes sir the head gasket. I will be upping pics in a bit.
In the mean time I have the seal in hand, I was thinking of trying to tackle it myself but after reading about people’s troubles separating the coupler I am now having second thoughts. lol I might be sending this one in

 

I did the seal on mine, but only because I had to drop the rack to install lower control arms. It's a 5 on the PITA scale.

 

I might just wait to get the rack done at the same time since it is leaking

fiberglass it is

 

There may be a head gasket in my future...please share your experience and cost.

 

Not a fun time. Truck was overheating and I was losing coolant without a visible leak on the ground. It cost me 2k done by a family friend. It turned out to be a head bolt not the gasket that cracked. This is when the tick started happening. The mechanic said to put some Lucas in there which I refuse to do


Almost wishing I spent that $ towards another motor. My advice is to not try to save money on this job. Get it done where they will give you a warranty

 

So I stuffed the steering shaft seal with some Owen’s r6.7 fiberglass but the noise is still there. When I get some time I will pressurize the cooling system with a vacuum and try to visually find leaks with soap bubbles, depending on how accessible the heat shield bolts are, if it is gonna be a PITA I may try the stethoscope

I might just try putting some sea foam through it to see if I can see it somewhwre

 

I completed the steering shaft seal job yesterday. I can confirm what everyone else says, it definitely changes the sound inside the cabin, for the better.

Fortunately/unfortunately, I also replaced the factory exhaust manifolds with JBA short tube headers, as I thought that was the cause of the noise issue. It was not which is why I stumbled upon this thread. Learn from my mistake, if you think you have an exhaust leak start with the steering shaft seal first.

 

How do you like the JBA shorties?

 

So far so good on the JBAs. Also replaced manifold studs and all exhaust mounting hardware and gaskets along the way. It was a beast of a job. But I got it done with no broken manifold studs.

Performance wise the JBAs seem to add more power in low end of rpm range. I would recommend.

 

Alright, got my truck a month ago, been looking into manifold leak stuff, stumbled across this, and sure enough my seal is all torn up. Beyond Caulking, missing most of the rubber. Ordered the part, got everything together to start and……my steering shaft is different than the example pictures. 06 DC 2WD. I don’t wanna mess with steering stuff without knowing exactly what I’m doing, so anybody have advice for how to go about this? I took out the bolts (circled in red) holding the 2 shaft ends together but the piece wouldn’t budge up or down. Try again with more PB blaster? Bolts were a PITA to get off, tiny little space up in there to work.

 

Leg99, The following thread on this topic on the tundra solutions forum shows the same type of shaft you have:

 

I think I'm going to tackle this job on my truck, I'm hearing a buffering/fluttering sound from the engine on acceleration only, want to rule out this seal before I look into exhaust leaks

 

So did you want to do mine next?

 

Very happy to come across this thread though, I’ve had significant engine/ticking noise on acceleration coming in through the firewall area by my feet since I got this truck and I just thought that’s how these trucks are. Really looking forward to hearing the difference.

Apart from centering the steering wheel and marking the shaft before doing the job does anyone have any tips to ensure everything goes back together correctly and the steering wheel stays straight? I’m assuming mine is gonna take a bit of pounding to get off. Seems like a couple people at least in here ended up with a crooked steering wheel that I’m afraid of. Debating just going the fiberglass insulation way first, but I’m wondering if the new seal will do a better job at reducing noise.

 

Better job, not really. I’ve done both. The replacement only lasts another 80-100k miles before it deteriorates and splits.

 

Makes sense the new boot will just deteriorate again eventually. Did you notice an audible difference between the two methods?

 

Not really but I don’t know how long the fiberglass method will last. I only did it since my truck has a finite life due to the rusty frame.

Been going strong for several years now. It’s easy enough to pull out after you just did it though.

 

Good to know, probably going give this method a go first. Seems easy enough that even if it doesn’t last as long it’s not a big deal. Thanks for all the info.