4 runner steering box issues

[xjc]

Ok Yota guys, I need some help.

My sister in law had some ice issues in her 94ish 4runner and wound up tagging a nice new grand cherokee. She wasn't going too fast and was facing approximately strait ahead so when she hit, her tire that was turned left hit first. It didn't realy cause any damage to her car but left a pretty good gash in the zj. Her only problem is the fact that her steering wheel now sits upside down. She took it in to have someone give her a diagnosis and he said her steering box had skipped a gear. She didn't have a clue what the guy was talking about so she couldn't convey it very well.

Has anyone heard of such a thing?

My guess is that she must have spun a gear on its shaft.

Anyone know what to do about it?

 

[I Lean]

My money's on either a bent steering link, most likely the center link, or a twisted sector shaft. I don't believe it's possible to "skip a gear" without breaking the teeth off that gear. I suppose it's possible the pitman arm moved on the splines of the sector shaft too, but that'd be a long shot.

It sounds like she hit with the driver's side tire, right? If so, the center link wouldn't really come into play, unfortunately. That'd be the easiest fix.

Pull the pitman arm off and see if the splines are twisted.

A replacement IFS steering box can be had for $50-ish from You Pull It. Make sure you get a newer-ish one, there's a difference in the length of the input shaft compared to the older ones.

 

[xjc]

Thanks Carl

that sounds right

The shop quoted her 700 for the fix
I need to get into that racket