I went to the dealer and of course they didn't notice any "TOC".

I asked them to check the lower intermediate shaft bolt.

They said it was tight already but they torqued it a little more. It fixed the problem.

It was done more than 3 weeks ago and since then no more "toc" !

 

Are you able to provide a photo of where the 'lower intermediate shaft bolt' is?

 

There are only two bolts holding the intermediate shaft in place and you should re-torque them both.

The bolt that you can see in this picture is the upper bolt. Going down, after the rubber boot and before the steering box you'll find the lower bolt not visible in the pic). That was the culprit of my "toc"

 

BlackDiamond, thanks for the photo. I will check out those two bolts and tighten them up. If this has already been mentioned, sorry, but do you have the torque spec necessary, or is it even possible to get a torque wrench involved with the space available?

Thanks.

 

The man at the dealer didn't use a torque wrench. He used a T wrench (about 20" long) to reach the bolt. He just tighted it up and said that it looked already tight.

Probably it wasn't tight enough and it went more loose when temperature raised up.

The service manual says 49 N·m (36 ft. lbs.).

 

BTW i'm not a hillbilly ! I was told how to fix this so I thought I would share with you as well. And yes it did work , although you could have underlying problems besides this . So here goes first get a grease gun and change the tip out for a needle adapter like you would use to fill a basketball. then insert the needle into the boot and fill until the grease runs out around the needle hole you have made. Then squeeze the boot around to make sure its completely coated on the inside this should stop most of the clunks out there. This fix is always overlooked because its a simple fix. Last and not least apply beer can to hand and consume beer with authority and admire your work LOLOLOL !!! SEE PART 2 BELOW

 

more pics also you can tape the hole if you feel the need its not necessary but you can. Hope this helps dont forget the most important step the BEER is a MUST!!!! God Bless

 

I think there's no need to make an hole in the boot. You can remove the metal tie, inject the grease and install a zip tie to hold the boot.

 

You can remove the boot but its harder to get the grease in there thats why I did it the way I did. And also it was covered by rubber sealant after I was done.

 

Took it to the dealer describing the problem and suggested the culprit was the intermediate shaft. They said if they concur, it would be covered under warranty. They agreed the I-shaft was the problem and fixed it in less than an hour. Clunk is gone, and it feels like a tight-steering, comfortable ride once again.

I had previously snugged the bearing/bushing tight to the firewall and installed a screw clamp before taking it to the dealer for this fix, but it didn't resolve the clunking. The dealer left that screw clamp in place, FWIW - it isn't on the part they replaced...