YODAONE

The tilt steering mechanism in late 1998 LS400 to 2006 LS430 employs a "stopper and spring mechanism on the worm drive gear.

While the tlt mechanism motor is in good condition and the worm drive has been wiped and relubricated with correct Toyota "Body Grease", I was still able to discern a very slight noise.

Upon further evaluation, I was able to locate and remove the the tilt steering stopper which resides in the pivot mechanism block. This component tensions the worm drive gear via a spring that is held in place with an allen head threaded plug.

An image taken of bottom view up of the steering column with upper and lower covers removed. The threaded allen head cap is shown near top of this image in center of tilt pivot block...requires a 4 mm allen wrench to remove.

After removing allen head threaded plug and small spring, I used an extendable maget (looks like a power antenna extended) to extract the tilt steering stopper from the tilt steering block.


Lexus P.N. and new steering stopper...about $2...
Original steering stopper on the left depicting wear marks, new part at right.
Toyota Body grease as used by factory. Applied an ample amount to the stopper and spring before reassembling....

BE SURE you insert the stopper into its bore so the curved side is up AND curvature is aligned with worm gear.. If unsure what this means..then do not attempt...or ask someone...

2KHarrier

Excellent Write up. Does the spring that holds that stop in place require replacement? I would think the spring would fail before the stop wears...?

YODAONE

Probably the spring sets over time.

Inexpensive to replace, however I didn't.

If it was transmission or engine related, I probably would replace.