Either your local dealer is jacking you around, which is not unheard off, if you are working on one of their trucks or they are looking at the US built version of this truck. The truck you have is built in Japan for the US market and has the type of steering you are talking about.

Thank you for all your help and input bbforks. IT IS APPRECIATED! I just sent some pics to your hotmail address. Looking forward to hearing what you think.

Will you send a pic of this system to my email? The dealer called me back w/ questions & I want to be familiar with how it's set up before I start explaining it to them.

Can the worm gear be causing the problem? If not, I would try to bench test the motor with maybe 12? volts and see if it shutters, if so I think the armature may have problem.

No disrespect- I thought you were the end user, not the tech. I'll contact my local dealer w/ your model & serial #'s & see what they have to say & let you know.

BTW-I've caught many OEM dealers over the years selling grey market lifts in my area- only to deny the sale if there should be any issue- there's always seems to be a paperwork glitch that gets them out of the hot seat.

I didn't look on the frame to see if the serial plate matched what was stamped. The rest of the truck does match the 5 series books though so I would assume it is correct. I dont think this is a grey market unit, in fact, our local dealer was the selling dealer of the unit as they install a metal dealer tag on the hood beside the data plate. All of my manuals show a simple orbitrol and steer cylinder setup on this truck just like any other fork lift. This is my 23rd year in the business and I've never seen this system on any Toyota I've ever worked on. Very strange to say the least.

I'm not familiar with your lift but have worked on many Toyota's & find it strange that neither the dealer nor the 5 series books shows the system you have- what is the chassis #? Perhaps the data plate has been changed incorrectly. Or on second thought- is it a grey market lift? (writing on data plate not English- no UL plaque on lift)

Thanks for the input Mrfixit,
We have pulled the motor and the brushes and commuator look fine. The motor is quiet and smooth and it reacts to the steering wheel input it just oscillates as it turns. Our local Toyota dealer is not what we would call a good one. They cant even provide a manual or any test procedures on this unit and none of my 5 series books show this type of steering system.

I would pull the motor out and check the brushes. That would cause it to shutter. Parts should be available to repair it or there are places to get a rebuilt motor if it has major problems.