Amp Power Step motor spins but step doesn't move FIXED

A few weeks ago I noticed the driver's side Amp steps motor spinning and the step not moving.
I got under the truck and had the wife open the door, I could see the motor gear spinning, and see the gear to the step was broken.
Emailed AMP and they gave me a link to the part.
My steps are 7 years old so they are out of warranty.

This is part, I think the shipping was more than the part..

AMP Research Motor Drive Shaft (11-03239-90) (electricstep.com)



Here are the instructions, although they aren't very good.
They describe a different setup with side notes for our application.

CLUTCH GEAR CHANGE.pdf (electricstep.com)

I should have taken more pics, but I thought this was going to be a quick part swap.
I ended up having to take the step off and remove the mount because of a stripped Allen head screw.
It stripped pretty easily and I hammered a torx bit in to get it out.
It was probably easier to replace the part by removing the bracket anyway.

The few pics I did take.
You do have to remove the motor and gearbox to get the shaft out.
Unfortunately, you need to remove the motor to get the gearbox off.
Maybe not if you use and old-school Allen wrench.





The broken gear shaft with the new one installed.
It was the actual gear head that failed, it literally disintegrated.
I found little parts of it in the driveway...



The trick is you have to remove this nut that holds a wedge in place and then tap the shaft out.
I loosened the nut and tapped it to pop the wedge out.
The wedge is what holds the shaft flat stop in place.










If you take the motor and gear off the bracket with the step extended, you need to put it back on with the gear extended.

Good luck..

 

I just noticed the poop bag box in the background..
Those are for Poop Dawg..

 

Same exact thing happened to me. Working with AMP on the replacement of the part was horrendous. Worst customer service experience...

 

Had the same issue, but was under the 5 year warranty for my 2.5 gen crew cab. Had to submit a warranty claim online https://realtruck.com/contact-brands/contact-ampresearch/?show=contact-jot-form#warrantyclaim . After a few follow up phone calls they sent a replacement shaft (PN# 11-03239-90). Photos of damaged shaft.

Drive shaft broken as installed:

Removed broken drive shaft

 

This just happened to me and now im about to order this part. Would you happen to know the part number of the motors used on the Tundra steps? Im thinking to maybe changing out the motor since I have to take it apart.

 

Friend of mine just bought a set of Amp XL steps and the arms bolted to the motor support broke on both sides. The guy he bought them from also installed them - he couldn't get resolution from his distributor (possibly because Amp wouldn't help?) so my buddy had him pull the steps, refund him, and bought some off Amazon.

 

I purchased some Amp electrical steps several months ago and returned them because of all the negative feedback from toyota forum. Their step product line needs to be recall and recondition do to parts failure at an alerting rate. Motor problem, loud noise when steps are being deployed, part replacement difficult to obtain, and inadequate support / information from customer services.

 

I got a second hand set and found all the people/ parts info to be very helpful. They do make a ton of noise, if I had paid full price I would have been annoyed.

 

I just performed this same repair. Wasn’t hard at all. Now I don’t have a continuous sagging step

 

As the OP, my AMP step update:
I pulled them off and ripped the wiring out.

Replaced them with Go Rhino Dominator Extreme D1s.
No more noise and failing parts..

 

Thread from the dead! The purpose is to add a data point. My drivers side bed step motor crapped out at 5 years. It’s been making noise for a while but yesterday it finally bit the dust.

Edit: it was 5 years and a couple months. I love when stuff dies right outside warranty.

 

I am all about paying a premium for superior products…..but amp steps have always been a bit exorbitant to me. To pay that amount and have parts fail after 5 or 6 years will cause me to never consider them. If I pay that much I would expect superior hardware that doesn’t crumble when weathered. I will stick with my fixed steps and be happy that there are no moving parts to fail……

 

You'd be hard pressed to find any power step that'll last beyond 5 years.

 

Yeah I guess that’s what I am saying……the steps are a great idea in theory but in practicality can’t justify it for my purposes

 

My ActionTracs have been exchanged probably a dozen times over the course of the last 5 years (purchased in 2020). The slight advantage of one company over another is how much a company stands by their product.

 

I certainly respect them for standing by their product and replacing them but the hassle of removing them a dozen times in five years would drive me insane and probably cause me to scrap them or sell them

 

I thought about selling them but 2 things stopped me:
A) They were not fun to install. They consist of a massive harness that basically has its own small ECU and sensors for each door (neodymium magnets)
B) I don't want to pass on sub par performing steps to an unsuspecting buyer

 

Well, mine died in the UP position so I had to remove the whole running board to get the motor off. When I got the motor apart I found one of the plastic gears inside it had a bunch of broken teeth. I imagine that was my failure point, for those that are interested.

fortunately it made it just outside of warranty.

 

That’s nuts. The AMP was a few wire splices when I put it in 5 years ago. The install wasn’t bad at all.

 

Yeah I've installed Amps and we did the hard wire version - MUCH easier than mine.

 

I wish I had never gotten my AMP steps for a few reasons I have already mentioned.
They are too noisy.
I got tired of replacing parts, motors, and gears.
But the #1 reason is door dents.
I never had door dents with my OEM tube steps.
Now I have got 8 or 9 on each side.

BTW my wife hated those Go Rhino D6 steps.
Ended up with Tyger Blades..
The step is a bit high, but she loves that they are flat...

 

Mine are in the down position. Keeping them working was a constant battle and moving on..

 

It's the price you pay for convenience I guess.

I remove all the components and clean them once in Spring and once in Fall, lubricate and grease, I also noticed the shields/guards on the PowerXL steps does a better job at protecting the mechanisms, although I still wish for a rockslider/steps like ones for Jeeps.

 

The last set of steps I told my wife she had 4 choices;
1. Keep the Tyger steps I put on for her
2. Put the GoRhino D6s back on and get used to them
3. Put the Amp steps back on and leave them in the down position. I ripped the wiring out when I took them off
4. No steps at all on the truck

She says the flat wide Tyger steps were fine despite being taller.
I don't even use the steps, I get in and out without touching them..