As you may or may not know, the OEM FJ60 tie rod ends are no longer available from Toyota. For some reason only the entire tie rod, relay rod and ends assembly is available at a very high cost (upwards of $700 IIRC).
The aftermarket OE ends that are out there quite simply suck, I am lucky to get two years out of a set, I am not talking about weekend wheeling though, I am referring to thousands of miles of washboard and gravel roads with 33” tires levering on those ends, they just don’t last, and a failing TRE is a dangerous scenario.
Toyota FJ80 ends are available individually and are heavier duty.
On an 80 the tie rod is behind the axle and the relay rod goes from the pitman arm directly to the passenger steering arm in front of the axle, a very nice set up, but entirely different from the 60. The ends also have a larger thread pattern and different tapers.
Upgrading to 80 ends and custom arms is the common way to approach SOA hysteer setups. And there are numerous manufactures that make kits to do this, but they require clearance that is just not there on a SUA rig.
So the question is: How do we get these heavy duty, still available OE parts onto our SUA 60s?.
BudBuilt: Makes some very nice heavy duty tie rods to hold the 80 ends. They openly admit that they are mini truck guys and the info currently on their web about FJ60 compatibility is incorrect. They are also the only manufacture whom I talked to that is currently working on a solution to this problem. They have ordered every possible Toyota TRE and will be researching how to beef up the 60 steering, promising at least.
4X4Labs: Supper duper amazing quality aftermarket arms and hysteer set up. They have engineered a steering system that mimics the 80 series in function, but unless you have a hefty SOA there is no way to fit a tie rod behind the axle.
They have an arm and rod kit that utilized GM 3/4 ton parts where the relay rod can attach to the passenger TRE just like on our 60s. But, I am a Toyota bigot and while the GM ends are heavier duty, they are not nearly the same quality as the Toyota parts, and most importantly, they have what barley passes for a weather seal of a boot, in the salt belt up here they are an item of yearly death.
They have also tried an arm with double holes on the passenger side to allow the relay rod to attach directly to the arm, but say that it did not really work out, still need to find out why, they are very busy at their shop and I had wasted enough of their time by that point. One other thing I discussed with them was the possibility of welding a tab with a tapered hole to the tie rod so the relay rod could attach there. The very obvious problem with that idea was that the tab would just pivot the ends rather than push the rod, that is why they build steering arms an not I.
Marlin Crawler: Has a very nice hysteer kit at a reasonable price, they utilize double holes on the passenger arm and state that they will work with a SUA rig if it has a minimum of a 4” lift, which is pushing the limits of a feasible SU and approaching a small SO, not really practical for my application.
So are there any solutions out there? There are a few other manufactures who offer similar setups, but none that show something to work on a SUA. Someone used to offer a double steering arm to put the relay rod above the spring on a SO, but once again, not really for a SU, that and they do not seem to be offered anymore.
This would be an excellent upgrade to the 60 steering and there must be a solution out there somewhere. Post up if you have seen anything or have any ideas.
Kevin R.
__________________ 1985HZJ60ROTW Questions? Check out my Vendor Forum.
Note: with the number of PMs that I get some slip through the cracks, consider sending an email to be sure I get back to you.
__________________ 1985HZJ60ROTW Questions? Check out my Vendor Forum.
Note: with the number of PMs that I get some slip through the cracks, consider sending an email to be sure I get back to you.
Dunno about the FJ80 parts, but,
Joint Fuji brand is the good stuff. I have seen Fuji stuff come from SOR, MAF and Cruiserpart.net. Maybe they still have availability? It would be surprising if Fuji quit making TRE for 60&70 series, since they are popular & long running chassis.
Seeing too much Triple5 brand or (worse yet), white box stuff lately.
__________________ Thanks,
Jim C.
TLC Performance <Useful Parts FS>
Underhood Janitor, cleaning up other people's since 1988.
this may be a long shot but what about getting lcwizard to cut a couple of sets of his heavy duty tie rids for the 60 to accept 80 series tre's?? seems like it would be simple simon...
clint
__________________ It's a Jeep thing I didn't understand. So I bought an FJ60 and now I get it.
Dunno about the FJ80 parts, but,
Joint Fuji brand is the good stuff. I have seen Fuji stuff come from SOR, MAF and Cruiserpart.net. Maybe they still have availability? It would be surprising if Fuji quit making TRE for 60&70 series, since they are popular & long running chassis.
Seeing too much Triple5 brand or (worse yet), white box stuff lately.
Yup, the Fuji are by far the best, they are the ones I can squeeze 2 years out of. I regularly purchase them from Cruiserparts.net, they seem to be the only ones they sell.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtgypsy
this may be a long shot but what about getting lcwizard to cut a couple of sets of his heavy duty tie rids for the 60 to accept 80 series tre's?? seems like it would be simple simon...
clint
Not familiar with their product, I will look into it.
However, the custom tie & relay rods are not as big of a problem , having somewhere to attach the relay rod and a taper that will accept the 80 ends is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trapper50cal
Well,
I have a SUA 60 with about 5" of Alcan lift, All Pro Hysteer with custom rods and 80 TRE's, its working great.
Do you have the all pro arms as well? Since you like posting pictures so much () would you mind posting one of your arms so we can visualize the space you have there? With 5" you are approaching a mild SO setup.
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im right at 5" of lift and this is the angle my arms sit at... I am thinking im gonna put a hy steer on as i get some bump steer from time to time. Its gonna get SOA anyway so if it will work now too then i can eliminate one step later. I have always just been worried about clearance since im still SUA.
Humm, that does seem like your relay rod is running at a pretty steep angle. I would think a standard hysteer would fit in your case.
I'm not running (or planning to run) that much lift. I would guess I sit at about 3.5" over stock.
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Your engineering ability always amazes me, but . . .
I think you may want to check with CDan about the OEM TREs. While it is true the only come with the rods, I believe the price is really reasonable (i.e. more like $100 than $700). I could be wrong. Just didn't want people reinventing the wheel if it isn't necessary. Of course, upgrades are always good.
__________________ 1995 Locked FZJ80
2007 BMW XChallenge
Good point, I will double check with my supplier (John Hocker) and with cruiserdan on Monday to get definitve $.
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Do you have the all pro arms as well? Since you like posting pictures so much () would you mind posting one of your arms so we can visualize the space you have there? With 5" you are approaching a mild SO setup. [/QUOTE]
Naw, they dont suck, you'll just be due to replace them in another month or two.
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what about heims and drill out your arms to 5/8". When I was SUA I got tired of those ends failing. I use two 5/8" heims for my tie rod and two 3/4" heims with high misalignment spacers for the drag link. the spacers make the bolt hole 5/8" to match the 5/8" heims. Set the drag link heim right on top of the tie rod heim of the pass side. Witht he spacer there is no binding and it helps with the angle. For the pitman arm you need to order one from either trail gear or all pro and drill it out to 5/8".
this is post SOA but it shows the difference between the 3/4" with the spacers and the 5/8" heims. I could not find any pics of the my SUA set up so you would have to use your imagination on the pass side.
__________________ 1997 FZJ80
Last edited by 88chevota; 02-24-08 at 07:15 PM.
Reason: typo
As you may or may not know, the OEM FJ60 tie rod ends are no longer available from Toyota. For some reason only the entire tie rod, relay rod and ends assembly is available at a very high cost (upwards of $700 IIRC).
The reason that only the full set is available is because the depth of the thread changed. I was very frustrated by this and initially bought some "555" brand ends. They lasted maybe 10,000 miles (although I've since heard that there are various manufacturing locations for 555 ends and that some are much better than others). I bought replacement OEM ends with the rods from CDan with his 'mud discount a couple of years ago. Still sucks that you end up with extra rods but Dan's prices make it much more tolerable.
Ok, called John Hocker at Sierra Toyota (Cdan doesn't seem to be in yet, but he gives the same discount as John) and you are right, the tie and relay rod assembly has come down in price over the last two years, but only to $487. A complete hysteer setup from 4X4Labs runs 550, and while I love Toyota engineering, those wimpy 60 ends are just not worth that price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 88chevota
what about heims and drill out your arms to 5/8"......
Heims are a good strong option. But there are two main issues with running them, technically they are for off road use only, in most states they are considered a safety violation and they will not pass inspection in any of the 3 states I have registered in.
The other issue is that, since they are not sealed, the salt from our roads gets into them and destroys them within the course of a year. Not to mention dust and silt from the long stretches of gravel roads we encounter on trips.
__________________ 1985HZJ60ROTW Questions? Check out my Vendor Forum.
Note: with the number of PMs that I get some slip through the cracks, consider sending an email to be sure I get back to you.
kevinmrowland
FJ40Jim
since 1988. 
) would you mind posting one of your arms so we can visualize the space you have there? With 5" you are approaching a mild SO setup.
on 62 springs, 38.5's, Front Aussie, Rear Detroit, 4.56's, 
1983 FJ60 Weber carb, Aussie locker, H55F, Homemade bumpers and rock rails, winch, headers, OME Dakar springs, Saginaw ps, smog pump AWOL, 33/12.5s, 4.56s, York OBA, Camo, 
FrankenCruiser
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