Well Hello everyone, I’m a fairly new 60 owner, purchased last summer, joined MUD and have been devouring content ever since. Wish i had done more research before purchasing.
The vehicle is a 09/85 FJ60 and the PO (not bashing anyone) threw the Manafre catalog at it. It has a shackle reversal, GM 1ton steering, GM PS pump, OME springs front and rear (i found *CSF004 on one of the front springs.) Rear airbags, horrendous 4in wheel spacers and FJ cruiser wheels. Aside from the spacers im desperately trying to get removed (wheel options are getting scarce or extremely expensive) I’m having a front end “sway” issue we’ll call it. All the usual suspects have been dealt with. Knuckles have been rebuilt with new bearings, wheel bearing, proper preloads, all the tie rod ends, drag link ends have all been replaced.
My last solid axle was an 84 extra cab pickup back in the 90’s so i can honestly say I don’t remember its handling, but this thing just seems loose. I recently rebuilt the steering gearbox as well, it wasn’t leaking but was suspect showing quite a bit of play in the sector shaft with some binding. Turns out it had been leaking at one point and instead of repairing some sort of stop leak was put in the fluid. The sector shaft bearings were shot with a few needles broken, luckily they were still available. So now i have a tight PS box, tight tie rods, rebuilt knuckles and when driving down the road below 40-50 mph the whole front end seems to shift side to side. I have also replaced all the spring bushings.
In an attempt to sort out what’s happening i attached a GoPro to the underside and went for a drive. With a noticeable sway felt and seen visually, the GoPro revealed the pitman arm is not moving, it appears the spring pack itself is shifting side to side, and since the gearbox isn’t moving the drag link is pulling/pushing the tires left and right exasperating the issue.
I guess my question is could the spring pack really be causing the issue, should I be looking elsewhere, or is this just normal behavior. Anyone in the Billings MT area id love to meet up and drive a well handling truck to see if its just me or a real issue. Ive been reading a few articles by @CruiserTrash and @lcwizard about the benefits of the shackle reversal as well as the need for longer front springs with the conversion, and am about to make a phone call to @cruiseroutfit to talk about spring options.
The goal for this thing is daily drive ability with touring in mind. Nothing super crazy. This thread about a multi day Missouri River breaks trip has been a conversation between my wife and I for several years and really caught my attention, and is all I really wasn’t/need it to be capable of…..
The vehicle is a 09/85 FJ60 and the PO (not bashing anyone) threw the Manafre catalog at it. It has a shackle reversal, GM 1ton steering, GM PS pump, OME springs front and rear (i found *CSF004 on one of the front springs.) Rear airbags, horrendous 4in wheel spacers and FJ cruiser wheels. Aside from the spacers im desperately trying to get removed (wheel options are getting scarce or extremely expensive) I’m having a front end “sway” issue we’ll call it. All the usual suspects have been dealt with. Knuckles have been rebuilt with new bearings, wheel bearing, proper preloads, all the tie rod ends, drag link ends have all been replaced.
My last solid axle was an 84 extra cab pickup back in the 90’s so i can honestly say I don’t remember its handling, but this thing just seems loose. I recently rebuilt the steering gearbox as well, it wasn’t leaking but was suspect showing quite a bit of play in the sector shaft with some binding. Turns out it had been leaking at one point and instead of repairing some sort of stop leak was put in the fluid. The sector shaft bearings were shot with a few needles broken, luckily they were still available. So now i have a tight PS box, tight tie rods, rebuilt knuckles and when driving down the road below 40-50 mph the whole front end seems to shift side to side. I have also replaced all the spring bushings.
In an attempt to sort out what’s happening i attached a GoPro to the underside and went for a drive. With a noticeable sway felt and seen visually, the GoPro revealed the pitman arm is not moving, it appears the spring pack itself is shifting side to side, and since the gearbox isn’t moving the drag link is pulling/pushing the tires left and right exasperating the issue.
I guess my question is could the spring pack really be causing the issue, should I be looking elsewhere, or is this just normal behavior. Anyone in the Billings MT area id love to meet up and drive a well handling truck to see if its just me or a real issue. Ive been reading a few articles by @CruiserTrash and @lcwizard about the benefits of the shackle reversal as well as the need for longer front springs with the conversion, and am about to make a phone call to @cruiseroutfit to talk about spring options.
The goal for this thing is daily drive ability with touring in mind. Nothing super crazy. This thread about a multi day Missouri River breaks trip has been a conversation between my wife and I for several years and really caught my attention, and is all I really wasn’t/need it to be capable of…..
