Hey all,
My FJ40 has a Saginaw power steering setup. On road, it does great - it’s almost too much, and offroad the boost is awesome. However, I’ve noticed when I’m wheeling with the 80 and 100 series trucks I’m frequently out with, that I feel like the 40 can’t make the turns the bigger trucks don’t seem to struggle with. I feel like my tires are almost constantly at “lock” and I’m always wishing I could turn just a little bit tighter.
I’m 100% willing to accept that I may just be picking a bad line that is forcing me into a K-turn situation, but I wanted to get some thoughts from other folks with this setup and opinions on mine.
Currently I have a 1.5” drop arm measuring about 5.5 - 5.25” long center to center.
This has the relay rod almost perfectly parallel to the tie rod - right where I want it to be.
The limiting factor in my turn radius is the steering box. It’s a 4.25 turn Saginaw box, and I’m using all 2.125 turns in both directions. The steering stops are adjusted to prevent over-extending the box, NOT to prevent conflicts with the body or frame.
I currently have 31” tires and they clear the frame and fenders by a solid 5” in either direction with the truck on flat ground so clearance isn’t an issue.
That said, my steering stops are adjusted almost all the way in - I can only back them off about another 1/4” or so before I run out of adjustment on the stop, so I’m not sure if I’m chasing a phantom issue here.
Does 1/4” extra turn at the wheel stops make a huge difference to the radius? If so, how do I get it? My thoughts are a longer pitman arm, but it seems like all the major vendors drop arms are roughly the same length as the one I currently have, which leads me to suspect it’s probably the “right” length (or the only one available).
My FJ40 has a Saginaw power steering setup. On road, it does great - it’s almost too much, and offroad the boost is awesome. However, I’ve noticed when I’m wheeling with the 80 and 100 series trucks I’m frequently out with, that I feel like the 40 can’t make the turns the bigger trucks don’t seem to struggle with. I feel like my tires are almost constantly at “lock” and I’m always wishing I could turn just a little bit tighter.
I’m 100% willing to accept that I may just be picking a bad line that is forcing me into a K-turn situation, but I wanted to get some thoughts from other folks with this setup and opinions on mine.
Currently I have a 1.5” drop arm measuring about 5.5 - 5.25” long center to center.
This has the relay rod almost perfectly parallel to the tie rod - right where I want it to be.
The limiting factor in my turn radius is the steering box. It’s a 4.25 turn Saginaw box, and I’m using all 2.125 turns in both directions. The steering stops are adjusted to prevent over-extending the box, NOT to prevent conflicts with the body or frame.
I currently have 31” tires and they clear the frame and fenders by a solid 5” in either direction with the truck on flat ground so clearance isn’t an issue.
That said, my steering stops are adjusted almost all the way in - I can only back them off about another 1/4” or so before I run out of adjustment on the stop, so I’m not sure if I’m chasing a phantom issue here.
Does 1/4” extra turn at the wheel stops make a huge difference to the radius? If so, how do I get it? My thoughts are a longer pitman arm, but it seems like all the major vendors drop arms are roughly the same length as the one I currently have, which leads me to suspect it’s probably the “right” length (or the only one available).