'76 FJ40 Center arm rebuild not successful (1 Viewer)

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Aug 4, 2007
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I just had my center arm rebuilt with a Man-a-Fre rebuild kit. I did not do it myself.

It came back from the mechanic still full of slop. Moving the steering wheel left/right showed the center arm bolt moving a good inch or two in the housing.

I adjusted it as much as possible with no success.

I'm thinking either:

1) The center arm housing is so worn that it's not rebuildable

or

2) It wasn't done right (bushing?)


Any opinions? I did try to get the completely rebuilt unit with housing from Joint Fuji (Man-a-Fre) but they have been out of stock for a long time.

All ideas appreciated as always.

:bounce:
 
I just had my center arm rebuilt with a Man-a-Fre rebuild kit. I did not do it myself.

It came back from the mechanic still full of slop. Moving the steering wheel left/right showed the center arm bolt moving a good inch or two in the housing.

I adjusted it as much as possible with no success.

I'm thinking either:

1) The center arm housing is so worn that it's not rebuildable

or

2) It wasn't done right (bushing?)


Any opinions? I did try to get the completely rebuilt unit with housing from Joint Fuji (Man-a-Fre) but they have been out of stock for a long time.

All ideas appreciated as always.

:bounce:




How did you go about 'adjusting' it?
 
Now wait...an inch or two? You mean like left and right, forward and back? Holy s***! Pix at once!
 
I had the same issue, however that thing is tricky to rebuild, the spring can be a real pita when it comes to threading the thing together. It's been a while since I fooled with mine but I believe I turned the thing the whole way in and then backed it off a 1/4 or half turn maybe. I had slop in the first to rebuilds even with the original one torqued down. My housing was fubared so replacement was the only way to go (or sag steering which wasn't an option for me $$$).

I bought a nice new (entire housing and all) unit from MAF for around 100 beans. it's a FUJI (japanese) unit and probably an OEM manufacturer. The new unit fixed all my troubles and has been working well for over two years now. I would recommend use of a quality paint on that thing especially the metal top to keep rust off. good luck
 
Did you confront the mechanic?

If not, you should have.........

Curious about this too. I offer the same kit MAF sells, and have been using them for years. No issue with the parts, tho, as F-junker indicated, the spring can be a PITA.

IF it will not tighen up by turning the big nut all the way down, I'd want to pull the cover back off and see what it looks like inside.

And, if you're mechanic is close, I'd be wanting to do that at his shop, even if he's unwilling to assist. AND you should already know what the component order looks like BEFORE it is disassembled.

Best

Mark A.
 
Makes sense. I did see the mechanic and you know how that goes. Does anyone know who has the Joint Fuji center arm assembly in stock? I wanted to get that complete unit but Man-a_free has been out as I said above.

I adjusted it by loosening the 14mm nut and then tightening down the 22mm one and then tightening the 14 again.

The slop is left to right facing the engine from the front.
 
When I rebuilt mine the parts were fine but the PO had left a big broken off tab from an older bushing hidden down in the black grease, which seemed to impact the adjustment. :grinpimp:
 
When I rebuilt mine the parts were fine but the PO had left a big broken off tab from an older bushing hidden down in the black grease, which seemed to impact the adjustment. :grinpimp:

Yeah that would do it.

If you can't find any satisfaction from the mechanic, you may consider pulling it apart yourself and inspecting whether or not the bushing has been replaced. I made a jig out og all thread, nuts and such to draw the top of the unit together with the housing then I slowly screwed them together. I wish I would have taken some pics for everyone here and the next time I get stuck doing it.

On mechanics. I dont know where you live but I can't find anyone around my area fit to change much more than a spark plug (if that). I trust NO ONE touching my vehicle. the only time anything of mine is in the shop is for exhaust, alignment or tires. I do everything else myself. Not everyone has the tooling to take care of their cruiser but the tools required are fairly simple verses a new toyota or any other car. I encourage you to research these forums and learn to repair this thing yourself. You'll save money, build confidence, learn more about your truck, be able to trouble shoot and gain an overall sense of pride in your truck that can only be realized when your turning all the wrenches. I'll see if I can't hunt you up a used joint that is not f'ed up.
 
Makes sense. I did see the mechanic and you know how that goes. Does anyone know who has the Joint Fuji center arm assembly in stock?

I could certainly supply you with one, but I think you should investigate getting satisfaction from the parts you've already purchased first. Go look at coolerman's thread and think about my first suggestion some more. Give me a CALL Monday if you still want to proceed with a second rebuild kit.

Best

Mark A.
 
Thanks a lot. I'll pull it apart and see what's going onin there and see if I do need a new housing. I do actually do most work myself but am seriously lacking in tools/time lately and this led me to the 'Ole local mechanic.

:grinpimp:
 

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