A to Z Steering shimmy on 60

[cors]

g \ h Steering knuckle bearing preload , where to find , procedure?Thanks in advance.
Thanks for the list mudders
Page 098 Land Cruiser Power Steering Wheel/Column/Box 60, 62 & 80 Series

 

[stevebradford]

Some easy checks to do for wheel/steering issues.

Jack front end up so front tires are off the ground.

1 - grab tire at 12 and 6 position. Push and pull on the top and bottom of the tire. If any play is felt check.
- worn/loose wheel bearings
- worn/loose knuckle bearings.

2 - grab tire at 9 and 3 position push and pull enough to start to turn the tires. If any play is felt check.
- wheel bearings
- knuckle steering arms
- tie rod ends
- drag link ends

3 - grab tire at 9 and 3 position and turn tires back and fourth from stop to stop. If it’s not smooth or it’s notchy check.
- knuckle bearings.

From here. Some info saved

Not a hard job just messy. do the axle seals as well. Order a knuckle kit from @cruiseroutfit or a place of your choice.

 

[cors]

i went through the list and have tightened everything i can on the steering. all components have zero play.
I checked the bearing play while i had one of the tie rod ends off and i have maybe a little notchyness when the disc is moved from its straight position .First time i ver looked at a knuckle.

So my rig is less hectic on the road, but still it over steers and from there it gets backend pushy so the front becomes even more unstable.
Hard to drive and impossible to tow with ,wtf

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Can you show us some pictures of your front axle?

Do you have a lift installed on the truck?

 

[cors]

Can you show us some pictures of your front axle?

Do you have a lift installed on the truck?

i dont have lift, but ive got some better springs almost ready to fit.
in the build thread, this post has the pics of the front as it is now.
My rig called monkeybutt HJ60 2H 1982

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Have you checked the spring bushings? If those were really bad then you'd have issues driving and you would hear them make noise (like a clunk) on a turn.

 

[SteveH]

Tire balance was my issue - even though the tires were fairly new and recently balanced. I had a fairly bad shimmy at 45 MPH in light turns.

 

[cors]

the spring bushes and front shackels seem newer and look ok to my untrained eye. Doing a visibly toe in the front wheels test, with a visible toe in it doesnt take off on the highway ruts as it did before but it still shimmies and i was playing around at low speeds in the carparks aswell it seems to have a float spot where it takes a second to gather the turn(does that make sense to anyone).

 

[cors]

Hi mud team ,
Interesting question.
not all springs are created equal.
If a main spring is 1mm thinnner at the bushing eye then when it fits into the shackle its still 1mm thinner than the shackle plus the eye can slide 1mm with in the bushings.

Can i shim my bushing eye if one spring eye is thinner and can i shim my whole shackle setup to keep it from side movement, seems the logical thing to do ?

 

[cors]

no one wants to comment on shiming the bushes?

 

[60inns]

I am having the same issue. My front end seems tight to me.......and has a newer ome tre set up. I also replaced the leaf bushings hoping that was it. .....it wasn't. Had a Aliment done today with no change either . My steering gearbox isn't leaking but I am starting to think that is all that can be left. I adjusted the play on it but still no change. I am at a bit of a lose. Kinda scary on the highways though lol

 

[cors]

update on my rig .
the OME bushings on the shackle squashed together and its tight,i mean really tight, the shackle i guess is just a simple aftermarket one.no room for shims anyway on the front shackles.

the bolt on the other end , i used an aftermarket greasable bolt, but to be honest the busings never got tight when the bolt was tight. anyway i just modified the compression length of those until i got a good squeeze on the OME bushings.

 

[DFXR]

I am having the same issue. My front end seems tight to me.......and has a newer ome tre set up. I also replaced the leaf bushings hoping that was it. .....it wasn't. Had a Aliment done today with no change either . My steering gearbox isn't leaking but I am starting to think that is all that can be left. I adjusted the play on it but still no change. I am at a bit of a lose. Kinda scary on the highways though lol

TRE over-adjustment can give a feeling of tight steering.

Did you do the tre replacement yourself? If so, do you remember if you adjusted them after the install, or if whoever do the install adjusted them?

The "adjustment" I did, and many here do, with new TREs is to remove the cotter pins on the two ends, tighten the big slotted screw all the way in, and then back it out 1 or more turns until it feels right. Not too tight, not too loose. (Of course, all the other components in your steering setup are variables)

Last, some tres come pre-greased, some need to be greased at install, and some don't require grease. Do you know which best describes yours? If yours need grease but are dry, I imagine they could bind up.

 

[cors]

I am having the same issue. My front end seems tight to me.......and has a newer ome tre set up. I also replaced the leaf bushings hoping that was it. .....it wasn't. Had a Aliment done today with no change either . My steering gearbox isn't leaking but I am starting to think that is all that can be left. I adjusted the play on it but still no change. I am at a bit of a lose. Kinda scary on the highways though lol

somehow i used a spanner and g-clamp on my pitman arm and locked it in place. then i could tell what the steering box was doing.i got the wife to keep going left and right on the steering wheel with varying power as i checked moving parts.

 

[cors]

an update. with the super stiff front suspension and ome bushings with new shackles all squashed together the suspension is tight.
ive gone over all my tie rod ends and relay rod ends, no movement in any of them.
i jammed the pitman arm in a locked position for the second time and spin the steering wheel, its very tight with no perceivable movement from pitman arm to steering wheel.
ive driven the rig enough now to predict if the steering is going to go its own way by the road condition.

got a comment from @Comet

@cors If everything checks out with the steering components and you are still getting wander lust on the highway, I would check the birfield bearings for proper preload or wear. I didn't see that addressed from you on my first read through. Trunnion (top and bottom bearings) would be my first place and then the axle bearings. There is a Special Service Tool SST from Toyota that checks proper alignment of the bearings in the birfield but a fellow mud member (can't remember) sells a version just as good for a lot less. I have not had any issues as to date so no need for the SST.

need to explore this.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

^^^ @reevesci sells the tool unless you can find someone locally who has one or something similar enough. There are threads on folks who made their own.

 

[cors]

Do you guys think these pics warrant a rebuild?

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Zoom in on that first one of the bolts and nuts. They’re literally just bulging masses. Yeah, I’d say a knuckle rebuild ought to be soon. Have you drained your front diff fluid to see what it looks like?

 

[HJ61 12HT]

I had a problem with dodgy steering and vibration / pulling to one side under light to medium braking.
Under Hard braking truck steered straight with no vibration.
I changed worn TREs, checked brakes and discs, no play anywhere, no play in wheelbearings, no movement could be found in Swivel hubs.

In desperation I decided to pull the drivers side swivel hub apart, turns out the top bearing had come apart and was allowing the hub to wobble about, under hard braking it would twist forward and be stable, but under any other situation it was flopping about and causing all the problems.

Looking at your leaky one, I would slap some new seals and bearings in and see how much it helps.

 

[cors]

Zoom in on that first one of the bolts and nuts. They’re literally just bulging masses. Yeah, I’d say a knuckle rebuild ought to be soon. Have you drained your front diff fluid to see what it looks like?

Hi, no I haven't been game to get my hands dirty yet.