Another way to correct caster than plates, bushings or bearings??? 80 series (1 Viewer)

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True, but how much more are we talking? People seem to be ponying up big bucks for high end shocks and springs in this lift range. I would guess some of them would be willing to pay a little more to get radius arms instead of caster plates. Would also thing that some others buying mid range kits would be willing to pay for it too. You are probably right though. People would want it but not be willing to pay for it.
 
OK
People run 2" lift without any caster correction. So $0.

Other prefer a cheap fix via bushings. Depending on who installs them, we are talking $100-$200.

Brackets around the same price point.

Arms at $1100-$1500?

Can you see the problem?
 
Yeah, I see the problem. Slee's radius arms for 6" lifts run $1129 with new bushings in them. Accounting for the new bushings brings in some value (helps justify some of the cost) and would definitely stick with OEM bushings over poly. There are definitely cheaper options out there by a long shot but it doesn't sound like most people are happy with the cheaper options. I am still running stock suspension and have no experience and limited understanding of suspension geometry. New radius arms just seems like the better solution to correct for caster with lift but I could be way wrong. It may be that there is no real difference in the end between new radius arms and brackets apart from it costing more and looking better.
 
With a 2" lift you can just leave it alone and be fine with the wobble. In other words put up with it. So, 0 cost to address the issue.

At 4" or 6" of lift there is no way you can just leave it alone. You have to address it.

For the manufacturers there is no market for a 2" lift arm replacement. People would just not buy them. So why bother with R&D and making them if you will not see a return on your investment. People will always go for the cheaper solution to their problem. Not doing anything about it is very cheap, Replacing the bushings is slightly more than nothing. Forking over $1000 is not worth it.

If you want a very good ride with a moderate lift, I think a 3" lift and new lower (longer) control arms will be the best. Staying below 4" is the key in not throwing money at the truck or not getting a divorce.
If the truck is moderately built, it's very likely you will carry some weight on it which will possibly put it at slightly lower than 3" originally intended lift. In this case you may not want/need to address other issues such as upper control arms, panhard rods, DC shafts etc.
 
Yeah, this seems to be the route most people are taking. Not having had to put up with the wobble yet I have not idea how tolerable it is and at which height it starts to be a problem. Since most people are staying at or under 3 inches I am guessing it is tolerable around there.
 
I am under 2" of lift and not doing anything else to correct anything. Just pure lift.
But if I go 3" then the whole thing will change. MAF brackets would be my preferred method.
 
@GW Nugget Don't want to hijack this thread and derail it so please jump in and let me know and I'll delete this post, but since the only options coming up in this thread that seem viable without a lot of other work are caster plates, bushings and bearings maybe we should start talking about the pros and cons of those options.

Bushings seem to be no go for a lot of people since retaining OEM bushings is preferred, but maybe there have been some updates to these bushings that are worth talking about?

Also regarding caster plates - what are various options out there and the pros and cons of the each?

Anyone with experience with bearings for castor correction?
 
Updates...

So, this weekend I had some time to drive the 80 with the Slee arms. I'm part time, so in 2WD there are no vibrations, obviously, from the front and the truck tracks straight at freeway speeds.

With the hubs locked, but transfer case not engaged, I did not notice any vibrations up to about 70+ MPH either accelerating or decelerating.

Now, with the hubs locked and transfer case engaged 4WD, I have some pretty strong vibrations coming from the front shaft. It almost feels as if it is grinding. The vibrations only occur at speeds over 35 MPH and only on deceleration. I do not have any vibes at all when I am accelerating up to speeds of around 65 MPH. I can actually make the vibrations stop if I press on the brake while maintaining some throttle input. If I just release the accelerator and coast to slow down, that's when the vibes are the strongest.

I'm thinking the solution is to go with 4" Slee springs or 3" Slinky springs with a spacer and a DC front shaft. Although I almost never need 4WD at speeds in the Bay Area and the 80 is not my go to Tahoe vehicle, I would like to have the option of high speed 4WD.

Going to get the alignment checked this week and was thinking of measuring the pinion, shaft, and T-case angles while I'm at it. Just to have more info on the thread.
 
... with the hubs locked and transfer case engaged 4WD, I have some pretty strong vibrations coming from the front shaft. It almost feels as if it is grinding. The vibrations only occur at speeds over 35 MPH and only on deceleration. I do not have any vibes at all when I am accelerating up to speeds of around 65 MPH. I can actually make the vibrations stop if I press on the brake while maintaining some throttle input. If I just release the accelerator and coast to slow down, that's when the vibes are the strongest. ...

This behavior is often indicative of a bad u-joint or slip joint.
 
This behavior is often indicative of a bad u-joint or slip joint.

Shaft was just rebuilt with Toyota U-joints. You don't think it's the angle of the pinion? There were no issues/vibrations at all before installing the Slee arms.
 
Shaft was just rebuilt with Toyota U-joints. You don't think it's the angle of the pinion? There were no issues/vibrations at all before installing the Slee arms.
I'm not saying it's not something else, just that noise on decel is a classic symptom of u-joints or the slip joint. Is there play in the slip joint when you push on the shaft laterally?

Your angles are probably not equal, so the u-joints are not able to counteract each other's vibrations as they are designed to do, so yes, your issues are likely caused by 'bad angles'. However, many people are able to run with bad angles with no issues, so it's worth checking if there are additional problems.
 
^^^
A DC shaft would probably deal with those vibes... also check your pinion make sure it is nice and tight..... if it hasn't been serviced in a while....
 
I'll check again for play tonight, everything was hot when I first checked. But, the diff was just regeared by Zuk, and the shaft was also recently done, so I'm thinking pinion angle is not where it needs to be for a stock shaft. May do a DC eventually.
 
This is actually turning into a great thread keep it comin guys.

I had the OME yellow caster bushing plus the MAF drop bracket & it drove like a dream. I figure I was at around +5* derees. Since then I have stock bushings in there & I want my 5* degrees of caster back.
Last time I checked Slee arm correct 11* degrees :hmm::meh: 8+3=11

Here is a chart I found that is consistent with what has been written above posts.
View attachment 1720395
Hey nugget, I currently have the slee blues with 3 inch one lift and find the truck a bit twitchy, do you thimk I could just add the man 2 inch drop bracket and get this ride to have better hiway manners? Would be great to not have to punch out those bushings
 
Just a FYI Superior makes radius arms specifically for 2", 3", 4", 5", and 6" lifts. May not be cost effective to get them shipped to the US from AUS, but just throwing the options out there.

Normal radius arm design:
Superior Radius Arms Suitable For Toyota Landcruiser 76/78/79/80/105 Series Pre 07-2016 | Superior Engineering
Superflex design:
Superior Superflex Radius Arms Suitable For Toyota Landcruiser 80/105 Series | Superior Engineering

I've went with the Black Mamba Drop Boxes as posted earlier(2" drop 12mm forward for 3"-4" lifts), but if I ever go up to a 6" lift I'll be using a combination of that and either the 2" or 3" Superior arms.
 
The Mud world would appreciate you letting us know how your rig drives and the castor numbers with the new set up.

Here's the new caster numbers with the OME/ Slee control arm setup. I think my height from hub to flare is right around 23". Right where I thought I'd end up as far as caster readings. The front drive shaft is not happy at these angles. I'll see what it looks like after the Slinky springs are installed. Maybe a bit more lift will help the front shaft angle, but I'm guessing DC shaft will be necessary if I want higher speed 4WD. I'm part time, so not sure that I'll even bother with it.
IMG_9026.JPG
 
Here's the new caster numbers with the OME/ Slee control arm setup. I think my height from hub to flare is right around 23". Right where I thought I'd end up as far as caster readings. The front drive shaft is not happy at these angles. I'll see what it looks like after the Slinky springs are installed. Maybe a bit more lift will help the front shaft angle, but I'm guessing DC shaft will be necessary if I want higher speed 4WD. I'm part time, so not sure that I'll even bother with it.View attachment 1730524


Let us know how it goes with the slinky springs installed. I am not part time yet and wasn't planning on going part time if I don't have to so I was curious how things will work out. I like the idea of radius arms to correct for castor but maybe I am just crazy thinking to use that for a 2-3 inch lift.
 
Just a FYI Superior makes radius arms specifically for 2", 3", 4", 5", and 6" lifts. May not be cost effective to get them shipped to the US from AUS, but just throwing the options out there.

Normal radius arm design:
Superior Radius Arms Suitable For Toyota Landcruiser 76/78/79/80/105 Series Pre 07-2016 | Superior Engineering
Superflex design:
Superior Superflex Radius Arms Suitable For Toyota Landcruiser 80/105 Series | Superior Engineering

I've went with the Black Mamba Drop Boxes as posted earlier(2" drop 12mm forward for 3"-4" lifts), but if I ever go up to a 6" lift I'll be using a combination of that and either the 2" or 3" Superior arms.

Watching Aussie 4 Wheelers and LROR videos on Youtube, I see a lot of guys running the Superflex arms... and they seem to flex well. Can any of you guys help me on this one... These setups come with 2 different arms in a kit. One looks like stock and the other rotates the attach points 90 degrees out of plane with the first. Can anyone help me with what the purpose of the upper attach point is? It seems like just having one attach point on one arm and 2 on the other would flex well and still be stable... wouldn't it?

EDIT: Got corrected in a conversation with @Tools R Us . Answer is that you can get some unique brake dive characteristics. Maybe the second point is to negate that...
 

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