Bent Steering Shaft

[TomH]

A little history: Last December my wife crashed the Land Cruiser. As a result of the accident, the steering gear was rebuilt and the pitman arm was replaced. Since that time, steering has always been a little stiff, especially at low speeds. I had it back to the shop a couple times - the first time they adjusted the free play and the second time told me everything was fine.

So, today I was replacing the windshield washer diverter valve and was crawling around under the dash to replace one of the hoses and I noticed the steering shaft is not centered in the hole that exits the firewall. In fact it is rubbing against the left side of the hole and the rubber gromet is completely torn away.

So, my question is, what is the possiblity this shaft was bent during the crash impact? What else would cause the shaft to be off center like it is? Does anyone else have a steering shaft that looks like this?

Thanks
Tom

 

[Grench]

Watch the shaft and turn the wheel. Does it's position in the hole wobble?

 

[TomH]

Watch the shaft and turn the wheel. Does it's position in the hole wobble?

I tried that and it appears to wobble a little. With the u-joints in the systems, I know there is supposed to be some movement. I want to imagine that it is bent, but since you can only see a little bit of the shaft, it is really hard to tell for sure.

 

[-Spike-]

What Grench said.

The frame could be bent, the body could have shifted.

-Spike

 

[TomH]

What Grench said.

The frame could be bent, the body could have shifted.

-Spike

Frame was bent - and straightened. I have no idea how to tell if the body shifted.

Here is a picture of the accident damage.

Tom

 

[-Spike-]

The only way to tell if the frame is still bent is to take it to a good shop that has a high-end frame machine and pay them the set-up time to measure it. There's no way to positively tell by eye that there's no tweakage. The same guy should be able to tell if the body is on right, and if the steering box is on correctly- i.e; located in the right spot and nothing's bent. You could also take it back to the shop that did the repair and ask them to check it out, pointing out the misaligned steering wheel shaft. That assumes that they have the equipment to measure it, and a guy that knows how to use it.

-Spike

 

[Tools R Us]

Looking at the plate and washers, it looks like the plate is shifted out of place. Try loosening the bolts and moving it. It needs to be replaced, the broken bellows will let hot air, water, etc. in.

 

[cruiserdan]

Looking at the plate and washers, it looks like the plate is shifted out of place. Try loosening the bolts and moving it. It needs to be replaced, the broken bellows will let hot air, water, etc. in.

Tools is on top of it. The bolts that retain the seal plate are 6mm in diameter and the holes in the seal plate are 12mm in diameter. The seal plate is off-set to the side that is rubbing and there is amost certainly enough "slop" in the mounting holes to center it.

The plate is a 45292-35050, I stock them. Suggested list is $12.80


D-

 

[Grench]

The plate is a 45292-35050, I stock them. Suggested list is $12.80

D-

I sometimes wonder if you have a warehouse full of brand new trucks just waiting to be put together.

 

[TomH]

Looking at the plate and washers, it looks like the plate is shifted out of place. Try loosening the bolts and moving it. It needs to be replaced, the broken bellows will let hot air, water, etc. in.

Tools is on top of it. The bolts that retain the seal plate are 6mm in diameter and the holes in the seal plate are 12mm in diameter. The seal plate is off-set to the side that is rubbing and there is amost certainly enough "slop" in the mounting holes to center it.

The plate is a 45292-35050, I stock them. Suggested list is $12.80


D-

You guys think you know everything. The steering shaft is pretty much centered in the hole now. Now, can you tell me how to center to insulation (and don't be afraid to tell me a few times - sometime I'm a little slow )?

Tom

 

[Tools R Us]

I wouldn't worry about the insulation, mine is about the same. Did moving the plate help the steering feel?

 

[TomH]

... Did moving the plate help the steering feel?

No change in the feel of the steering.

Tom

 

[Grench]

Could it just be that the new steering has new grease and is tightened up? I.e. could you be feeling the effects of not having 100K of wear on the parts?

 

[-Spike-]

I'll stick with my earlier assessment. I think you've treated a symptom, not the cause. It's binding due to stress caused by some component of the system being out of it's original alignment. It probably won't cause you any further problems other than annoyance, but that's just candy-coating on my part.

-Spike

 

[TomH]

I'll stick with my earlier assessment. I think you've treated a symptom, not the cause. It's binding due to stress caused by some component of the system being out of it's original alignment. It probably won't cause you any further problems other than annoyance, but that's just candy-coating on my part.

-Spike

Spike

I feel fairly confident the frame is straight. The body shop checked it out initially at my request and that is when they found "a little sway and a little elevation". They said it pulled right out.

I think the problem lies in the steering gear rebuild. The shop that did the work offered to pull the gear and check it out, but at the time I was a little frustrated with them and thought it would be a lot like the proverbial fox guarding the hen house. They did indicated that the steering would probably loosen up over time - and it has.

I actually have to go by the body shop this week for another reason and I'll probably bring up the steering again and see where it goes.

Thanks for the comments.

Tom