love2fly
Flying the Mountains of the NW
I consider myself a extremely safety minded individual that will not cut corners on inexpensive substitute products that can perhaps be unfavorable in injury to myself or somebody else when on the road or in the air.
Recently I purchased a Center Arm Rebuild Kit for my 40 series Land Cruiser from a good Land Cruiser parts source found on the Internet. Now this being a major part of the steering system that takes allot of on road, and off road abuse one should pay a little more attention to the makeup of the product. Mostly the shaft area, and the bearing its self.
So I will give my 10 cents worth of information on the part purchase in comparison to the OEM part that its replacing to help others that may be considering the same part.
With some research I could only find two companies making the center arm after market kits for the Land Cruisers, and yes they are from the far east.
The kit that is portrayed in my comparison to a original manufactured center kit was from the low end listed cost kit that is offered on the web from some Land Cruiser part suppliers. This kit was about $45 without the shipping. Now a few Land Cruiser supplier sell the other kit that looks to be of better quality but with a much higher price, around $230 without shipping.
So if cost is driving the train as it is for me but safety is a big consideration also, I am happy with design and the safety aspects of the lower priced unit but with a few points on its quality control areas that can be a large issue if not corrected after receiving the kit. Always give any product a good looking at as we do not live in a perfect world.
I will let you decide from the photos if this lower priced kit is for you.
The first thing I notice is that the shaft spines were different as in longer with a different machining cut. The lower base below the bearing barrel also was different (see photos).
Also the spines were defiantly in need of wire wheel cleaning as it still had many steel burrs from when machined. A good cleaning took care of that.
The bearing barrel cone is spin made very well but the inside grease cavity was rusty and the two grease holes on the inside still had large drill burrs so keep your fingers out until you file off the burrs. I did mic out the complete cone in comparison to the OME and they did a right on job there. With the final installed of the unit, the spines seemed to match the control arm assembly with very good precision. This was one of my biggest concerns. The variation in length did not seem to make any real noticeable differences when installed.
The new bearing cone had some slight handling nicks that the wire buffing wheel smoothed out with ease. The inner bearing cone was also in need of the wire wheel as it to had coarse edges on the inside lip edge and expand split cut that if not buffed off could cut into your nice smooth cone bearing leaving groves. Also for the inner grease groves, the OEM part is much more superior with deeper cuts and bronze or brass inner surface. You can see the comparison between the two. The more expensive kit has a better grove cut like OEM. I suggest just keep it greased and one should be fine. The spring is taller compared to my OEM spring but being that my spring is 30 years old, its to be expected. The cap when screwed on works fine when installed on the OEM body, just a bit of burrs in the threads that also can be wire wheeled.
The grease seal went in to the OEM Toyota body without any trouble. I like the OEM rubber type seal that also comes with the more expensive kit, so I will keep my old seal for a bit due to its still in good shape, just in case.
The lock nut for the spine is a bit larger than OEM. The bearing cap lock bolt is a bit larger also, same thread, but larger head.
All in all the kit matched up to the OEM body with no major differences and when put to the off road test and with a post visual recheck, it show it holding its own with no need of resetting the cap.
The only real thing found was the De-burring of the edges and treads.
I am sure the more expensive kit would be a better comparison to the OEM part but this low cost range kit seems to fit the bill for now.
Hope this information is of a help to you guys and gals getting ready to invest in a center steering kit. Any input is highly welcome.
Top photo is the one used, and the bottom one is the much better one but more green backs.
The old center kit for the older Land Cruiser in done by some one else and is worth checking out.
Cheers
Recently I purchased a Center Arm Rebuild Kit for my 40 series Land Cruiser from a good Land Cruiser parts source found on the Internet. Now this being a major part of the steering system that takes allot of on road, and off road abuse one should pay a little more attention to the makeup of the product. Mostly the shaft area, and the bearing its self.
So I will give my 10 cents worth of information on the part purchase in comparison to the OEM part that its replacing to help others that may be considering the same part.
With some research I could only find two companies making the center arm after market kits for the Land Cruisers, and yes they are from the far east.
The kit that is portrayed in my comparison to a original manufactured center kit was from the low end listed cost kit that is offered on the web from some Land Cruiser part suppliers. This kit was about $45 without the shipping. Now a few Land Cruiser supplier sell the other kit that looks to be of better quality but with a much higher price, around $230 without shipping.
So if cost is driving the train as it is for me but safety is a big consideration also, I am happy with design and the safety aspects of the lower priced unit but with a few points on its quality control areas that can be a large issue if not corrected after receiving the kit. Always give any product a good looking at as we do not live in a perfect world.
I will let you decide from the photos if this lower priced kit is for you.
The first thing I notice is that the shaft spines were different as in longer with a different machining cut. The lower base below the bearing barrel also was different (see photos).
Also the spines were defiantly in need of wire wheel cleaning as it still had many steel burrs from when machined. A good cleaning took care of that.
The bearing barrel cone is spin made very well but the inside grease cavity was rusty and the two grease holes on the inside still had large drill burrs so keep your fingers out until you file off the burrs. I did mic out the complete cone in comparison to the OME and they did a right on job there. With the final installed of the unit, the spines seemed to match the control arm assembly with very good precision. This was one of my biggest concerns. The variation in length did not seem to make any real noticeable differences when installed.
The new bearing cone had some slight handling nicks that the wire buffing wheel smoothed out with ease. The inner bearing cone was also in need of the wire wheel as it to had coarse edges on the inside lip edge and expand split cut that if not buffed off could cut into your nice smooth cone bearing leaving groves. Also for the inner grease groves, the OEM part is much more superior with deeper cuts and bronze or brass inner surface. You can see the comparison between the two. The more expensive kit has a better grove cut like OEM. I suggest just keep it greased and one should be fine. The spring is taller compared to my OEM spring but being that my spring is 30 years old, its to be expected. The cap when screwed on works fine when installed on the OEM body, just a bit of burrs in the threads that also can be wire wheeled.
The grease seal went in to the OEM Toyota body without any trouble. I like the OEM rubber type seal that also comes with the more expensive kit, so I will keep my old seal for a bit due to its still in good shape, just in case.
The lock nut for the spine is a bit larger than OEM. The bearing cap lock bolt is a bit larger also, same thread, but larger head.
All in all the kit matched up to the OEM body with no major differences and when put to the off road test and with a post visual recheck, it show it holding its own with no need of resetting the cap.
The only real thing found was the De-burring of the edges and treads.
I am sure the more expensive kit would be a better comparison to the OEM part but this low cost range kit seems to fit the bill for now.
Hope this information is of a help to you guys and gals getting ready to invest in a center steering kit. Any input is highly welcome.
Top photo is the one used, and the bottom one is the much better one but more green backs.
The old center kit for the older Land Cruiser in done by some one else and is worth checking out.
Cheers
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