Does someone make a steering components rebuild kit for my 96 cruiser ? (1 Viewer)

[onedaatmc]

It wanders all over the road almost like a bumper car sometimes , and theirs probably an inch or 2 of play in the steering wheel. I thought maybe if there was a steering rebuild kit , that it may be cheaper than buying stuff piece by piece ?

Thanks in advance for your help and hope all have a Merry Christmas !

 

[BILT4ME]

It wanders all over the road almost like a bumper car sometimes , and theirs probably an inch or 2 of play in the steering wheel. I thought maybe if there was a steering rebuild kit , that it may be cheaper than buying stuff piece by piece ?

Thanks in advance for your help and hope all have a Merry Christmas !

CHECK YOUR STEERING ARM NUTS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE RIGHT KNUCKLE!!!!

DO IT NOW! OTHERWISE YOU MAY HAVE A BAD WRECK!

Yes, I'm yelling it to get your attention!

 

[BILT4ME]

So, now that that's out of the way, go to Kurt at cruiseroutfitters @cruiseroutfit He can get you all lined out.

Front axle rebuild kits with bearings, seals, tie rod ends, the whole nine yards.

Even the studs you'll need to replace on the bottom of the steering knuckle that you need to check RIGHT NOW!

 

[shocktower]

^^^^^^^^^ WHAT HE SAID IT'S GOT SOMETHING REALLY WRONG

 

[jpoole]

One way to identify problems in most of the likely places where steering play might originate is to have someone sit in the drivers seat and move the steering back and forth. They don't have to move it far, just until it gets hard to turn in each direction. Meanwhile, you lay under the front of the truck and follow the steering linkage from the wheels back to the steering box. Sometimes the play in a tie rod or relay rod end is obvious and other times you need to put your hand on both sides of the joint to feel the slack. The above should help you figure out if you have tie rod end and/or relay rod end slop. It may also help you notice other slack including loose nuts on the bottom of your knuckles.

Other slack like wheel bearing play, loose/worn trunion bearings, loose lug nuts, other loose steering or wheel components, etc. will be easier to diagnose in other ways like lifting a tire and then shaking it top and bottom then side to side. etc. or inspecting the steering shaft/mechanicals, etc.

Without spending much time you should be able to identify most of the problems causing slack in your steering. As shouted above, some of these problems can be very very dangerous and can fail without further warning. Loose nuts on the bottom of the knuckles are somewhat common on these trucks also. You need to figure out what's going on and not drive the truck if it's unsafe to do so as you put your life and the life of others in your truck or on the road at risk.

 

[onedaatmc]

OK while I appreciate the warning , theirs no reason to shout ! It's been loose for 2 yrs and it'll be ok , after the hoildays I'll run it by a buddies shop and have him help me on it !

 

[bajaphile]

Takes 2 seconds to check your PS steering knuckle nuts. Just kneel down and look. You can access the inboard 2 with your standard 17mm socket and ratchet. The outboard 2 will require a box end wrench due to close clearance with dust shield.

Also have you checked your caster angle? New springs and 1" spacer won't throw it off dramatically, but it might add to the wandering aspect.

You can also tighten the freeplay in the steering wheel by using the adjusting nut and bolt on the top of the steering box. You can access through the wheel well or easiest if you pull the battery box.

 

[mikedamageinc]

I've been fighting this for years, the steering gear gets play in it. I've been exchanging mine with rockauto, bought a rebuild for about 200 lifetime warranty, shipping is free too just a pain to swap out and get lined up everytime but I'm getting good at it! Some units I get have lasted a couple years, some feel loose out of the box. I think it is either that or drop a couple grand on a new Toyota unit, maybe I'll get tired of swapping.

Also that adjuster screw can work but is usually temporary or just makes it feel weird.

 

[jfz80]

heres a start.... at least a link and rod end kit
then assess your steering box from there perhaps
as mentioned watch all joints and individual pieces as someone else moves the wheel and should be able to ID wear points

80-series Steering Upgrade Kit | Marlin Crawler, Inc.

 

[BILT4ME]

OK while I appreciate the warning , theirs no reason to shout ! It's been loose for 2 yrs and it'll be ok , after the hoildays I'll run it by a buddies shop and have him help me on it !

I shouted because some folks are new and they don't understand the urgency of the situation.

Mine was loose for almost 2 years right after I got it. I thought it was "normal" because it was still tighter than any GM product I'd ever driven. I knelt down one day because I noticed something was different. I only had ONE stud left holding the steering arm to the knuckle and it was almost all the way unscrewed. I tightened it up the best I could with a Crescent wrench and drove slowly home.

There are other folks on here that weren't that lucky. When that last stud comes out you lose ALL steering, the knuckle jams up, bends the end of the axle housing, typically locks up the RF wheel, and makes both front wheels go opposite each other. It is VERY possible to lose control.

The Toyota setup is different because when that arm falls off, there is NO control whatsoever for the steering wheel. On GM products, (and some Dodge and Ford) the LF wheel is still directly attached to the drag link from the steering gear, but the Toyota has the drag link to the RF steering arm, then the tie rod back to the LF wheel (on LHD trucks) If the steering arm falls off, there is NO control remaining.

Good luck!
Check your nuts and lube your shaft!

 

[LCHardriver_02]

This is very good information!

I need to check mine too... once I get it back from the engine being rebuilt. My son had the front axle rebuilt this last year and now we have play. I am guessing that one led to the the other, but since I don't have the truck accessible for me to look over, it's a guess... but very HIGH on my "to do" list.

 

[Tools R Us]

It wanders all over the road almost like a bumper car sometimes , and theirs probably an inch or 2 of play in the steering wheel. I thought maybe if there was a steering rebuild kit , that it may be cheaper than buying stuff piece by piece ?

Thanks in advance for your help and hope all have a Merry Christmas !

The Cruiser has a reciprocating ball box, the steering experience will never be like a rack system. With this setup some play is normal, IIRC, spec is ~1.5" at the wheel. Excessive wander is most often from alignment setting(s) out of spec, caster and/or toe. If the alignment is what is needed there can be a bunch of play at the wheel and still not wander.

That said, best to do a full inspection and take care of anything that is out of spec. Just tossing parts at it is likely to waste $$$ replacing good parts and likely miss the issue that is the cause of the problem.

 

[alia176]

Here's an example of studs falling out on a road trip:

RTH Wheel fell off Estes Park

PSA: don't forget to torque the studs, THEN torque the nuts. The Stud torque has been mentioned on this board because it's not in the FSM. IIRC, it's around 42 ft-lb I think someone came up with, but not sure!

 

[L8Shift]

OK while I appreciate the warning , theirs no reason to shout ! It's been loose for 2 yrs and it'll be ok , after the hoildays I'll run it by a buddies shop and have him help me on it !

I think he "shouted" to warn the rest of us to get out if your way, and assist you, if needed..

Hope it is a simple fix.

 

[BILT4ME]

OK while I appreciate the warning , theirs no reason to shout ! It's been loose for 2 yrs and it'll be ok , after the hoildays I'll run it by a buddies shop and have him help me on it !

So.........it's past lunch.

Have you checked your studs on the right knuckle yet?

 

[alia176]

So.........it's past lunch.

Have you checked your studs on the right knuckle yet?

 

[onedaatmc]

So.........it's past lunch.

Have you checked your studs on the right knuckle yet?

No , I did 2 hydrophobic coatings on a clients Tesla and his 2018 Rover and a 5 hr drive round trip in my work truck ( not the cruiser ) , so no I haven't looked but plan to tomorrow...

 

[gummycarbs]

Regarding steering specifically, Gates makes kits for the steering pump (not relevant to your issue) and steering gear. There's a thread here on rebuilding the steering gear, including adjusting bearing preload, which requires a tear-down. Other than that, you can buy OEM tie rod ends from the likes of Amayama.com, or 555 tie rod ends.

Play can come from a lot of stuff in the front end. Have you jacked up a front wheel and checked for play in the bearings? No idea what condition your cruiser is in, but it could be loose wheel bearings, bad wheel bearings, or worn trunnion bearings.

 

[alia176]

No , I did 2 hydrophobic coatings on a clients Tesla and his 2018 Rover and a 5 hr drive round trip in my work truck ( not the cruiser ) , so no I haven't looked but plan to tomorrow...

It's xmas morning and I'm sure you've got nothing better to do. So, just head into the garage and ......

 

[onedaatmc]

Checked the knuckle studs their tight...It must be bushings that are worn , etc. It's not too bad just slightly loose, its not ping ponging in a lane, just a lil correction with in lanes, etc. Have a business trip to go to , so again once I get back I'll take it to a friends to help me really be able to tell ....whats loose. Maybe I can tighten the nut on the steering box ...