FJ80 TREs on SUA60s???

[kevinmrowland]

All the ducks are in a row for tomorrows work.

The two extra Toyota tie rod ends that I ordered (since I mistakenly ordered tie and relay ends) are delayed in the land of brown shorts, so I had 4x4Labs send half a set of their aftermarket ends. This will be great though, since I will have a side by side comparison of how long the OE and aftermarket last.

The pics show the OE end on the top. The Toyota end is painted, but that is about the only plus over the aftermarket. On the other hand the ends from 4x4, have a zerk fitting, simply outstanding for keeping the grease in there fresh. I was also pleasantly surprised with how well they are sealed, they have the same snap ring around the bottom of the boot, but they also have an additional snap ring where the boot meets the taper, very nice. The balls seem to pivot just as smooth between the two. Overall, the aftermarket actually seems to be a bit beefier, even the castle nut and cotter pin are larger than OE, all that combined with the fact that they are cheaper and come with the needed jamb nuts, makes em a no-brainer.

I've also got some of the new birf seals from marlin, new knuckle studs with the torx drive and the knuckle kit ready to go in since I'll be half way there with the arm replacement.

 

[kevinmrowland]

Close up of that extra little snap ring, and a shot that shows the OE and 4x4 nuts, in the top of the pic is a little spacer that 4x4 supplies to shim out the 80 end in the 60 pitman arm.
Along with the extra snap ring, the new arms will position the ends with the castle nut facing down (they way they should have been) and gravity wont be helping the water get in there.
Oddly enough the 80 tapers are actually smaller than the 80, so the little spacer makes things tight. This also answers the question posed above about why the 80 ends fit in the 60 arms when they are not supposed to, the answer is, they don't, the holes are actually too big.

 

[OlympiaFJ60]

Is it Saturday yet?

I've been running 555 for 3 years now with no problems, but mostly highway miles and they don't salt here.

 

[kevinmrowland]

It is Saturday indeed, not for much longer though.
The day went well, the new arms are in place and the steering is super tight and responsive, The whole system is much studier than it was this morning.
That being said, the arms are not quite perfect yet, they bump the top of the diff right as the knuckles reach full lock, and the clearance between the bottom of the pitman nut and the tie rod is an inch closer than the bump stop. Not too bad for a first fitting though.

Some pics of how the steering looked at the start of the day.
And, in case anyone was wondering, this is what a 2 year old set of TREs that have lived in the salt look like.

 

[kevinmrowland]

Side by side of the new and old arms.
I cut the stabilizer tab off the old relay end and welded it to the new relay rod. This is not ideal since the relay rod can not rotate freely for adjustment, but the other option is the bolt on holders, not a fan of those.

Had some visitors during the day, thanks for the help Jay and Johnny!, apparently this is what I look like when someone is playing with my camera.

 

[kevinmrowland]

And all buttoned up, ready for a test drive, the steering feels much more responsive than it has ever been on this old truck.

 

[archtimb]

So, you are bringing the parts to do mine next weekend, right?

 

[kevinmrowland]

I figured you'd want me to work all the kinks out before we did yours.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Very cool Kevin. Boy I don't miss the back-East rust at all I hate to say, it is amazing how it eats cars!

 

[meatsauce]

so when can the rest of us purchase this fine setup? and is it 62 friendly?

 

[GLTHFJ60]

so when can the rest of us purchase this fine setup? and is it 62 friendly?

I have absolutely no idea when it will be ready, so I don't know why I'm quoting you, but I can definitely vouch for the fact that this system will be MOST badass. Everything is beefy from the arms, to the links and of course the tie rod ends. On top of that, after doing the alignment ourselves, the rig had no bumpsteer, tracked perfectly straight and like kevin said, was a bit more responsive than stock.

In conclusion, I have 3 remarks:

Thanks for letting me come over and work on your truck with you Kevin! I did my share of watching, but I did a TON of learning.

The 1HZ-T that resides in kevin's engine bay is probably the best engine I have ever operated, and I thank Kevin for letting me drive it.

Finally, I will definitely buy this setup after the clearance issues are dealt with.

 

[kevinmrowland]

Salt? Yeah salt sucks, I live in the very epicenter of the entire salt conspiracy, 5 miles south of me is the Geneva Salt Mine, home of the most useless, low grade salt in the country, something had to be done with it, and as fate would have it, the one time owner of the mine had some government friends......
Every time I drive by the mine, my lip curls in disgust.


I spoke with Brain today to sort out a few little problems, so if you like the way my setup looks, you can go ahead and order whenever you like.
As for the 62, we might want to check into that. The only difference would be the fact that the 62 has the OE "cut and turn" so that may move the pumpkin closer to the tie rod. Keep in mind that my steering stops have been adjusted to the maximum, more than stock, so if you have not messed with the setup, the clearance should not be an issue.
Definitely suggest going with the aftermarket ends from 4x4, not worth the hassle to deal with the OE ones (we will have to wait and see how they last long term).

I played with the forklift this evening to check clearances and found that, despite my best brainstorming, the position of everything at the moment is probably the best compromise to be had.
I had the problem I suspected of pitman arm to tie rod clearance, but on the other side I had the same issue with the relay rod to the frame. I think the best course of action will be to lower both bump stops by an inch (if you have more lift than I do, this will not be the same).
However; by the point where the clearances were an issue, the suspension was already maxed out and the the rear tires were lifting off the ground, so the effective function of my suspension wont really be effected by lowering the bumps by an inch since the springs would already be at their full flex by that point.

So, some pictures to make sense of all those words:

 

[kevinmrowland]

Few from the other side, note how in the second pic the relay rod is touching the frame, also note that the wheel is fully turned. In the neutral wheel position this is not an issue.

 

[VTCruiser]

any updates?

 

[kevinmrowland]

Love em.
Works great, the steering is steady and responsive, especially through curves, no backing off and advancing the wheel during the turn, just turn the wheel and the truck turns, no minor adjustments.
I STILL need to extend the bump stops, so until then I have been avoiding the jumps. Need to decide how I want to extend them. Anybody have any slick solutions?

 

[VTCruiser]

so how much would this setup cost for average joe..or me?

 

[kevinmrowland]

I'm not the one to give the quote, but I believe they are the same as all the other 4X4Lab kits with arms, $550. Considering the quality of the components and how expensive the inferior options are, I think it's a great deal.

 

[Thorton Melon]

Any updates? Is the salt taking its toll yet?

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Good question. I forgot to ask last time I was there. I can say that they have been salting the hell out of the roads, so my truck's feeling it.

What say you Kevin?

 

[lcwizard]

The thread diameter of the 60 and 80 relay rods are the same..21mm.
The threads of the 60 and 80 tie rod ends are the same 23mm.
The 80 is heavier duty than the 60 rod ends is a myth , I don't know where it started.
If you compare the tie rods side by side I'd rather run the 60. The 80 has deeper cut
just outside the threads before the post suggesting it may even be weaker.