FJ80 Uneven turning radius (1 Viewer)

[bencho]

Hey everyone,
I'm having a bit of a puzzling steering issue with my 1992 80 series Land Cruiser and could really use some advice or insight from the community.

Here's the problem: when turning the steering wheel to the left, I get about 1 and a third turns, which seems normal. However, when turning to the right, I'm getting a little more than 2 full turns of the steering wheel. This discrepancy is quite noticeable and makes most u turns impossible.

I've already checked the Pitman arm orientation based on previous forum discussions, and it appears to be installed correctly. I've even attached a photo for reference. Additionally, the adjustable steering stops on both sides of the knuckles do not make contact at full lock on either side, suggesting that it's not a matter of physical obstruction at the extremes of steering. The tie rod doesn't look bent either.

To troubleshoot further, I ensured that my steering stabilizer bracket is correctly positioned, and it is. Interestingly, when I temporarily removed the steering stabilizer, I was able to achieve a few more inches of turn on the left side, but there was no significant improvement. When I did this however, (the truck being jacked up the whole time) power steering fluid (atf) started leaking dramatically underneath the car. I looked in the engine bay and it seems my PS reservoir was just crapping it out. I'll probably have to replace that huh?

At this point, I'm a bit stumped and unsure what could be causing this issue. Could it be an internal issue with the steering box itself, or is there something else I should be looking into? Any suggestions or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[SNLC]

Possibly steering box was out of center when someone had the steering apart and put it back together.

Disconnect the drag link from the pitman arm, center steering box and reconnect. At least start with that, it’s easy to do.

Cheers

 

[fjbj40]

Despite the steering wheel going full lock in each direction, you are supposed to hit the stops.

What angle are the tires producing from center straight to each side?

I would start there, once again, the stops must be contacted. This is to prevent the steering box from doing internal damage under hydraulic pressure and damage to other parts of steering such as extreme angles on the birf.

 

[CharlieS]

It also appears that you have a leaky seal somewhere on your steering box. I'm in the middle of dealing with this now myself, so it drew my attention.

 

[bencho]

It also appears that you have a leaky seal somewhere on your steering box. I'm in the middle of dealing with this now myself, so it drew my attention.

Oh yeah... Are you rebuilding or just buying a new box? I'm contemplating rebuilding but I'm just worried it's too complicated for me to do myself haha. If only there was a detailed video for it (I'm much more of a visual learner)

 

[bencho]

Despite the steering wheel going full lock in each direction, you are supposed to hit the stops.

What angle are the tires producing from center straight to each side?

I would start there, once again, the stops must be contacted. This is to prevent the steering box from doing internal damage under hydraulic pressure and damage to other parts of steering such as extreme angles on the birf.

Ohh okay. I do have 1.5in spacers on I'm not sure if that impacts things but is there a certain number of steering wheel turns you should ideally have before hitting the stops?

 

[fjbj40]

Ohh okay. I do have 1.5in spacers on I'm not sure if that impacts things but is there a certain number of steering wheel turns you should ideally have before hitting the stops?

The FSM would have that info.

Do you have it?

Spacers will have no effect

 

[CharlieS]

Oh yeah... Are you rebuilding or just buying a new box? I'm contemplating rebuilding but I'm just worried it's too complicated for me to do myself haha. If only there was a detailed video for it (I'm much more of a visual learner)

There's an active thread on it. Most people seem to be buying new from impex. I am putting in a used box and rebuilding my original.

Go to for Steering Box?

I had a state safety inspection today and the mechanic (not some scammer, he's a guy that I trust a lot) said my steering box is leaking badly. He knows that I do all of my own work, so he doesn't stand to gain anything from this. Time to fix or replace... I've read a bunch of posts that are...

forum.ih8mud.com

There is a video in there. There are some very detailed posts on mud too, with tons of great detail.

This is a really good one, for example: Steering gear box rebuild - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/steering-gear-box-rebuild.443494/post-6175447

 

[bencho]

The FSM would have that info.

Do you have it?

Spacers will have no effect

I don't have the FSM...

 

[fjbj40]

I don't have the FSM...

 

[fjbj40]

1 more

 

[CharlieS]

There are free FSM on this site in the resources area, as well as on some of the Facebook groups.

 

[GORDA91]

Oh yeah... Are you rebuilding or just buying a new box? I'm contemplating rebuilding but I'm just worried it's too complicated for me to do myself haha. If only there was a detailed video for it (I'm much more of a visual learner)

There’s a video on YouTube with a guy who cusses a lot while he’s doing it. The process seemed fairly straightforward. Can’t remember his handle but you should be able to find it by searching. I decided to buy a reman one and kept my old one to rebuild in my spare time. Haven’t found any of that yet…

 

[truthdetector]

There’s a video on YouTube with a guy who cusses a lot while he’s doing it. The process seemed fairly straightforward. Can’t remember his handle but you should be able to find it by searching. I decided to buy a reman one and kept my old one to rebuild in my spare time. Haven’t found any of that yet…

 

[bencho]

The cussing seems appropriate hahaha. Thanks for sending!

 

[bencho]

Possibly steering box was out of center when someone had the steering apart and put it back together.

Disconnect the drag link from the pitman arm, center steering box and reconnect. At least start with that, it’s easy to do.

Cheers

Got the box centered. Issue solved! It has a beautiful amount of turning radius with both stops hitting now. Question though... Do I need an alignment now?

 

[CharlieS]

Did you adjust any of the tie rod ends? If not, I don't see why, you haven't changed any of the geometry.

 

[bencho]

Did you adjust any of the tie rod ends? If not, I don't see why, you haven't changed any of the geometry.

The shop turned the rod ends to re-center the steering wheel. But they didn't tell me whether I need an alignment now (but I know they don't have the tools to do alignments at their shop)

 

[Broski]

The shop turned the rod ends to re-center the steering wheel. But they didn't tell me whether I need an alignment now (but I know they don't have the tools to do alignments at their shop)

That be the drag link to center the steering wheel
Toe is the tie rod and the only thing that adjustable.
Castor can be changed but its not really adjustable

 

[mudgudgeon]

Your pic from 1st post.

Is the stamped line on the pitman arm and steering shaft now parallel with the frame when you have the steering pointed straight ahead?

From memory, the stamped line should be more or less parallel with the frame.

So you have equal turns to full lock left and right now?