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FJ Vicuna

FJ Vicuna

Joined
Mar 6, 2026
Threads
1
Messages
4
Location
Chile, SA
Hi y'all. I just bought an '80 FJ here in Chile where I currently reside. This is my first FJ but not my first jeep. This one has been well used and needs a bit of work to get back to being a daily but that's the goal for now. My first big question is the old cut and turn. Currently she's been modified to SOA and I'd like to get it back to stock. What is the best way to measure if the axle has really been cut and turned? Knowing how many mechanics work around here I wouldn't be surprised if it's not been turned, also, is the back axle cut as well?

I get quite a bit of pulling and diving when I'm on the brakes, I did just replace the master cylinder and change the fluid for starters. I don't feel like the front calipers are sticking either.

Thanks for the help!
 
Welcome! You can visually tell if the front has been C&T. The pinion will be pointed at the transfer case, and the steering arms will be in the normal horizontal position. No C&T and the pinion will be relatively horizontal, along with the steering arms. If you post up a picture of your front axle we can tell you if it has been C&T. The rear requires no C&T. Use an angle finder on top of the steering arms to get an idea of the caster you currently have. If the pinion is pointing towards the xfter case with no C&T, your caster will be terrible and your steering will be scary as hell.
 
John Smith said:
Welcome! You can visually tell if the front has been C&T. The pinion will be pointed at the transfer case, and the steering arms will be in the normal horizontal position. No C&T and the pinion will be relatively horizontal, along with the steering arms. If you post up a picture of your front axle we can tell you if it has been C&T. The rear requires no C&T. Use an angle finder on top of the steering arms to get an idea of the caster you currently have. If the pinion is pointing towards the xfter case with no C&T, your caster will be terrible and your steering will be scary as hell.
Click to expand...
The front has definitely been C&T. The pinion points back up to the transfer case but they didn't get the drive train angle quite right and there still a decent bit of vibrations. The rear still has the original spring brackets, so that shouldn't be difficult to flip back. It drives ok but even after replacing the master cylinder and the fluid I'm still getting quite a bit of pull back and forth on braking.

Thanks for the manual links. There's still a bit of stuff I want to review and dig through before I get onto fixing too much.
 
Inspect your rear brakes, they can cause pulling if miss adjusted or one isn't working. While your at jack up each frt tires and see if they spin freely and check to see if the wheel bearings are tight.
 
There should be evidence if the frt end has been c/t by looking at the welds.
 
pb4ugo said:
Inspect your rear brakes, they can cause pulling if miss adjusted or one isn't working. While your at jack up each frt tires and see if they spin freely and check to see if the wheel bearings are tight.
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The fronts spin freely and the bearings are tight. I did find the steering arm brace loose this morning and tightening it up has helped a lot. There's evidence of welding on the very ends of the axle, almost like they just cut the caps off and modified them. Are there any steering linkage changes that need to be made C&T or does all the linkages stay the same?
 
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