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Groundhog

Groundhog

10 Year
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Threads
10
Messages
61
Location
Albuquerque NM
Website
www.ghoginc.com
Hi all,
Just picked up a '76-40 4" lift w/v8, 400 turbo and don't know much else about it. I need help with squirrelly steering. I'll probably try the 4 deg fix. Any help is appreciated. I can offer help with fab, welding, Waterjet, plasma, materials, tools etc.
 
I'm guessing caster, caster, caster....?

Welcome to the site. Tell us a little about yourself.

By the way, you had me at "Waterjet".....:-)
 
Last edited:
Worthless without pics. Mandatory. Otherwise, it doesn't exist. Welcome to the dysfunction.

Steering could be a whole bunch of things. Caster, rod ends, alignment, worn knuckle bearings. Probably needs a knuckle service anyways.
 
bio/pics

im a resident demolition contractor that likes to go out on weekends/camping/fishing/rock-fossil hunting and help one of my employees take care of 30,000 acre ranch. this is my first 40 and would appreciate any help learning about it. as for the fab support etc i have lots of goodies and many contacts to care for my fleet and heavy equipment. we can fix just about anything big. the 40 is the smallest thing i own. you can visit www.ghoginc.com
for an idea of my world. (i was born a slave!)
as for the steering my aligment guy is telling me it is 3.2 deg+ and the box is a little worn(im not sure if he said that after he charged me, hehehe) btw its manual steer. of course im a rookie so ill try to post pics. please tell me if i need to photo certain components.
my 40.webp
leaf closeup.webp
fe leafs.webp
 
Groundhog said:
i have one more pic straight on but i have exceeded my quota. guess i need to get the silver membership? any tips ?
Click to expand...

Yep. If you can host them at someplace like Flickr, Photobucket, or one of those other photo sites, you can link to them using the "insert image" button in the tool bar. That is the general fix until you either get your star, or get past 10 posts.
 
do you happen to have the printout from the alignment shop hand? If so, what is the total toe, and the caster angle from each front wheel?

I'm not an expert on the 40's but there maybe a adjuster on the PS gearbox to take out some of the slop. Paul, you out there?
 
no print out i was told the caster is 3.5+ and toe-in is 1/16. i understand using shims but it is not really clear in any of the forums what the "net" caster should be. everyone is saying 4-6deg. what does a 4-6 degree shim rotate me to ??? tires are 285/75/17 appprox 33" x 11" i assume i need psotive(pointing backwards) the spring perches appear to be facing downwards towards the front however the knuckles look fairly upright.
 
alia176 said:
I'm not an expert on the 40's but there maybe a adjuster on the PS gearbox to take out some of the slop. Paul, you out there?
Click to expand...

Sort of. I seem to recall the FJ40 is set up similar to the mini-trucks. The drag link at the box has a pair of cups/springs. The cups can wear and the springs can fade. There are kits out there. Here is a pic of the offending parts, #51-56:

094A1.gif


The other problem area on an FJ40 steering setup is the center arm, #19-20. Of course it could also be rod ends and knuckle bearings. All parts should be acquired from American Toyota. Have a chat with Onur (Beno here at Mud) and he will set you up.
 
Groundhog said:
no print out i was told the caster is 3.5+ and toe-in is 1/16. i understand using shims but it is not really clear in any of the forums what the "net" caster should be. everyone is saying 4-6deg. what does a 4-6 degree shim rotate me to ??? tires are 285/75/17 appprox 33" x 11" i assume i need psotive(pointing backwards) the spring perches appear to be facing downwards towards the front however the knuckles look fairly upright.
Click to expand...

It appears to me that a caster of +3.5 is a good number. Read about caster here: Caster angle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Your front wheels should be self centering with that much positive caster I'd think. My 80 has a caster +3degrees and they self center right NOW. Your steering wheel maybe sloppy due to worn components in the steering system but that's a different issue. I am not convinced that your 11" wide tires are not doing funny things however!

I do recall tightening up Paul's 40 steering box and that helped somewhat. He has manual steering as well.
 
yes, the steering box has an adjustment (at least there was on my '77). on the side of the box there's a nut with a center screw. loosen the nut, turn the center screw till it stops, then back it out 1/4 turn. hold it in place and tighten the nut. it helps some, but probably won't totally fix the slop. there's a center arm by the front frame cross member that gets sloppy and can be rebuilt. then the 6 rod ends. tons of places for slop to form. I had lift shackles like that too and it ruined my caster too. the thing would jump lanes and with 11" of steering wheel play, it was hard to catch it quick enough. never measured the caster though. 3.5* seems like a good #. you'd have to do the search to see what it's supposed to be.
and welcome!
 
All this talk about the steering and nobody has mentioned that the bezel is upside down.:D
That is a very nice looking 40, welcome to the forum.
 
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