Newbie FJ40 Owner...Steering Issues (wandering on old or worn roads) (1 Viewer)

[Doug_S]

I had the same problem. I changed from 31x10.5 tires to 33x9.5 BFGs and the problem was completely gone. Narrower tires did wonders.

Good luck!

 

[Morse_FJ40]

I was the one that talked about wondering if I needed a new stabilizer about 2 weeks ago. I had already rebuilt the entire front axle, including new tie rod ends, rebuilt center arm. My cruise was still all over the road. So I listened to the guys here and went and got a set of 4 degree steel shims . ( i have about 5 inches of lift)

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!! I don't know how I drove it before!! I adjusted the steering box, and added some oil, and had to loosen up the center arm---- because it was over adjusted, compensating for the bad caster. Get the shims first, and then adjust!! Don't rebuild the center arm until it is completely adjusted!!

good luck!

Oh I can now let go of the well and it tracks perfectly straight down the road!! I love it!!!

Ryan

 

[follyfj40]

Hey Guys,

Thanks again for the advice....I think I am going with the shims as the rig is lifted and I didn't see any when I checked out the spring leaves..

Morse_FJ40: Did you add these shims yourself (was it a big project?) or easier and worth the $$ to take to a shop (again, am pretty clueless) Any recomendation on shims material/brand/size?

If this doesn't work or if I need more tuning, will then look into replacing the SS or center arm.

Look forward to driving it back from the beach without having to fight to stay in lane.

 

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

So for my rig. Stock, no lift, 31X10.5 tires. Should I look at a steering stabilizer shock and shackle bushings first? The shackle bushings are s***. the springs clunk back & forth. (My Dad didn't do much in the way of preventive maintenance before he died) I have it now. Also the stabilizer is the original one. I would assume replacing them should help something as far as steering.
If it still wanders some , how much play is acceptable 9Within reason) for the steering slop?

 

[Fast Eddy]

The shackle bushings are ****. the springs clunk back & forth.

With any problem, fix what is obviously wrong, then reassess the problem. Don't blame your dad (RIP), it's your rig now.

How much play is acceptable?

How much wander is acceptable?

 

[Morse_FJ40]

I bought steel shims from a Local shop for $30 plus pins. It was pretty easy. But if you haven't a clue get someone to help or have it done.

later
Ryan

 

[HebronFJ40]

FollyFJ
The angle of shims needed will depend on the lift. The idea is to make it so the differential (or hogs head as they call it in the hills around me) Is aimed straight with the drive shafts. Sounds like a sweet rig, where did you score such a smooth ride?!!?

 

[crushr]

FollyFJ
The idea is to make it so the differential (or hogs head as they call it in the hills around me) Is aimed straight with the drive shafts.

Nope. The idea is to return the front suspension to the factory spec of approximately 1 degree of positive caster. Positive caster encourages the front wheels to track straight and return to cnter after a turn. When you raise the front end with extended shackles, you end up with zero or negative caster, depending on the length of the shackle. Negative caster in particular results in extreme wandering and following ruts in the roadway.

Inserting shims (actually small angle wedges) between the spring pack and spring perch attached to the axle rotates the axle slightly in relation to the remainder of the truck and restores the correct caster (also referred to as 'kingpin angle'). While this small rotation may put the pinion in line with the driveshaft, it likely will not, especially with lifted springs, and such alignment, at least in this case, is not the reason for installing the shims.

BTW, SOR sells three different degreed shims, depending on how much longer than stock your front shackles are:

Shackle
Shim
1"-1 1/2" longer than stock
2.5 degree
2"-2 1/2" longer than stock
4.0 degree
3" & longer
6.0 degree


Cheers, Blake

'68 FJ40 "crushr" - bought it in 1987 and still working on it!

 

[crushr]

Oops. Just realized I had my positive and negative camber reversed. Stock spec is 1 degree NEGATIVE caster. So as previous poster stated, Negative caster GOOD, Positive caster BAD.

Cheers, Blake

 

[Rocky_LC]

Caster him Install - In the Middle of One...

I just jacked up my rig, and took off the U-Bolts and retaining plates. I plan to post up a little procedure when I am done....

OH BY THE WAY - BE CAREFUL!

There is a lot of weight involved in a Land Cruiser, You need to make sure your rig is supported, chocked, etc. As you disassemble the springs attachment, the body / frame will want to come crashing down (on you) if you don't have it properly supported.

Don't start this job if you don't have good jacks, jackstands, and big tools to get off these frozen nuts.

ENOUGH SAID ABOUT THIS


Here's my questions:

1. The extended pin is installed with the nut on the bottom, and the "knob" on top, right? ANSWER: YES (based on my original setup)

2. My shims have a hole in them big enough to fit in the shaft of the pin, but not over the "Knob". The drawing in the SOR catalog seems to imply the "knob" is extended, and fits through the shim and into the spring perch. Am I reading this wrong? Do I need to drill out my shim?

3. Do I need to replace the U-Bolts? I probably will, but what do you guys think?

Thanks - I'll post again when I run into the next problem.....

NOTE: If you are like me (running stock springs), make sure you buy caster shims and pins designed for your stock springs. For example, CCOT "Hell For Stout" pins won't go through the holes in the stock springs, and there is absolutely no way to drill or file out the holes in the springs. Has anyone made their own centering pins from 5/16" bolts with extended heads?

Rocky

 

[HebronFJ40]

Thanks Crushr

Thank You Crushr

Thanks For helping FollyFJ and myself. I'll go back to asking the questions instead of answering.

 

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

Not

With any problem, fix what is obviously wrong, then reassess the problem. Don't blame your dad (RIP), it's your rig now.



How much wander is acceptable?

I'm not blaming him, I'm slowly getting the rig to it's original beauty. Pop didn't do much more than oil changes to her over the years. That in itself is a testament to how well these are built.

 

[trucruiser]

Before you do all of that work , pop the hood and take a look at your rag joint , make sure that is not the problem, easy fix and cheap. I tried all of the othet things and on my 73 an i was still having the wandering problem. replaced the rag joint and problem solved.

 

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

I am ordering the bushings and new extreme shaclkes from SOR this week. Hope that helps some. As far as the rag joint. I'll look at it tonite.

 

[Klunky Chris]

definitely need caster shims. If you want to know exactly what's up with your caster, take it to a good laser allignment shop. Make sure they run ALL the specs for you (I had an issue where they didn't bother looking at caster because "It isn't adjustable..." needless to say I won't be going back THERE!)

This will tell you how much Positive castor you have, then by simple math you can figure out how many deg you need to counteract that.
ex: if you have +1.5 deg measured.
a 3 deg shim will = -1.5 deg
a 6 deg shim will = -4.5 deg

FWIW, 1 deg Neg castor is the factory reccomendation, but 3 deg negative is better (and factory for 60's and 80's) With bigger tires more is even better. I've got about 5 deg castor now and it's just about right for 4" lift and 35x12.5 tires

After that, if you still have issues, look at/replace all your spring/ shackle bushings.
You checked your center arm, so it sounds OK, but that and the TRE's on it are the next place to look. Rag joint and steering box play has been mentioned.

No-one has mentioned the drag link yet though. that's the connection on the arm of your steering box. Have someone move the steering wheel back and forth and see if you can see play. This is an easy fix as you can pull it apart, clean it, and install 2 penny's to take up the slack known as "the 2 cent fix"

GL!!!

 

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

How?

Hello All,


I also manually tightened the steering box to remove play in the wheel,

.

How do you do that?

 

[Coolerman]

Do NOT tighten the slotted screw on the steering box thinking that will take play out of your steering. All that does is set the pre-load on the worm gear! If you tighten this too much all you do is make it harder to turn the wheel leading to rapid wear of the worm gear!

The only way to take play out of your steering box is to remove the box, take it apart and REMOVE enough worm gear shims to take out the play. Follow this link for a step by step prodedure on a 1971 box. Should work for 68-9/71 boxes. The FSM covers this in detail.

http://tinyurl.com/4ehfr

 

[Rocky_LC]

Caster Shim install completed -

What a difference.

If you have extended shackles - try this first.

Rocky

 

[Rocky_LC]

Here's what I did...

http://members.cox.net/lindahuber/caster_shim_install.html

Hope it helps...

Rocky

 

[follyfj40]

Rocky_LC: Thanks for the walk-through on your install. Is right up my alley (same extended shackle length and lack of shims on my 74 FJ).

Enjoyed the pics as well on the project. Will probably have my shop install as I don't have the equipment/expierence to handle this one on my own.

Will let you know the results of this fix.

Thanks,


Folly