Pumpkin spice..

[J Mack]

Ok @scrapdaddy because any friend of yours is a friend of mine I even took pictures..

I clamped the housing to a level surface, cleaned a section of the center section mounting surface and noted that angle.

I then came up with a way to repeatably confirm the angle that I currently have.

Go through four batteries before giving up and grabbing the corded grinder.
Don't forget your safety glasses, because as they say you can't hear boobies and no reason to take the chance.

 

[J Mack]

I cut off the shock mounts to make it easier to grind.

I'm planning to make new ones anyway.

I like using a 1/4 stone grinding wheel to run around and remove most of the weld first.

Then use the cutoff wheel on the inside edge and try and find the parting line.
If you look close you can see a little black edge on the inside of that grind. That is the parting line between the tube and the ball.

 

[J Mack]

I cleaned as much of the gear oil as I can out from around the inside of the tubes, solvent clean then repeat several times then I grabbed the torch and heated just the tube enough to wick the oil out and cleaned some more, heat and repeat until no oil wicks out.

Coated my balls, my races and my blocks with anti spatter!

added 4° to my starting number and welded..

Not worried about Instagram welder of the day award just burned them in good and hot.
I'll clean everything up tomorrow and start putting it all back together.

 

[Pigeaten]

i'm checking instagram for your picture now

 

[scrapdaddy]

Okay, it was 1.2 degrees from factory and you added another 4 degrees=5.2 degrees total. You clamped the axle to the table via the spring pad, correct? And, you welded in those nice shock mount/bell braces.

Edit... One other question, are you going to check the housing for warpage?

 

[J Mack]

Okay, it was 1.2 degrees from factory and you added another 4 degrees=5.2 degrees total. You clamped the axle to the table via the spring pad, correct? And, you welded in those nice shock mount/bell braces.

The 1.2° was a starting point for this housing fixtured the way I had it fixtured not 1.2° in the pig. The pig had zero or 0.143° if we are going to get technical.
Yes I only added 4° to this housing, I'm a 4° to 6° guy and run more in my personal vehicle. I believe a pig with a lift running larger than stock tires will benefit from more caster, I've driven for hundreds of miles now with a certain zebra striped pig traveling 95 to 115 MPH for hours on end.. We don't often put the details in print but catch us around a camp fire and we can fill you in..

Edit... One other question, are you going to check the housing for warpage?

I did not. I only welded the ends and it's less likely to warp there than if I welded spring perches. This housing had 1° difference camber from side to side before I started, I'll let you know if that got better or worse. My bet is it stayed the same..

 

[bobm]

I cleaned as much of the gear oil as I can out from around the inside of the tubes, solvent clean then repeat several times then I grabbed the torch and heated just the tube enough to wick the oil out and cleaned some more, heat and repeat until no oil wicks out.View attachment 4090622DON'T JUDGE ME!

Coated my balls, my races and my blocks with anti spatter!

View attachment 4090623View attachment 4090624
added 4° to my starting number and welded..
View attachment 4090625
Not worried about Instagram welder of the day award just burned them in good and hot.
I'll clean everything up tomorrow and start putting it all back together.

Listen! Ya always guts ta have anti splatter on da

 

[J Mack]

Listen!

What took you so long!

 

[bobm]

I cleaned as much of the gear oil as I can out from around the inside of the tubes, solvent clean then repeat several times then I grabbed the torch and heated just the tube enough to wick the oil out and cleaned some more, heat and repeat until no oil wicks out.View attachment 4090622

Coated my balls, my races and my blocks with anti spatter!

View attachment 4090623View attachment 4090624
added 4° to my starting number and welded..
View attachment 4090625
Not worried about Instagram welder of the day award just burned them in good and hot.
I'll clean everything up tomorrow and start putting it all back together.

SURE YA CAN JUST WELD ON DAT AXHOLE WITHOUT 53 PAGES OF ., before getting started

 

[J Mack]

SURE YA CAN JUST WELD ON DAT AXHOLE WITHOUT 53 PAGES OF ., before getting started

We have to keep the haters happy @bobm
"Dear God....for those that love me....let them love me. For those that don't, please turn their hearts. And Dear God, if you can't turn their hearts, please turn their ankles so I'll know them by their limp." (Irish Proverb)

 

[bobm]

We have to keep the haters happy @bobm
"Dear God....for those that love me....let them love me. For those that don't, please turn their hearts. And Dear God, if you can't turn their hearts, please turn their ankles so I'll know them by their limp." (Irish Proverb)

Ohh and Irish lad too! . Me name is Mcshamus Mcnally . Half German and Half Irish Mc Jmack . McBob and Mc Chillin

 

[gonzopancho]

I only added 4° to this housing, I'm a 4° to 6° guy and run more in my personal vehicle. I believe a pig with a lift running larger than stock tires will benefit from more caster, I've driven for hundreds of miles now with a certain zebra striped pig traveling 95 to 115 MPH for hours on end..

I asked AI, and by God, JMack, it agrees with you.

If your FJ55 has larger-than-stock tires or other mods (e.g., steering box brace, hydro assist), lean toward the higher end of +4°-5° for best results. Check forums like IH8MUD (search "FJ55 caster" or "55 series lift caster") for FJ55-specific builds — many report great results with 3°-4° correction on similar 1.5-2" lifts.

Yer a genius, Harry!

 

[samc2447]

Nice work @jmack. This is the correct way to do the castor correction. Keep pictures of the updates coming.

 

[J Mack]

I asked AI, and by God, JMack, it agrees with you.

I grew up a Chevy guy and had/built a few. The older Chevy's had longer shackles that ran through the frame in the rear and when you lifted them it wasn't out of the ordinary to have 8° plus of caster and we all drove our stuff hard and fast back then..
Fast forward to my first FJ55 and I was given the advise of "just buy the kit and install it as per instruction and you'll be fine"! Without much thought I did exactly that and it was possibly the scariest car I've ever driven at speed on a road with any crown or truck ruts and that set me on the path of not asking the "Toyota guys" about front end geometry ( every one of them will tell you shims or 3° to 4°) and come up with my own plan. I like the 4° to 6° caster for a everyday driver and believe those are still safe numbers if you're just throwing out internet advice.
I had the OME springs and installed 4° shims and it was better but still sucked to drive at any speed and the short front shackles would invert so hard I was bending the anti inversion bolts in the shackles the way I drove it off road. The plan was make a new front end with more caster and get rid of the short shackles, some quick math will tell you the springs we use need a 6"-7" shackle and on my personal pig I like 6° to 8° of caster (proceed with caution if you step out side of the norm) and I built the stuff to keep the front shackle but go up through the frame. I have taken several here on Mud for a ride and a few have also driven on fast fire roads or at highway speeds and this old $hit box rides better than it should, way better than some of the new Heep or Toyotas I own on the same roads around here.
My point in all this rambling is if we stop all repeating bad (Toyota) information and look at what works outside of Toyota I think a simple leaf spring solution could be found or at the very least we could stop telling new'ish guys that this brand or that brand spring doesn't effect your caster and you wont need shims or cut and turn. IMHO every readily available FJ55 lift kit makes the already lacking front geometry worse.

 

[greenbeast]

Reading all this caster discussion really has me curious to how well these rigs could drive when done correctly. Owned several land cruisers of most flavors and have installed small lifts (OME primarily) in the ones I would drive on regular basis.

This has piqued my interest on some fine tuning and the improvements it could bring to the entire experience.

Thanks for sharing the learning points!

 

[J Mack]

Reading all this caster discussion really has me curious to how well these rigs could drive when done correctly.

Don't forget about the shackle angle!!

 

[Pigeaten]

i have driven JMacks 55 in the dirt, took it on a rolling bumpy dirt road. I remember 2 things, that diesel loved to run, had gobs of power. i took it up to a speed i thought was safe, i look at Jim, his hand like a gas pedal moving downward, I went faster, smiling, looked over, hand pointing down farther, truck obeyed easily, I don't think i went any faster, not because truck couldn't handle it, I didn't have enough confidence in myself to drive on dirt at that speed.
Anyway, I was impressed by the trucks power, but later realized how smooth that truck rode over that terrain, excuse my language but absolutely F...ing amazing!
Jim has figured it out. I Believe, I believe!

 

[J Mack]

I don't think i went any faster

The way I remember it you were going over 75 on that rutted dirt road and the end was approaching fast as I was encouraging you to go faster, clearly only one of us is smart!

 

[Pigeaten]

Fun day, the other ride, i get in, seat belt won't fit fat ass, i figured oh well, he can build em, he can drive em. Plus if you've been on a pig party with Jim, you know he can drive, you just try to stay at a distance before his dust settles to know where to go. Anyway that little hotrod twisted by torque as he hit the gas, front end light, oh s...!, 2nd gear the same but much more speed, and on and on. i finally relaxed and giggled like a schoolboy, great day.

 

[J Mack]

the other ride