sloppy steering (1 Viewer)

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Feb 16, 2007
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Hello all. just purchased my first fj40. '72 with original drivetrain. ome lift and holley carb and front disc brakes are a few of the previous owners additions. truck runs great with the exception of some sloppy steering. any ideas? planning on starting with a replacement of all the tie-rod ends. should i dig into the steering gear box while i've got it all taken apart? how big of a job is this, and are there any rebuild kits available/recommended? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks.
 
I also had the same problem you are having, I ordered the front center arm rebuild kit, and also a new rag joint, It now drives like it should with no slack or slop, good luck
 
rag joint?? sorry but i'm not familiar with that term
 
there is no rag joint on a '72, the column goes right into the steering box

if you order the center arm rebuilt kit, Kurt at cruiseroutfitters.com is the man

tightening the nut on the steering box might help, but I would first seriously look at replacing the tie rod ends (again, Kurt's da man) and checking the status of your shackles and bushings - that made a HUGE difference for me

some people also recommend caster adjustment
 
cool cool. thanks for the help. i'll probably start with the tie-rod ends since they seem really warn out. i guess the center arm seems like the next thing to look into.
 
cool cool. thanks for the help. i'll probably start with the tie-rod ends since they seem really warn out. i guess the center arm seems like the next thing to look into.

yeah, in that order

bushings after that

and if then tightening the nut doesn't help, there is still the option of opening the steering box (major pain, requires removal of entire column) and removing shims
 
If your steering is stock you have a bellcrank on teh driver's side where the crossmember under the bib joins the side rail of the frame. Leave the weight of the vehicle on the wheels and have someone turn the steering wheel. If you can see ANY up and down or side to side movement your problem is probably right there. Sometimes it can be fixed by tightening down the adjusting screw on top of the bellcrank. If that doesn't work give serious thought to converting to a Saginaw power steering system.
 
Would the above be applicable to an FJ40 with wander?

Mine does fine on a good road. But if the road is worn, it badly climbs in and out of the grooves. Add a stiff wind and highway speeds and it can suddenly leap from one edge of the lane to the other.

In addition, my FJ40 sits at a bit of a rake. The rear is a bit higher than the front. I haven't added longer shackles in the front yet, waiting until I add a winch. But perhaps this has thrown the caster angle off too much. Even with the large tires, the steering is nearly effortless.
 
ok i put on all new tie rod ends, and rebuilt the center arm. Steering seems much tighter, still some slight adjustments to be made. I'm still not completely satisfied however. When you let go of the wheel the truck will hold a straight line, however once you hit a bump in the road the truck takes off and is difficult to get back in line. Also at freeway speeds (55-65) steering seems better than at 20-50. perhaps it's the quality of city roads in the ghetto. i've noticed people talking about shims underneath the leaf springs being the answer to some steering problems. How do i determine if i need them, and if they are the right size. I have an old man emu lift kit put on by the previous owner, i think its about 2". I'm running 32" bfg at's on 15" rock crawler steelies. Any help would be great, thanks.
Also any hints on tightening the cap on the center arm body. I heard its tight and half turn back, but the arm doesn't spin on axis unless its tighter, and once i tighten it, when i let go of the steering wheel after making a left or right turn the wheels won't turn straight by themeselves. I'm having trouble finding a right balance.
 
ok i put on all new tie rod ends, and rebuilt the center arm. Steering seems much tighter, still some slight adjustments to be made. I'm still not completely satisfied however.

Looking back through the posts, I'm not sure if you ever determined where your slack was coming from. Did you? In other words, did you have someone turn the steering wheel while you looked at components to determine what was loose/in need of adjustment. All of the things you mentioned could be the cause of sloppy steering, but there are others. In my case, most of it came from the gearbox. I had someone turn the steering wheel and could see that the steering shaft turned, but the drag link did not move. So, I rebuilt the gearbox. It was really pretty easy. Coolerman's website has a pretty detailed description of how to go about it. The hardest part for me was disconnecting the column shift and getting it reconnected correctly. In simple terms, to fix the gearbox, I had to replace a $6 seal that I got from SOR, and I pulled out some shims. Now my steering is pretty tight.

Figure out where your slop is coming from and move on from there. You mentioned a lift. Do you have extended shackles? If so, do you have castor correction shims? How are your wheel bearings? There are still several things to check. You asked about checking castor. If you don't have a gauge, you can take it into the shop and they can tell you your castor. If it is off, you can order shims from several online vendors. I believe castor should be around 1*.

By the way, tightening the nut on the back of the gearbox only pushes the sector shaft tighter into the shims. If your worm gear is worn, tightening the nut will not help without removing shims. This will then allow the worm gear to mesh better.

Good luck! :cheers:
 
well the tie rod ends were shot, so those needed to be replaced. i had someone turn the wheel and watched the center arm turn all out of whack, so that was my next step. it turns on a straight axis now. The drag link seems to move in correct response to movement in the steering wheel. I do have castor correction shims but i'm not sure if they are put on correctly. Other than taking it to an allignment shop is there a way for me to check castor myself? It just seems like the shims are installed the wrong way. By lifting the truck the angle of the axle seems like it needs the thick part of the shim in the front to help correct it. My shims are positioned with the thick part towards the rear of the vehicle, this seems like it throws the angle off even more. The previous owner was a mechanic so i figured that he would have lifted it correctly, but it doesnt seem right to me. Is there an idiots guide to castor correction shims somewhere on this site???
 
Fat part of the shim goes forward. That could definitely be your problem. Flip them around and see if that helps things.

:cheers:
 
i am offering last resort option if all else seems ok, but there is a chance you need a St box rebuild....

i do have one all rebuilt, should you require one

Best Regards

Gord
 
zetasig maybe looking for a steering box. How much do you want for it?

here is the link to the parts

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=137556

Box is rebuilt new sector shaft, all new seals, repacked and ready to go....went to power steering after this was done


LCrebuiltbox.jpg



price is $125.00 plus the ride

Best Regards

gord

**** also have a used one that worked ok with no leaks***
 

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