Steering play plea...

[John Young]

Kyle, I apologize for not having pictures as part of this but I'm actually dictating this on my cell phone here in Holbrook Arizona where my son and I are on our way from salt lake to Daytona Beach Florida in our 1992 RJ77. We've really been enjoying the trip except for a few minor issues. My internet access is spotty at best. So being able to research stuff is hard.

There is a fair amount, almost uncomfortable amount, of play in the steering. And on two lane roads with semis and all there are moments when I am starting to wonder whether I should stop and try to do something. I'm more familiar with the steering knuckle on the '80s series which has that adjustment. I'm hoping somebody can tell me whether there is a similar steering adjustment in the knuckle that would make sense to try to find a garage to look for. I've not been able to see anything even when the truck was up on the rack a couple of days ago. Everything else in the steering looks pretty tight there's a tiny bit of play in the ball joint on the driver side front tire but that's about it.

Sorry for the rambling nature of this post. I'm a little bit concerned about just going to any old garage too. We're not that far from Albuquerque. And from looking at other threads here it seems that there is an adjustment on the steering box but everybody cautions that you have to be very very careful about it otherwise you can screw things up badly. So I guess as a related question is there someone in Albuquerque that I could trust to do this. I don't feel confident doing this myself on the street.

Any advice out there?

-Hoping in Holbrook

 

[RHINO]

John, with engine OFF, you can grab the steering shaft and rock it back and forth, watch if the pitman arm is keeping pace,,, then at least you will know if it's the gear or the linkage.

I don't know of any adjustment other than the gear.

 

[OGBeno]

Man, you all really need to do some better MX on 30+ year old trucks before driving it on American super highways like I-40. One of the fastest autobahns in the US.

Check all of your steering linkages.

Check your steering gear box.

Check your shocks and springs.

Check the preload on your front wheels.

These types of posts really don’t help anyone trying to be your free armchair mechanic from 2000 miles away.

Have you just through about going to a Toyota dealership?

If you can get that rig to ABQ, go immediately to ToyoMasters. They know cruisers and they know Cruiserdan. Throw some names around.

Toyota Repair Shop | Albuquerque, NM

Contact Toyomasters Inc. in Albuquerque, NM at (505) 890-8696 for more information on our repair services.

www.toyomasters.com

 

[John Young]

John, with engine OFF, you can grab the steering shaft and rock it back and forth, watch if the pitman arm is keeping pace,,, then at least you will know if it's the gear or the linkage.

I don't know of any adjustment other than the gear.

Hi Rino,
After I posted I went over to the local parts store asking for a recommendation. A local mechanic came and took a look and twisted the steering shaft as you suggested. t was his view that it was 'normal' and that maybe it would be worth an alignment. I do appreciate your suggestion Rhino. I had not known that you could do this.

 

[John Young]

Man, you all really need to do some better MX on 30+ year old trucks before driving it on American super highways like I-40. One of the fastest autobahns in the US.

Check all of your steering linkages.

Check your steering gear box.

Check your shocks and springs.

Check the preload on your front wheels.

These types of posts really don’t help anyone trying to be your free armchair mechanic from 2000 miles away.

Have you just through about going to a Toyota dealership?

If you can get that rig to ABQ, go immediately to ToyoMasters. They know cruisers and they know Cruiserdan. Throw some names around.

Toyota Repair Shop | Albuquerque, NM

Contact Toyomasters Inc. in Albuquerque, NM at (505) 890-8696 for more information on our repair services.

www.toyomasters.com

Thank you for your reply, Onur. I thought I had done enough due diligence. Two years ago in Dubai I had it gone through before we drove from Virginia to Salt lake, and a full service garage in Salt Lake did the same before I arrived to pick it up a week ago. But you live, you learn...

Thank you also for the suggestion to use ToyoMasters and the reference. I was eyeing them myself after googling today.

Just to add insult to injury, the truck stalled just as we were getting back to the motel. It's getting spark, etc. I suspect it is the automatic choke. Bushed. Tomorrow is another day.

 

[Squash]

Check wheel bearing preload.
Jack up the front and give the tires a fair shake at the 3 and 9 o'clock position. There should be no movement. Minimal tools are required, a hub socket is great but a hammer and screw driver will suffice.
I have set my inner to 20ft lbs on my HZJ75 as well as the 81.

 

[John Young]

Check wheel bearing preload.
Jack up the front and give the tires a fair shake at the 3 and 9 o'clock position. There should be no movement. Minimal tools are required, a hub socket is great but a hammer and screw driver will suffice.
I have set my inner to 20ft lbs on my HZJ75 as well as the 81.

When it was up on the rack in Moab I did that. 12-6 o'clock no play; 3-9 o'clock small play but not in the bearing --it seemed to be in the tie rod end. I pointed it out to the mechanic and he tried it and he felt it was within normal limits and said it was fine to drive. I assumed he knew what he was speaking of and left it at that. I did make a mental note to replace the tie rod ends at the next opportunity. It was not much really, but it did bother me a bit... The small amount of play was only present in the driver's side.

It is tough having a -little- knowledge.

 

[roscoFJ73]

other threads here it seems that there is an adjustment on the steering box but everybody cautions that you have to be very very careful about it otherwise you can screw things up badly.

Its quite simple and safe. I have done it on a number of vehicles. Look in your manual and follow the directions. But you really need to do that last after everything has been checked or replaced.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Other things that can cause issues (in addition to lists above) are: heavily worn out kingpin (knuckle) bearings, and worn out bushings (pan hard and radius arms for example).

 

[John Young]

Thank you all for the replies and advice. I'm still thinking it may be the tie rod end on the driver's side. After a few adventures we made it to Albuquerque and I was at Toyo Master's when they opened. The owner graciously agreed to try to fit Biscuit in to see what he could do.

Again, I really appreciate the replies and advice. I will update with what Toyo Masters (who do a lot of LC stuff) tell me. I'm going to try hard to get this sorted before leaving ABQ.

 

[OGBeno]

They will take care of you at Toyomasters.

Glad you went there.

 

[John Young]

Just got back from Toyo Masters. Had a good discussion. Although I think mine is the second 70 series they've seen I got a good sense of where we are. TM also thinks the tie rod ends are generally within normal limits; he's also going to check if they are torqued down correctly. He did adjust the steering box slightly and will be putting it up on the alignment rack and see if any toe in adjustment is needed. We spent a few minutes trying to find US part equivalent for the tie rod ends but no luck so far. One of the sites I looked at suggested that the 60 series and the 70 series use the same tie rod end. Does anyone know if that is true and if so, whether the light 70 series (with the front springs rather than leafs) also use the same tie rod ends? (I'm going to keep researching.)

He's also changing the plug wires--one wire came off as we were driving the last mile into ABQ. He also revised the vacuum lines on the carb slightly. The truck does not have the vacuum switching valve that normally kicks the engine up a couple of hundred RPM. This makes sense in a way. The truck when I bought it had the heater core disconnected and the normal assumption is that everyone runs AC all the time in Dubai, so someone probably just deleted this and set the idle accordingly.

Toyo Masters thinks we will be on the road again today. Very grateful to them for helping us on short notice!

 

[John Young]

After looking at threads here I contacted Cruiser Outfitters in Utah and while they are working on it, they do not have the tie rod ends for Biscuit. So new tie rod ends are on hold for the moment but I'm glad I called them--they appeared to have an active interest in supporting 70s.

 

[OGBeno]

New TREs and relay rod ends are available from Toyota if CO can’t get them.

 

[John Young]

New TREs and relay rod ends are available from Toyota if CO can’t get them.

CO says they don't currently have the ability to supply them, but they are working on it, and likely it will take a few months. I've asked my parts guy in Sharjah to see if he can get them from Oman.

Toyo Masters here in ABQ looked at them and said they were a bit worn and should eventually be replaced but were not unduly problematic. They did a little adjustment and checked the alignment too. Could be the steering box itself is just past its prime. I have a buddy in Dubai who was able to get a NEW steering box for his 80 and I'm going to look into that for Biscuit.

 

[OGBeno]

New steering gear boxes are available as well.

Though pricey.

 

[John Young]

Toyo Masters also noticed a drop or two of coolant leak. I'd been looking at every stop and had not seen anything. After thinking about it and the drive across Texas I decided we could not prudently drive on. TM recommended Independent Radiator in ABQ as the last remaining traditional radiator shop in town and we drove over and talked to Steven who was incredibly nice and supportive and said he could turn our radiator over in a day if we got it to him in the morning. Jonathan and I checked into the very nice Hotel Albuquerque in old town and the front desk provided us some old towels and we (actually Jonathan) pulled the radiator.

Look at that smile!

I am damn glad we did, too!

What was even better than my peace of mind was Jonathan's amazement that the 70 was so easy to work on. It was a real confidence builder.

 

[John Young]

New steering gear boxes are available as well.

Though pricey.

Yeah... my buddy paid 5K AED (1400 USD for his 80's box)!

I've tried having 80 boxes rebuilt in Dubai without huge success. And I've tried salvage steering boxes with even less success. I think I may bite the bullet after we see what new tie rod ends do.

 

[OGBeno]

Most people whom are serious about their LCs eventually do.

There is a reason why Toyota does not offer these as remanufactured or rebuilt.

Nor any LC hydraulic system components for that matter.

 

[cruisermatt]

We’ll be digging into this one a little bit soon here!