Steering slack causing wobble above 60km/h

[TheSquare]

Hi
I changed my wheels to some modern toyota hilux ones, and have mounted them on 6" spacers. There is some wear in the steering that causes just a little bit of slack, allowing mainy the left wheel to turn ever so slightly without any steering input. I did some searching and wiggling around with the steering linkage and it all seems to be fine, the only linkeage part that I'm a tiny bit iffy about is the dampener. But I'm starting to suspect that the slack is further up the chain.

What I would need is some kind of manual or blueprint for the steering so I can go through all the components to search for the slack. Would anyone happen to have a good resource for this?

There is a clacking when I wobble the wheel by hand and it's a little hard to tell where it's coming from. Has anyone experienced this kind of issue and know how to troubleshoot the steering?

 

[Rigster]

There are many topics on this subject.

You can find a repair manual for whatever version of Land Cruiser that you own under the resources tab at the top of the page.

Next, make sure your tie rod ends are tightened up - you can pull the cotter pin and tighten the end screw on both ends. Next, I would check for bearing preload - lift the front end up and check for any play in the front wheel bearings, and adjust preload as necessary. This can be found in the manual you download from the resources section. You can also adjust the steering box a bit as well if there is some play in there. Best of luck!

 

[TheSquare]

The actual repair manual is mysteriously absent from the resource library. Can't find it under 70 series. I have a 2.4LT LJ73. The tie rod seemed fine. But I can try tightening those castle nuts and see where I get to. Thinking the steering box is the more likely suspect between the two. But like I said I don't have a manual, and don't really wanna go digging around in there without one. It's hard to tell, since just a tiny bit of play could cause the wobble, but be hard to locate.

Another symptom is that the neutral position of the wheel seems to not steer completely forward. I have to have a slight turn to the left, but it changes when the weight of the car shifts. So it definitely is some play somewhere in the steering. Notable also is that the wobble doesn't always appear. Depending on the road grade and how much I'm turning it dosappears sometimes. And it happens less noticably when above 80km/h.

 

[JuanJ]

The actual repair manual is mysteriously absent from the resource library. Can't find it under 70 series. I have a 2.4LT LJ73. The tie rod seemed fine. But I can try tightening those castle nuts and see where I get to. Thinking the steering box is the more likely suspect between the two. But like I said I don't have a manual, and don't really wanna go digging around in there without one. It's hard to tell, since just a tiny bit of play could cause the wobble, but be hard to locate.

Another symptom is that the neutral position of the wheel seems to not steer completely forward. I have to have a slight turn to the left, but it changes when the weight of the car shifts. So it definitely is some play somewhere in the steering. Notable also is that the wobble doesn't always appear. Depending on the road grade and how much I'm turning it dosappears sometimes. And it happens less noticably when above 80km/h.

Hello,

The manual is the RM183E.

Check the Steering and Suspension section.





Juan

 

[TheSquare]

Got it! Thanks! I could have sworn I got this already but couldn't find steering assembly information in it.

 

[AirheadNut]

What year is your LJ73? Pre- and post-1990 have different suspension and steering setups, RM183E is for the 1990+ version. For the older version you'll want 36261E.

 

[TheSquare]

Yes, it's a -92. So the manual should be correct one. Mine has coils with separate shocks front and back. Not sure if and when I would replace or upgrade that set-up. Currently I'm thinking I should replace the wheel bearings at least for the front end. With the 35" mud tires I was running before there was a wheel bearing like noise. I kind of assumed it was road noise, but if I listen for it I can hear it sometimes now as well with 265/65r18 all seasons. Either way, I doubt it's ever been done. So maybe would be a good idea? The steering slack doesn't seem to be the issue, it's not outside the range that the manual specifies. So if it's the steering, it'll probably be wear in the box itself. Haven't looked at what repairs on that would cost though. Bearing kits aren't cheap but not ridiculously expensive either. Tie rod ends seem fine as far as I can tell.