Steering wheel off center after hit - damaged sector shaft?

[baldilocks]

This is true. None were mine, 3 of those were the same guy, although one of those had previously been on my truck (and is the one suspected of being pre-cracked). All of them were hits to the passenger side wheel, on trails. What's concerning is that the comment 'I didn't think I hit it that hard' is common. Of course, hitting an immovable object at 10 mph might not seem like 'that hard' but stopping 3 tons of anything moving at any speed instantly takes a lot of force.

Also, with an improved sector shaft in place, I don't know what becomes the 'fuse' in the system. Probably the steering arm.

With hydro assist available and cheaper than the 105 sector shaft (not so impressive upgrade) I see no reason to buy that over priced sector shaft. i hit my passenger front tire hard enough last year to tear the steering wheel from my grip. the steering wheel was off after that but no twisted splines or failures after a couple hard trails this year. I think it's time for hydro assist anyway.

 

[Kernal]

What the going rate to have a 80 series gear box rebuilt with new 105 components? Preferred rebuilders?

 

[Pascoscout]

Same thing happened to me in Moab a month ago. No obvious damage. Adjusted the drag link to get the steering wheel centered again (it doesn't take much to move it 45d) and it's been fine since.

I believe per FSM that the amount of thread showing on each end of the drag link at the rod ends should be the same. Measure yours to verify. If one is longer than the other adjustment is needed and may get you back into alignment.

 

[-Spike-]

With hydro assist available and cheaper than the 105 sector shaft (not so impressive upgrade) I see no reason to buy that over priced sector shaft. i hit my passenger front tire hard enough last year to tear the steering wheel from my grip. the steering wheel was off after that but no twisted splines or failures after a couple hard trails this year. I think it's time for hydro assist anyway.

Hydro definitely has some advantages, and works great as a steering dampener and load distributor. In my case, I don't destroy steering components so the ~50% added strength (personal estimate based on a vague understanding of metal properties) of the new sector shaft is enough to make me more comfortable. I've watched a couple of people deal with the trials of hydro, and I don't want to deal with that or the extra complications and failure points.

 

[baldilocks]

Hydro definitely has some advantages, and works great as a steering dampener and load distributor. In my case, I don't destroy steering components so the ~50% added strength (personal estimate based on a vague understanding of metal properties) of the new sector shaft is enough to make me more comfortable. I've watched a couple of people deal with the trials of hydro, and I don't want to deal with that or the extra complications and failure points.

50% stronger? How much thicker is the 105 sector shaft?? If it is actually that much stronger, it may be worth the ridiculous price.

 

[Douglas S]

50% stronger? How much thicker is the 105 sector shaft?? If it is actually that much stronger, it may be worth the ridiculous price.

It’s significant especially considering the increase in material isn’t linear with increase in diameter. It’s been almost 10 years since I swapped mine but I don’t remember it being wildly expensive either though it wouldn’t shock me if that’s changed.

 

[-Spike-]

50% stronger? How much thicker is the 105 sector shaft?? If it is actually that much stronger, it may be worth the ridiculous price.

Measuring my original one, the splines are about 1.240", and above the step that is eliminated in the new one it's about 1.355, so the 105 shaft is approximately 0.115" larger in diameter at the spline, which is the smallest diameter point.

I tried to find an online calculator to figure out what the actual gain in torsional strength is, but there are too many parameters that I couldn't understand. I just know that as the diameter increases, the torsional strength rises exponentially.

Onur shared some pics in this post, you can see that the last step-down to the splines on the 80 shaft doesn't exist on the 105 shaft.

As far as price goes, if you shop around it's not that ridiculous.

 

[Grandlooser]

This has me wondering something I've thought about before. Has anyone ever fabbed up a sector shaft support on an 80? Seems that limiting any forces down to just torsional would be helpful. Especially if designed so that it also is solid protection from falling onto a rock.

 

[-Spike-]

This has me wondering something I've thought about before. Has anyone ever fabbed up a sector shaft support on an 80? Seems that limiting any forces down to just torsional would be helpful. Especially if designed so that it also is solid protection from falling onto a rock.

Every failure I've seen was torsional, never seen one bend. There's not a lot of unsupported length below the box.

 

[Grandlooser]

I think jcardona (think I spelled that right) had a failure after plopping down on a rock. Looked like a fiasco replacing the box in the wild.

 

[Broski]

Hydro definitely has some advantages, and works great as a steering dampener and load distributor. In my case, I don't destroy steering components so the ~50% added strength (personal estimate based on a vague understanding of metal properties) of the new sector shaft is enough to make me more comfortable. I've watched a couple of people deal with the trials of hydro, and I don't want to deal with that or the extra complications and failure points.

Nothing like being able to turn the wheel in the rocks with the lockers on, Love my hydro.
It's been done enough times now that it can be accomplished with out drama.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I've personally had two sector shafts twist in my hdj81, and I am not typically hard on my vehicles.

One was after a slow speed slide off a clay forestry road that become super slick after a 20 minute down pour, and I slid into a ditch.
5 cars slid of the same 300 yard stretch of road in the space of 10 minutes.
My slide popped a tire bead and twisted the sector shaft.

I eventually replaced the steering box at 2am Saturday morning before a weekend wheeling trip.
About 2 pm the same Saturday, I hit a small wash out on a forestry road at maybe 30mph abd twisted the sector shaft in the replacement box about the same amount
I was one of 8 vehicles that went through the same washout at about the same speed. Mine was just unlucky.

Both mine, the 1/4" of spline visible above the Pittman arm was visibly deformed.

With the Pittman off mine, the spline within the Pittman was straight, the top 1/4 was deformed by about 10⁰ like the red sketch on the OPs pic below.
Deformation on mine was about the width of a full spline, and resulted in the steering wheel being about 70⁰ on the piss.

 

[bobman]

I've personally had two sector shafts twist in my hdj81, and I am not typically hard on my vehicles.

One was after a slow speed slide off a clay forestry road that become super slick after a 20 minute down pour, and I slid into a ditch.
5 cars slid of the same 300 yard stretch of road in the space of 10 minutes.
My slide popped a tire bead and twisted the sector shaft.

I eventually replaced the steering box at 2am Saturday morning before a weekend wheeling trip.
About 2 pm the same Saturday, I hit a small wash out on a forestry road at maybe 30mph abd twisted the sector shaft in the replacement box about the same amount
I was one of 8 vehicles that went through the same washout at about the same speed. Mine was just unlucky.

Both mine, the 1/4" of spline visible above the Pittman arm was visibly deformed.

With the Pittman off mine, the spline within the Pittman was straight, the top 1/4 was deformed by about 10⁰ like the red sketch on the OPs pic below.
Deformation on mine was about the width of a full spline, and resulted in the steering wheel being about 70⁰ on the piss.

View attachment 2541906

Thanks for info. Wow two twisted spline back to back. What did you do to repair each time. Replaced with used or rebuild? Any other components damaged each time?

 

[mudgudgeon]

Thanks for info. Wow two twisted spline back to back. What did you do to repair each time. Replaced with used or rebuild? Any other components damaged each time?

I'm in Australia, so used parts are reasonably cheap and plentiful. I replaced with used steering box both times

 

[Howard705]

I've personally had two sector shafts twist in my hdj81, and I am not typically hard on my vehicles.

One was after a slow speed slide off a clay forestry road that become super slick after a 20 minute down pour, and I slid into a ditch.
5 cars slid of the same 300 yard stretch of road in the space of 10 minutes.
My slide popped a tire bead and twisted the sector shaft.

I eventually replaced the steering box at 2am Saturday morning before a weekend wheeling trip.
About 2 pm the same Saturday, I hit a small wash out on a forestry road at maybe 30mph abd twisted the sector shaft in the replacement box about the same amount
I was one of 8 vehicles that went through the same washout at about the same speed. Mine was just unlucky.

Both mine, the 1/4" of spline visible above the Pittman arm was visibly deformed.

With the Pittman off mine, the spline within the Pittman was straight, the top 1/4 was deformed by about 10⁰ like the red sketch on the OPs pic below.
Deformation on mine was about the width of a full spline, and resulted in the steering wheel being about 70⁰ on the piss.

View attachment 2541906

15 years ago soccer mom friend snapped hers on her '92 off driving in town. I recall looking at it at shop it was at and snapped here with twist. I think it may have been previous hit damage .

 

[FJ40Jim]

This is the shaft out of my 1991 FJ80 with only 31" tires and no real off-road usage. Apparently, these shafts are made of taffy. Or pasta?
Be sure to take a look at this area of the sector shaft when diagnosing off-center steering wheel.

Upgraded shaft & arm & small parts are enroute from Dubai for $470.

 

[bobman]

This is the shaft out of my 1991 FJ80 with only 31" tires and no real off-road usage. Apparently, these shafts are made of taffy. Or pasta?
Be sure to take a look at this area of the sector shaft when diagnosing off-center steering wheel.View attachment 2545036
Upgraded shaft & arm & small parts are enroute from Dubai for $470.

Where did you source the upgrade parts from Dubai? Was it completely upgrade rebuild kit?
My new knuckle arm was from Dubai too, ebay, shipped fast.

 

[Grandlooser]

I don't think they are soft, I think many 30 year old vehicles have seen a collision or 2. All it takes is a hit to the tire or wheel at any speed.

 

[FJ40Jim]

Where did you source the upgrade parts from Dubai? Was it completely upgrade rebuild kit?
My new knuckle arm was from Dubai too, ebay, shipped fast.

I got them from PartSouq, because I was also getting some other non-US parts.
The best deal is MAG Engines in Dubai. I've gotten Taiho engine bearings and decent pistons & rings from them in the past. They seem legit.

44111-60060 TOYOTA GENUINE SHAFT, CROSS 4411160060 – Mag Engines

magengines.com

 

[baldilocks]

I got them from PartSouq, because I was also getting some other non-US parts.
The best deal is MAG Engines in Dubai. I've gotten Taiho engine bearings and decent pistons & rings from them in the past. They seem legit.

44111-60060 TOYOTA GENUINE SHAFT, CROSS 4411160060 – Mag Engines

magengines.com

$218 for the cross shaft is a great price. I just paid $247 at Partsouq. I wonder what the difference in shipping prices might be. I paid $62 shipping for the shaft, pitman arm, adjusting screw/nut and the reseal kit. $504 out the door.

On a side note, I’ll be taking by gear box up to Redhead fir the rebuild and drilling abs tapping for hydro assist. They use their own “proprietary” seal kits so if you plan to send your off to them don’t bother buying a seal kit. Rebuild with custom sized recirculating balls plus drill and tap will be just north of $500.