TRE's/Tie Rod/Relay Rod/Steering Stabilizer Install Pics and Notes (1 Viewer)

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OGBeno

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Hey all:

Just got done installing the Slee TRE's, Tie rod, Relay rod, and the OME Stabilizer right before Bailey came over and single handedly showed me what it means to wrench!!

Before he got to me though, I put these suckers on. Not too bad...just lots of pounding with a BFH (I love that tool) and a pickle fork...

Some notes:

1. Pretty straight forward stuff, even for a 1 :banana: wanna be wrencher like myself. I put the front of the truck up on stands and took the tires off for ease of wrenching.

2. Referred to p. SR-39 (1997 FSM)

3. Took off engine skid plate

4. Start smashing the crap out of the OEM TRE's--lots of old grease will come flying out. Continue smashing until ends come out.

5. Anti-seize on all threads.

6. Be careful about the RH/LH thread for the nuts (from the Slee stuff). Kinda clueless on that for a bit...Ben over at Slee straightened me out... :rolleyes: Put the nuts on the TRE's first before putting into rod ends...no brainer, I know, but for someone like me, not an intuitive move...

7. Torque to 67 FT. pds. don't tighten the nuts....

8. Steering stabilizer: 59 ft. pds.

9. Put dampner bracket on first.

10. Adjust relay rod as needed to adjust steering wheel (took awhile on this one...thanks to LandCruiser Phil's historical post on how to straighten the steering wheel after install...still kinda crooked, but bearable.)

Drive is much better and the steering wheeling is much greater in response. I also assume the new lift also helps in this area. All in all: a very reasonably priced, easy, and useful PM move on these 80's.

And the pics....
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first of all, you should quit smoking and lucky strike is not mft

second off not separating the old rod ends from the rods is cheating :D

third off. did you notice that christos rod ends tighten up to the steering arms so much that the cotter pin hole is way above the castellations? you can bend the cotter pin down but I wonder if they will be harder to separate.

good job
 
semlin said:
first of all, you should quit smoking and lucky strike is not mft

second off not separating the old rod ends from the rods is cheating :D

third off. did you notice that christos rod ends tighten up to the steering arms so much that the cotter pin hole is way above the castellations? you can bend the cotter pin down but I wonder if they will be harder to separate.

good job

Yeah I was thinking about taking the TRE's off the old ends...but after I tooled around with those damn clamps, I said fawk it and just went with the brute force method (which I know does not appeal to some... :flipoff2: ).

Luckies are non-filters. Those are some of the South's finest filtered full flavors: GT One!!! ($1.89 vs. $3.89). I'm not looking for flavor...just a fix :flipoff2:

I bent the cotter pins down as much as possible, but they ended up being, as you said, sort of not really in the constellations of the nut. But hey, they're in there...for now... :rolleyes:

Thanks.
-onur
Akron, OH
 
ahh, it's been a while since i looked at yankee tobacco packaging (or canadian for that matter) but I had a weakness for marlboros back when i was young and immortal. never got used to the tobacco in my teeth from camel or luckies. may i commend the zyban to you? If my parents can quit with that stuff anyone can.
 
semlin said:
...did you notice that christos rod ends tighten up to the steering arms so much that the cotter pin hole is way above the castellations? ...
I would suggest drilling a hole in the proper spot to prevent the nut from loosening. Sounds like either a manufacturing error or they are not such a good match for a 80 front end.
 
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Thanks for the suggestion Rich.

The hole ends up being about a 1/4" above the constellations on the nut. How major of a problem is this really? Worst case scenario seems that the nuts would unscrew themselves via usage and vibration?? I guess I would lose a nut and crash? Not good either way you interpret that... :rolleyes:

Best.
-onur
Akron, OH
 
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If the nut comes loose, then the tapers could come loose. If the tapers come loose than the best case scenario is that the tapers in the arms get trashed thus wasting the arms. Worst case is that you lose your steering. I would not be at all happy with the current setup.
 
Copy that Rich.

Thanks for the explanation. I'll get under there and see what it looks like for drilling a small hole a bit lower on the bolt. I guess I'd have to get some new cotter pins... ;)

Best.
-onur
Akron, OH
 
If I were going to drill a new hole I would do it in a drill press with the rod end well clamped. I don't think it would be much fun to try to do it by hand, especially under the truck. After drilling it would be best to then run a die over the stud to clean up the threads.
 
Beno, how did you know how far to screw the ends on? Did you just measure the stock one and set slee's up the same?
 
I am sure he torqued it to FSM spec like I did. the "problem" is that Christo's rod ends will seat further. the actual threaded stud length and hole location are the same as oem but it seems the unthreaded stud shaft has a little less taper and so it seats further down the stud than the oem part. I thought about washers but I assume you want a tight fit between stud and shaft.
 
concretejungle said:
Beno, how did you know how far to screw the ends on? Did you just measure the stock one and set slee's up the same?

Hey CJ:

According to the FSM (I don't have the page numbers and specs. off hand--I am in my office right now), the relay rod is supposed to be about 44inches in length with the TRE's being equal on each side--or as close to it as possible.

The tie rod itself IIRC is supposed to be about 42 inches in length, again with the TRE's being equally in on each side.

That said, Semlin is also correct in his comments about the rods/TRE's.

I think the actual lengths are on page SR-40 or 41--again, I'll check when I get home.

Best.
-onur
Akron, OH
 
Thanks man, i'm looking at these for a future project after i harvest my money tree.
 
semlin said:
...the "problem" is that Christo's rod ends will seat further. the actual threaded stud length and hole location are the same as oem but it seems the unthreaded stud shaft has a little less taper and so it seats further down the stud than the oem part. ...

Christo, shouldn't the taper of your replacements exactly match the taper of the factory originals?
 
Next time leave the pickle fork in the tool box and use the TRE puller. Much easier.
 
Rich, yes it should. I will have to check when I am back at the shop in a week. I am doing some much needed research on 80 series cruisers at LaCoitat on the French coast :D

PS, they moved all the keys on the bloody keyboard.
 

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