uh? problem with relay rod clamp...!

[e9999]

OK, just came back from having the front end alignment measured and toe-in adjusted.
Guy seemed like a good guy (has an FJ40) but used an air wrench to tighten things up before I had a chance to say something. So when I got home I decided to check the torque on the clamp nuts, fearing the worst. Amazingly, they were not too tight (did I say he was a good guy?).

But I, OTOH, got in trouble... loosened the nuts on the relay rod clamps with the intent to reset them to the 27 lbft per FSM. First one was fine. Second one, though, kept on turning and turning and turning. The clamp got squished quite a bit and I still didn't get to 27 lbft. Nut started to dig in the clamp too. So, no way to set it to 27. What's with that? Surely not one soft metal clamp out of the blue, is it?

And what's with this FSM thing about having the opening at 60 degrees up towards the back?

grrrr.....

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Damn it's a good think you caught that! The preload on the relay rod clamps is absolutely CRITICAL to maintaining proper steering geometry. Without proper preload the clamps might self destruct!

Seriously, you actually went back through to loosen and retorque to FSM specs!? Damn......

Just tighten the buggers up, and leave it be, it's not gonna hurt a damn thing if they're tighter than called for in the FSM. Oh, and my clamps are at 93.2* and 18.5*....














































Just givin you a hard time

 

[concretejungle]

Just givin you a hard time

Are you talking about your cousin or e9999? Just funnin' with you man, i had to throw that one in before someone else beat me to it.

 

[e9999]

geeez
anybody with a *useful* comment?
guess I should have used the word "Birf" or "nuts" in the title somewhere to generate some interest here eh?

 

[turbocruiser]

Are you talking about your cousin or e9999? Just funnin' with you man, i had to throw that one in before someone else beat me to it.

Isn't it funny that no matter how stupid something like that is to say, its just so damn funny, you cannot help saying it! In that case its always who beats who to the punch who wins and then everyone else is like, " Huh that was so stupid"!

Okay, real answer, first many impact wrenches have several relatively accurate settings that techs take advantage of to get things good enough. I'm talking about production work at the average place, not perhaps what we would do after consulting our FSM's ten times, setting our torque wrenches, meditating and asking the wrench gods for good luck, etc . Then again I would argue that many excellent mechanics simply know how much elbow and arm and wrist to put through ratchets and wrenches and other hand tools. Even with this knowledge though there are things that must still get specifically torqued and almost all excellent mechanics know this too; I dont think anyone would torque down a cylinder head or rods or mains by hand for example. In my case, I absolutely always torque to spec - surprised arentchya???

Something is wrong, if you cant get the 27 lbs, either your torque wrench is locked up and not reading right, or the nut or bolt is slightly, now probably completely, stripped or something. Also if you squarshed the clamp, I'd vote for a new one personally. Something is both not letting you reach enough grip to get the 27 while also letting you give way too much grip and deform the clamp??? That's weird man, not like its immediate life or death but just get a new clamp and nut and bolt and be done with it. That's my take, HTH.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

That's weird man, not like its immediate life or death but just get a new clamp and nut and bolt and be done with it. That's my take, HTH.

Here is great advice just like you asked for. Don't try to over think this one. It's just a clamp that likely got bent and now the bolt bottoms out. No big deal. Call your friendly parts guy at American Toyota and order a new one complete with bolt. Better yet, order two.

Option 2 is to order a whole new tie rod and ends from Christo Slee. I helped a forum member install one on his truck and it is NICE. Super beefy. Heavy. It uses a jam nut on both ends instead of clamps. Definitely on my Christmas list.

 

[e9999]

I can't figure this out.
It seems like the metal is soft enough that less than 27 will deform it. Wrench looks OK. Just weird.
The clamps had the nuts on the bottom. I rotated the nuts rather than the bolts. Nut started to dig in the metal and the clamp got squashed.
Actually, the wrench not releasing is the most likely explanation. It's a good wrench, though.
Unfortunately, to replace the clamp, it looks like I have to remove the rod ends which is not easy from what I read here...
Weird...

 

[Cruiserdrew]

It's easy to remove the TRE's, but soak with PB blaster for a day ahead of time. Use a plumbers wrench or chain wrench or vice to hang on to it, unscrew the TRE and replace the clamp. Put anti-seize on the TRE threads before the reinstall.

 

[e9999]

It's easy to remove the TRE's, but soak with PB blaster for a day ahead of time. Use a plumbers wrench or chain wrench or vice to hang on to it, unscrew the TRE and replace the clamp. Put anti-seize on the TRE threads before the reinstall.

I stand corrected then. I thought I remembered stories of folks breaking pullers and having to use mauls to get these things off...

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Eric, it's easy to get the TRE off of the tie-rod. Getting it out of the steering arm is another story altogether. That is what you remember hearing stories about...

Ary

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Eric, it's easy to get the TRE off of the tie-rod. Getting it out of the steering arm is another story altogether. That is what you remember hearing stories about...

Ary

You need the correct puller, then no big deal. I have one from OTC that CDan reccomended that works great-makes this a trivial part of the operation. I'll post a pic and part # later.

 

[e9999]

went back and checked the torque with another wrench.
Was fine.
So I guess it wasn't the clamp that was "too soft", it was my "good" torque wrench that didn't click... dang!
Can't always trust these things...

 

[Rich]

There are only a few fasteners that really merit the use of a torque wrench. It is more important to use the proper size wrench according to the size of the fastener and pay attention to the force that you are applying to the fastener.

To the extent that you wish to let the torque wrench do the thinking, you might be better off with a beam style torque wrench.