Underneath drivability "fixes"?? (1 Viewer)

[WSOPgold2012]

Went for a drive down the Mountain and par usual the highway experience wasnt smooth. Around town + back roads where I mostly drive...all seems fine. But once i hit higher speeds...it takes effort to drive.

What are things underneath that can improve my rigs drivability?? Not even sure if its possible but would like to "smooth" things out if it is.

Use: im not a crawler/off roader..more of a around town kinda guy. Need rig to get home in winter and haul material when i bought the cabin.

"Issues"
-steering is kinda sloppy. Play in steering wheel.
-kinda sorta 'vibrates' at 65mph+ on highway (which i guess is actually 70mph+ when factoring in the 33s)

Looking to pay attn to underneath as i never have since buying in 2012. What things should i have looked at or what can be preventative??

#ManyThanksInAdvance

 

[TroutFJ]

I'd check for play in the steering box and tie rod ends for starters. The vibration can be caused by a myriad of things like wheels out of balance, driveshaft out of balance, u-joint wear, camber angle being off, etc. I think the spec for play in the steering wheel is something like an inch amd a half or so. So if you're accustomed to driving newer cars this can feel loose but be in spec. Plenty of posts on here addressing all those issues.

 

[gt7058a]

This thread covers most of the usual places to look

steering - repair, improvements, what I learned

OK, A lot of this might be redundant for most of you. But, I've put this together for guys like me who are novice mechanics, and wonder what to do about the steering of their cruiser. Said another way, I wish I'd read something like this when I'd just purchased my 60 a few years ago...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[WSOPgold2012]

I'd check for play in the steering box and tie rod ends for starters. The vibration can be caused by a myriad of things like wheels out of balance, driveshaft out of balance, u-joint wear, camber angle being off, etc. I think the spec for play in the steering wheel is something like an inch amd a half or so. So if you're accustomed to driving newer cars this can feel loose but be in spec. Plenty of posts on here addressing all those issues.

Awesome. Im rather turrrrrrible at searching older threads admittedly...but,also think sometimes there may be newr information available than a thread from 2010....LOL. Atleast...hopefully.

Appreciate the thoughts!!

 

[WSOPgold2012]

This thread covers most of the usual places to look

steering - repair, improvements, what I learned

OK, A lot of this might be redundant for most of you. But, I've put this together for guys like me who are novice mechanics, and wonder what to do about the steering of their cruiser. Said another way, I wish I'd read something like this when I'd just purchased my 60 a few years ago...

forum.ih8mud.com

TYVM!!

 

[John Staton]

One of my recent replies from another post around this:

so mine drove like crap when I got it...fix:

- OME suspension kit = helped a lot
-new KO2- took out the shaking at high speeds- I had a lot of cupping despite having a lot of tread left
- new TREs and drag link- improved handling and road wandering...really, really helped
-replaced front stabilizer sway bar links--- bushings were shot and you can pick these up cheap on ebay from a seller in AUS

I am confident running down the road at 70mph now. I sill have some sway and could use some help around long windy country roads. I have seen a rear sway bar option posted by someone but never got any follow up when I asked him about it. Will be something I explore, but I no longer fight to stay in my lane. Much more confident driving it around now.

 

[WSOPgold2012]

One of my recent replies from another post around this:

so mine drove like crap when I got it...fix:

- OME suspension kit = helped a lot
-new KO2- took out the shaking at high speeds- I had a lot of cupping despite having a lot of tread left
- new TREs and drag link- improved handling and road wandering...really, really helped
-replaced front stabilizer sway bar links--- bushings were shot and you can pick these up cheap on ebay from a seller in AUS

I am confident running down the road at 70mph now. I sill have some sway and could use some help around long windy country roads. I have seen a rear sway bar option posted by someone but never got any follow up when I asked him about it. Will be something I explore, but I no longer fight to stay in my lane. Much more confident driving it around now.
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Mines not incredibly awful...but i think it can be improved....which would be nice. My other rig is an Avalon...Im not delusional in thinking itll be that smooth....but closer would be cool.

I LOOOOOOOOOOVE the color of your rig!! So rich!!

 

[Prairie Swamp]

Not a Cruiser - but a 1985 Mercedes with similar steering - gearbox, drag link, steering stabilizer, but also inner/outer TRE, upper/lower ball joints, etc. Had a death wobble that was actually that - absolutely undriveable.

There was nothing obviously wrong or worn out. Turns out that root cause was.....everything. All the stuff contributed to the wobble and in the end it was a complete front end rebuild. Maybe not what you need but be prepared and why not anyway. No cost is to check gear box tightness/adjustment. Low cost is steering stabilizer so that's next. Wheel re-balance is cheap and fast at a shop. Then it's TRE, and possibly trunnion/wheel bearings.

I guarantee you the front end rebuild on a 60 is cheaper in parts that a Mercedes W126. And when you get it fixed it will make you smile driving it.

 

[John Staton]

Not a Cruiser - but a 1985 Mercedes with similar steering - gearbox, drag link, steering stabilizer, but also inner/outer TRE, upper/lower ball joints, etc. Had a death wobble that was actually that - absolutely undriveable.

There was nothing obviously wrong or worn out. Turns out that root cause was.....everything. All the stuff contributed to the wobble and in the end it was a complete front end rebuild. Maybe not what you need but be prepared and why not anyway. No cost is to check gear box tightness/adjustment. Low cost is steering stabilizer so that's next. Wheel re-balance is cheap and fast at a shop. Then it's TRE, and possibly trunnion/wheel bearings.

I guarantee you the front end rebuild on a 60 is cheaper in parts that a Mercedes W126. And when you get it fixed it will make you smile driving it.

I would agree it could be many factors....I know it was with me. You can just work your way down the list and it improves with each fix. my order was shown above, except the tires were the last thing and that fixed the vibration I was feeling at 60+mph.

 

[Fieldtester96]

Just to throw my 2 cents in. You can adjust the steering box to tighten up the "sloppy steering". From what i understood it as, the screw on the top of the box will adjust how much play you have when turning. When i went to 33's i had some serious play when driving at higher speeds because a 1 degree turn made bigger difference the faster you go. So all i did was tighten the screw down so there was less play in the steering wheel.

That helped me with driving, i also replaced the TRE's and added a new steering stabilizer. Though tightening that screw made the biggest difference. Personally i just developed a new driving habit with being a bit more loose when driving rather than trying to keep the wheel from moving i just sorta let it do its thing, with in reason of course. Seems to work pretty well for me though im still not as well versed as most of the people on here so take what i say with a grain of salt.

 

[RredFJ40]

All of the previous suggestions are great.

I would also add: You say you are on 33s, how is it lifted to get the space? I would suggest looking at the driveshafts, they may be out of balance, or a worn u-joint, or your flanges may not be aligned correctly. As an example: in the rear the transfer case output should be parallel with the differential flange, a longer than stock spring shackle will change those angles if not corrected for.

In the front (not sure on the year of your rig as it varies by year) it’s either the same (late years) or the diff flange needs to point at the t-case output (early years)

Either way, you didn’t say if the high speed vibe was present, same or worse in 4H.

 

[WSOPgold2012]

All of the previous suggestions are great.

I would also add: You say you are on 33s, how is it lifted to get the space? I would suggest looking at the driveshafts, they may be out of balance, or a worn u-joint, or your flanges may not be aligned correctly. As an example: in the rear the transfer case output should be parallel with the differential flange, a longer than stock spring shackle will change those angles if not corrected for.

In the front (not sure on the year of your rig as it varies by year) it’s either the same (late years) or the diff flange needs to point at the t-case output (early years)

Either way, you didn’t say if the high speed vibe was present, same or worse in 4H.

Honestly, not sure. "3" lift" is all i really remember when i bought it in 2012. "Shackles" seems vaguely familiar. I bought it out of necessity + function...to haul materials while remodeling and to have smthn to get up+down the mountain in winter. Never bought it to off road and ive never been off road or learned anything about 4x4s in that sense....arpund town the drivability seems fine...only at higher speeds its an "issue".

 

[ff347]

Anything over 55 is a "higher speed" for a 60. I worked through the items listed above, even just starting with rotating the tires. In my case I did the Tie rods and the stabilizer at the same time & that took care of it.

 

[4Cruisers]

Many years ago I had a bad vibration in my '82 FJ60, kicked in at ~55 mph. I could have sworn it was from the front end. Turned out the rear driveshaft was out of balance, everything else was fine.

 

[Fieldtester96]

Many years ago I had a bad vibration in my '82 FJ60, kicked in at ~55 mph. I could have sworn it was from the front end. Turned out the rear driveshaft was out of balance, everything else was fine.

How did you find out that the driveshaft was out of balance? I was working on my rear end when I accidentally pulled the driveshaft out of its sleeve, I thought I put it back in the same place but I might not have. I probably should double check that its balanced

 

[teamreno]

I will say that mine was exhausting to drive at high speeds as it would wander all over. I replaced all the drag links and tie rod ends and it fixed the problem for me.

 

[RredFJ40]

Honestly, not sure. "3" lift" is all i really remember when i bought it in 2012. "Shackles" seems vaguely familiar. I bought it out of necessity + function...to haul materials while remodeling and to have smthn to get up+down the mountain in winter. Never bought it to off road and ive never been off road or learned anything about 4x4s in that sense....arpund town the drivability seems fine...only at higher speeds its an "issue".

Stock shackles are 3” pin to pin in the front and 3.5” in the rear. More than that will change your flange angle unless corrected with shims between springs and axle perch. So look for longer shackles and shims to see if that might be an issue.

 

[WSOPgold2012]

Many years ago I had a bad vibration in my '82 FJ60, kicked in at ~55 mph. I could have sworn it was from the front end. Turned out the rear driveshaft was out of balance, everything else was fine.

So, ive had this audible "groan" comin from the rear...underneath. Only happens in 4H, when i let off the.gas. muffled "groan" is best i can explain it...its not really grinding...but ya noticeable. Couod this be a driveshaft issue??

 

[HemiAlex]

Within a thousand miles of lifting my truck from stock, I killed the u joints in the rear driveshaft.


The vibration was terrible. It loosened bolts, but part of that was the rear output shaft bearing being very loose. 300k on the stock case. Tightening it down didn’t help. The bearing was dead. I put a new rebuilt case and 5 speed to fix it.

When the angle changes on the driveshaft, that’s when the u joints go.

 

[4Cruisers]

How did you find out that the driveshaft was out of balance? I was working on my rear end when I accidentally pulled the driveshaft out of its sleeve, I thought I put it back in the same place but I might not have. I probably should double check that its balanced

Process of elimination. I ruled out everything up front, including the TREs, wheel bearings, etc., then pulled the rear driveshaft. I took it to a driveline shop and they said it needed to be rebalanced, it might have been bent very slightly. That fixed the problem.