60 series steering upgrade

[grizzley]

hi. just wondering if anyone has done any steering upgrades on a 60 series. like another steering box ect. i have replaced my steering box with another 2nd hand one and i dont think it is much better. would a steering box from another car work better?
any thought would be good
cheers

[bad_religion_au]

what problems are you having. generally there isn't much wrong with the 60 box, it's used for heaps of conversions for a reason

[grizzley]

it just wanders and seems to have alot of play. my caster is all good, have wedges in and all the rod ends are reasonably new ( about a year old)

[bad_religion_au]

it just wanders and seems to have alot of play. my caster is all good, have wedges in and all the rod ends are reasonably new ( about a year old)

what is your caster set at?

and what's your toe in/out set at?

[grizzley]

cant remember my toe in but my caster was +1deg

[bad_religion_au]

and what size tires? toyota steering needs a little more toe than normal for larger tires.

my bet would be on getting an alignment done at a place that knows their way around a solid front axle, and go from there. 60's don't wander normally.

ok, back to basics.

tire size
lift if any
extended shackles?

[oldmate]

You can tighten up the steering box if there is alot of play. but do it in 1/4 turn incremets, checking it after each adjustment. Tighten it too much and it may bind when turning.

If you're running extended shackles, ditch them and spend the money on lifted springs. extended shackles are dodgy at best.

Also check over the front and rear for loose bolts, loose or too tight bearings and flogged out bushes etc.

[grizzley]

running 33's with an efs 3" lift which has extended shackles. the suspension is only 6 months old so i wont be gettin new stuff. how do you tighen up the steering box. thanks for ya help

[bad_religion_au]

running 33's with an efs 3" lift which has extended shackles. the suspension is only 6 months old so i wont be gettin new stuff. how do you tighen up the steering box. thanks for ya help

my money is on the lift/extended shackles. do you have caster correction plates in there?

[hillbilliywheelchair]

so what are you trying to atchive with your power steering?

[grizzley]

yeah i have caster correction in there. i just want my steering to be a bit more solid and not wander so much.

[vk7ybi]

I just test drove my 60 PS conversion last night, the vehicle behaves exactly as predicted.. Tightening steering boxes and adding RTC dampers are just band aid fixes, the real problem should be found and rectified..

[oldmate]

yeah i have caster correction in there. i just want my steering to be a bit more solid and not wander so much.

Ditch the long shackles.

You said you changed the tie rod ends, what about the drag link? The steering box end link's flog out after a fair few kilometers giving plenty of freeplay

On top of the steering box is a nut attached to a slotted screw. Loosen the nut and turn the screw clockwise to tighten. As I said do it in 1/4 turns at a time, running the steering lock to lock each time to check for binding (do it standing on the ground to load up the box)

Also make sure you've got plenty of air in the tyres

[popeyehj60]

what tyres are you running and what width

ive had issues with with different types of tread patters and widths get affected by different roads

[jake-60]

i just changed all my rod ends about a week ago coz mine is doin the same thing. i run 35s and long shackles and it still wobbles a bit aye.

[bad_religion_au]

yeah i have caster correction in there. i just want my steering to be a bit more solid and not wander so much.

the problem is most likely steering geometry related, and *not* the box if you've replaced it with no improvement.

buy/borrow a set of standard length shackles. put them on. see if it improves things. standard shackles cost SFA and are easier to swap to test than trying to adapt a new power steering box, then finding it's a geometry issue

what are the bushings like in the springs? i mean this minute, even if they are 6 months old, no guarentee their not flogged out.

get your toe measured. put a little more in it and see if it helps.

my money is on the springs/shackles.

[bad_religion_au]

yeah i have caster correction in there. i just want my steering to be a bit more solid and not wander so much.

Ditch the long shackles.

You said you changed the tie rod ends, what about the drag link? The steering box end link's flog out after a fair few kilometers giving plenty of freeplay

On top of the steering box is a nut attached to a slotted screw. Loosen the nut and turn the screw clockwise to tighten. As I said do it in 1/4 turns at a time, running the steering lock to lock each time to check for binding (do it standing on the ground to load up the box)

Also make sure you've got plenty of air in the tyres

careful over adjusting that screw tho. too much tension on it will flog the box out quickly.

[grizzley]

ok i might get a pair of standard shackles for the front to try. what do you mean drag link. there is no draglink on the 60s. all the bushes in the suspension are in good nick. could i put dropped hangers on to fix a geomatary problem. thanks for your help so far. ill get a wheel alignment this week and see if that helps things to

[vk7ybi]

Theoretically, hypothetically, if you drove your vehicle with the steering disconnected, it would self centre and not wander.. Its not the steering gear that causes the self centring, its the steering geometry.. Tightening the box up is masking the problem, and as others have noted, will cause premature failure..

Its like being able to ride a push bike without holding the handle bars.. If you turned the front forks around you wouldnt be able to, it would steer like a shopping trolley.. Having the forks around the wrong way and tightening the bearings to help lock it on centre isnt fixing the problem..

[bad_religion_au]

ok i might get a pair of standard shackles for the front to try. what do you mean drag link. there is no draglink on the 60s. all the bushes in the suspension are in good nick. could i put dropped hangers on to fix a geomatary problem. thanks for your help so far. ill get a wheel alignment this week and see if that helps things to

dropped spring hangers? yeah that would, but why would you bother? 3 inches of spring lift is too much anyway... let alone + shackle lift, + hanger lift... it'd be illegal too, not that extended shackles aren't already.

[Cluffy]

It will pay to Jack up the front and check your wheel brgs too.

[grizzley]

i have done the wqheel bearings in the last 6 months probably only done 10000kms. i dont really want to lower my car coz teh tyres will srub.

[bad_religion_au]

i have done the wqheel bearings in the last 6 months probably only done 10000kms. i dont really want to lower my car coz teh tyres will srub.

if they will scrub because you take an inch of height out of the suspension, then they will scrub when your tire moves through the suspension cycle anyway, especially offroad

suspension lift doesn't give you any more useable tire clearance than standard suspension...

and 60's can run 33's on standard height springs???