FJ40 steering rebuild

[Rob]

Day one, Saturday, July 17: Spent the morning and part of the afternoon looking for a drag link socket. Apparently, auto parts stores don't sell them anymore. Bought some solvent and other small stuff. Had a nice tour of hardware stores and auto parts stores in town. Not a bad way to spend time.

Got started with actual work at about 2:30 in the afternoon. I took the stabilizer off first, which required lots of BFH work. Fortunately, I didn't need a voodoo priestess, as recommended by one 40 owner. I don't have a puller, so I used a pickle fork on the end where the bolt is sticking straight up (couldn't get the sledge on it) and just the hand sledge on the other. I thought it would never come out, then BOOM, it popped out. I'll never get used to that. One of the joys of working on a 28-year-old rig.

Then the real work started. I straightened all the cotter pins on the castle nuts on the tie rod ends. All but two pins came out easily, with a little tap of the hammer to get them started, then needle-nose pliers to pull them out.

But the two on the tie rod were a major pain. The heads of the cotter pins weren't sticking out, so I couldn't get a grip on them and had no hammer-swinging room to tap the ends. After trying everything (and tool) I could think of, I ended up cutting the pin off the passenger side end as close as possible to the nut and hammering it through with a nail set. Good thing I have carpentry tools lying around.

The one on the driver's side was even harder because I couldn't get the nail set in the hole straight because the brake shield was in the way.

So I hammered on both ends of the pin with a screwdriver until I had destroyed them, then just horsed the nut loose with a 17mm wrench and a hand sledge.

I also got the cap on the center arm pivot loose and the nut loose that connects it to the center arm.

That was enough for one afternoon and evening. Plus, it was hot in the garage (but even hotter outside).

The plan for Sunday is to take the tie rod and relay rod off completely and get the new ones set up the same length, using thread count and the old ones as a guide. I also plan to take the center arm off, along with the center arm pivot casing, and clean and paint it them both. When the paint's dry, I'll rebuild the center arm pivot, grease the dickens out of it and get it back on, along with the center arm.

Then, I'm on hold until I get a drag link socket, so it looks like I'll be finishing up next weekend.

Here are some pics:

This is the center arm pivot. I've tried a few times to loosen that top cap with socket wrench (no breaker bar handy) and hand sledge. No dice, even after months of hosing it with PB Blaster periodically. And more PB a couple of times a day for the past few days. I picked up a 22mm impact socket and hit it again today with the impact wrench. It came loose, so that's one less worry.

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Here's the nut that holds the center arm to the pivot. It came loose easily with a socket wrench (and also months of PB treatment).

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Here's the stabilizer hanging half-off (on the left). Used a pickle fork on the end that attaches to the center arm (under the center arm pivot to the right) and a BFH to get this end off.

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This is where the relay rod attaches to the center arm. Fortunately, that castle nut came out easily because that's a tight area.

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This tie rod end nut (on the driver's side of the tie rod) was a royal pain. No leverage, no room to swing a hammer and severely rusted cotter pin and castle nut. You can see one reason I'm replacing rods and ends. The steering rods are rusted and the ends are just wads of grease. And lately they've been popping and jerking when I turn, and it was just a matter of time before something gave out. I had my wife crank the steering wheel a few times the other night and watched the tie rod and relay rod jerk around. Scary. Something's out of whack.

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[Rob]

Day two, Sunday, July 18: Didn't get as much done as planned (surprise!, but I didn't get started till about noon), but still made headway.

First, of course, was a trip to the store to get a pitman arm puller because the pickle fork was too narrow for the center arm pivot. I didn't want to chance messing up the splines. It worked great. Then I took all innards out of the pivot, which had chunks of silvery, dried out grease. It's a wonder it even worked. I don't know if it's ever been serviced or even greased. The hole for the zerk fitting was plugged with hardened grease.

Here's the pivot with the arm off.

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Here's the so-called grease inside the pivot.

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Got the center arm pivot casing off next, then cleaned the center arm and pivot casing and painted them.

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I also wire-wheeled the spot where the casing is attached to the frame and hit it with some paint. Paint dries fast when it's 98 degrees and sunny.

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While I was at it, I took the tow hook off and painted it, too. I have a second tow hook to go on the other side now (so Aaron won't mess up his winch line next time he winches the 40, or my bumper :D), but now I need two longer bolts. As my wife says, "It's always bolts with that thing."

Continued...

[Rob]

Next.

Getting the tie rod off was a challenge. I was whanging away on the pickle fork on the passenger side, and it seemed to be moving but no separation. Finally, I pulled the fork out and saw the tines were spreading outward. Not good. So I took the tire off and started banging on the bolt. It finally popped, but the head had mushroomed and wouldn't fit through the hole.

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Great. Out comes the grinder. Cut about a quarter-inch off the top of the bolt and it slid right out. The driver's side was easy by comparison. I also learned today how much fun it is to put a tire back on when the hub is moving freely.

No tie and relay rods. The steering wheel turns smooth as silk now. :)

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I also got the last tie rod end off, the one that attaches the relay rod to the tie rod on the passenger side. (They're still attached in the next photo.) Then I cleaned up the ends as well as could considering they were covered with layers of dried grease and gunk. I can almost count the threads now. I see more cleaning in my future.

Oh, and I mowed the jungle in the back yard before it got too dark to see. With the raspberry and blackberry bushes invading the lawn, it was beginning to look like "Day of the Triffids" out there. Note to self: Must not neglect yardwork because of the 40.

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During the week, I'll be sourcing a drag link socket, which I'll need for next weekend's work, and getting the TRE's set up correctly on the tie rod and relay rod; giving the pivot casing, center arm and tow hook another coat or two of paint; and putting the new center arm pivot parts back together.

Next Saturday, it all starts going back together. I welcome anyone who wants to come by and help. :)

[Chris]

it was beginning to look like "Day of the Triffids" out there.

:lmao: Rob sends me searching again.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8B_NcamuKQ

[Chris]

I'll be there Saturday to either watch the full version or lend a hand on the 40 Rob.

[Funrover]

Looks like a busy time, good to see some care going into the ol' 40

[Rob]

Almost forgot. All the new steering parts. I ended up getting two extra tie rod ends with the tie rod and relay rod. The company I got them from had the best price, they're OEM rods and they come with one end each.

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[Rob]

Chris, I was sure you'd get the Triffids reference. That was back in the day when the family would pile in the Rambler and go to the drive-in, with a grocery bag full of popcorn because my folks were too cheap to buy from the concession. Good times and memories.

[Brody]

Good to see the good progress! Sorry I wasn't able to get by to give a hand.

When you do the reinstall, make sure that you use very generous amounts of anti seize on everything. Use it where the rod ends go into the tapered oles, on the spindle shaft...basically everything that you had to use the BFH or a breaker bar and some ass on to get apart. You will, if you keep this rig, have to replace a broken rod end or something else on the steering/linkage that get gets bent or broken...and maybe on the trail....

Oh...and I remember Day of the Triffids, too....

[SubaCool]

Nice write up! I'd love to come and help next Saturday, but I'll be in the Springs, racing the whole weekend :redface:

[Chris]

Chris, I was sure you'd get the Triffids reference. That was back in the day when the family would pile in the Rambler and go to the drive-in, with a grocery bag full of popcorn because my folks were too cheap to buy from the concession. Good times and memories.

Missed it because my family was too cheap to go to the drive-in. :frown:

Compared to your early years I was neglected as a child :erm:

[Aaron]

I have a second tow hook to go on the other side now (so Aaron won't mess up his winch line next time he winches the 40, or my bumper ), but now I need two longer bolts.

I'm glad you rebuilt your front end with a thought towards me :)

[Pathrat]

I like pictures!!! They help me kind of understand. Thanks for the write up.

[CR]

Nice progress old doc!

[Chris]

I'm trying to pry Rob away from this and do Wheeler Lake Saturday and work on it Sunday. I've bailed to run Wheeler since it's such a good run but have offered my help Sunday.

All work and no play makes Rob a dull boy. ;)

[Rob]

All work and no play makes Rob a dull boy.

Yes, but too much play makes the money drain out of the retirement accounts. :frown: Besides, I've been on about 16 runs this year, including a trip to Moab. My wife probably thinks I play too much.

That said, I think I got the steering in the 40 buttoned up tonight.

Photos and report to come.

[Rob]

Friday night after work, I went out to the garage and applied some "car-stopping but not Jan-Michael Vincent-stopping dust" (refer to the million-dollar car post) on the drag link end that for many days had defeated my best efforts. The dust didn't help. But after finding the proper drag link socket (from Snap-on Tools) and spraying the end with PB Blaster until I had a little round indentation permanently pressed into my index fingertip and practically standing on the breaker bar, the rascal finally loosened up. (I had tried to get the impact wrench on it, but it just wouldn't fit, and I wasn't about to take the pitman arm off and turn a two-weekend project into a monthlong project.) OK, the word "loosened" is relative. It still took a while and what little muscle power I have to get it out completely, creaking and groaning the entire time.

The end cap almost out.

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No more drag link.

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Wait, here it is.

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[Rob]

I got back after it today, though I had to miss the Wheeler Lake Run. Good thing, too, because I feel like I'll need a day to recover. I may not be the oldest mechanic, but today I felt like it, and I'm certainly among the slowest.

I started with the center arm pivot (also called the bellcrank) using a rebuild kit with all new innards: bushing, pivot shaft, seal, spring, lock plate and top cap. Greased up everything and installed it in the correct order (thanks to Coolerman and his excellent instructions). I'd heard the hard part is getting the cap back on because a) everything's greasy by this point and b) the spring keeps the cap at an angle, making it hard to seat it and get it started. Fortunately, I indexed the cap with a sharpie before I started, so it took only four or five tries to get it seated, while pressing down the side that's pushed up by the spring.

After cleaning off as much grease and anti-seize as I could, I remounted it with new bolts (and more anti-seize).

The bushing greased and in.

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Using a brass punch to seat the tab in the bushing.

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Rebuilt and ready to be remounted. (I didn't take photos of the other parts going in; too greasy to hold the camera.)

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Going back on the frame with fresh bolts.

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Mounted, coated with anti-seize (have I mentioned that I used lots of anti-seize?) and ready for center arm.

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And the center arm on and ready for the drag link and relay rod.

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[Rob]

Setting up the tie rod ends was next. Yes, I used liberal amounts of anti-seize on anything that resembled a thread. And, yes, sometimes it's good for older guys to work sitting down. :brody:

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I installed the tie and relay rods first.

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Then the drag link, which required putting new parts in the end that attaches to the pitman arm. No pictures of that. Again, it was a greasefest. Plus, I was working quickly to beat the dinner bell.

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And here you can see all three rods installed, though the clamps haven't been horsed down on the ends yet.

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I have to say that installing new parts is a lot easier than removing old, rusted, frozen parts.

After getting the clamps tightened down, I checked the toe-in using four paint cans, two pieces of three-foot-long aluminum angle and a tape measure. The wheels were toed out, so I cranked on the tie rod until they were toed in again by about a quarter-inch.

Then it was time for a test drive around the neighborhood. Got it up to about 40 mph and it seemed to work OK and felt like some of the slop was gone (I've heard it's next to impossible to get rid of all slop in a 28-year-old FJ40.)

Sunday, I plan to get cotter pins in all the castle nuts, double-check to make sure I lubed everything sufficiently, double-check that all bolts are tight and install the steering stabilizer. That should go quickly since it's a bolt-on item.

Then I want to take it out to Airport Road, where the speed limit is 45, and see how it does. If it seems OK, I'll run down Colo. 66 and get it up to 55. I stay off the interstates as much as possible in the 40, so that's about as fast as I ever drive it.

Another good test will be how it does in the canyons. Before this, it had a tendency to oversteer or understeer in curves, and sometimes just jump around. I'm hoping it no longer does those scary things.

If it still has problems, I'll probably take it to a shop and have it checked out. I figure at some point, I should go ahead and replace the rag joint. I probably should have done it this go-around, but I didn't want the 40 to be down for too long.

Some other weekend, I'm going to wire wheel the old rods, rust treat them, then paint them and keep them for trail spares. I also want to clean up the old center arm pivot and drag link end parts and throw them on the spare parts shelf. Unfortunately, the drag link end that attaches to the pitman arm was deformed from 28 years of use. It'll have to go.

This was a great learning experience and the second major work I've done on the 40. First was the front axle rebuild during Pete's clinic. That was messier but a little easier because Pete was there to lend expertise. This was another confidence booster (and will be an even bigger one if it holds up :)) and now I have a good understanding of how the steering system works on the 40, at least from the pitman arm to the wheels.

One thing I noticed on the test drive tonight: It sounded like I was getting some tire drag in the front when I turned. Anyone know what might be causing that? Maybe it's normal and I noticed it because the top and doors are off and it was a quiet night and I was driving slowly while turning circles in a cul-de-sac. Any thoughts?

[Chris]

Well done Rob! You did good, bring it to an an alignment shop and have it checked. It doesn't cost anything and may provide some valuable info.

[scout man]

It still took a while and what little muscle power I have to get it out completely, creaking and groaning the entire time.

You or the drag link??? :lmao:

[Chris]

:lmao: Our resident word smith walks in to another one.

[Rob]

:lmao: Both!

[Rob]

After tightening bolts and checking lube, I took it out for a faster test drive today. Got it up to about 60 (not sure because I still need to replace the speedo cable) and it handled well.

When I pulled into the drive, though, I heard a creaking (no, Steve, not me; it was the steering). Jacked it up, played with the drag link, where the creaking was coming from, took the stabilizer off and stood around scratching my (bald) head. Thought about what I'd done since the night before. Then it came to me. I'd tightened the drag link end at the pitman arm a few turns. I loosed it up a couple of turns and the creak went away. Any creaks I hear now will be personal joint creaks and not steering creaks.

Still wondering about the tire drag, though. I remeasure the toe in on a better surface this morning and got about a quarter-inch, which I think is on the outside edge of acceptable. I cranked it down to about an eighth. Should I try zero toe in maybe? Now that all the parts are new, it's relatively easy to adjust stuff.

[Brody]

You really don't want it too much less than 1/8" and zero would be defeating the purpose. Zero would have it steering badly with the tendency of the wheels to toe out.

You should also have an adjustment at the very top of your steering box. It should look like a threaded rod with either a slot in it or a smaller nut end on it, with a lock or jam nut holding it tight. You can loosen the jam nut and then tighten the inner threaded portion clockwise. Try tightening it 1/4 turn then do a test drive. If the steering still has some play, do it again. DO NOT tighten it to the point where it is tight. If it is already tight, then don't tighten it any more. This tightens up the steering box innards....you have the outers under control...

Nice work, BTW!

[Rob]

Thanks, Pete. I'll try that on another day. I'm wrenched out after a total of about a two days working on the steering. I'm kind of pleased with myself that I figured out the creaking (seeing as how I also caused it). Makes me think I might be able to do more wrenching on the 40. Such as install a speedo cable and replace the rear main seal.

I just took it out again and it's steering great now. Even Saturday night, it felt tight and the steering wheel wasn't self-centering after I went around a corner. It should with power steering. Now it's doing it again. I think I got the drag link end set just right. And it took me a bit, but I finally figured out why I had a cotter pin left over. It goes in the drag link end. It's now where it should be.

[Chris]

Well done Rob, too bad you didn't have the opportunity to teach me a thing or two.

[Rob]

Well done Rob, too bad you didn't have the opportunity to teach me a thing or two.

Thanks, Chris. I kind of surprised myself. Considering I'm coming to wrenching later in life, I need this kind of confidence builder. We'll see how it does on the trail. Red Cone, perhaps?

As for opportunities, wouldn't you like to learn how to replace speedo cables and rear main seals? Such opportunities should arise soon. :thunb:

So I finally got it all buttoned up. No leftover parts, which is a minor miracle in itself. The steering wheel is now just slightly off-center, but I'm done messing with it. Still, that's much better than a quarter-turn off.

And now I have two tow hooks on the front bumper. The things I do for Aaron and his winch. :lmao:

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Hard to see, but there are two tow hooks in this picture.

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[Chris]

Thanks, Chris. I kind of surprised myself. Considering I'm coming to wrenching later in life, I need this kind of confidence builder. We'll see how it does on the trail. Red Cone, perhaps?

Next Saturday isn't too soon, would be great to see you there Rob!


As for opportunities, wouldn't you like to learn how to replace speedo cables and rear main seals? Such opportunities should arise soon. :thunb:

Sure, Not sure what's involved on a 40 but got a good taste on a Jeep so I kind of know what not to do.


The steering wheel is now just slightly off-center, but I'm done messing with it. Still, that's much better than a quarter-turn off.

It'll annoy you after all this work Rob. You need to adjust the relay rod (drag link) to lengthen it since you have increased the distance from the steering box to the axle when you added the lift a while back.

[1freaky1]

Good job Rob:thunb:

[Brody]

Speedo fittings are a cinch as there are only two fittings involved; one behind the dash and one on the tranny. The dash one is usually the hardest as you end up doing it blind most of the time unless you can take the gauge pod out where you can actually see what you are doing. Righty tighty, left loosey....

As far as the steering wheel goes, what Chris said may work, but if the rig now turns equally both directions, you may jack this up by adjusting the wheel from underneath. Doesn't hurt to try it, but if your steering with the wheel centered causes a sharper turn in one direction and a shorter turn in the other, then you will have to pull the steering wheel and relocate it on the column.