110mm lift - Caster Correction

[clivehorridge]

When I had a 110mm OME suspension lift fitted 10 years ago, I was assured that the offset castor correction bushes would be adequate.

That at may be so, but ever since I've felt that the steering is too easily affected by asphalt ruts and deep puddles, and there's too much tendency for the truck to be pulled over to one side or the other or simply "wandering" where the road wants the truck to go.

The lift was fitted soon after taking ownership, and the front axle was rebuilt at the same time, so I didn't have much time to develop "feel" for the steering as it was before the renewals.

Chris J's posts and his build thread, make repeated reference to the devil's work when describing castor correction bushes, so recently I started taking an interest in alternatives to the devil.

Chris Blakemore of FNB then posted one of his products, drop boxes which lower the mounting of the chassis end of the axle control arms.

Cris J pounced on them, fitted them and reported a "magical" difference in handling, steering, even prop vibes that he didn't really know he had until they disappeared.

Bit over the top I thought, they can't make that much difference, but I ordered some anyway and got my hands on them via the very attentive and efficient Stan@Overlander in Kendal.

That was back at the end of April, and they've been sitting in my shed ever since. Finally, I got around to having them fitted. Didn't do them myself because I don't have sufficient tools to replace the bushes, but my service guy collected the truck from my office at 08:30 and returned it a 15:00 that same afternoon.

Blimey, Chris J was right. What a difference!

It drives straight, ruts don't make it wander, haven't found any puddles yet, it's been 36C today, the puddle test will have to wait!

Well pleased, thanks to Chris (Blown80), Scott and Chris, I've banished the devil and the truck drives like. Dream.

Woo woo! as Nick would say, a major result.

They don't look very magical in a photo, but who cares...

And the new OEM bushes at the axle, begonne you devil's work correction bushes

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Great to see your happy with them Clive.....When buying my 80 the suspension was upgraded to OMU 3 Inch I think but the caster was not changed. I soon noticed that something was off even with limited 4X4 experience at the time

I soon changed them over & immediately notice the nose of the truck lifted & was a huge difference in handling....felt like another vehicle.......well worth the upgrade!!

 

[Pumpy]

Good to hear, I'm having them fitted on Wednsday!

I have the FNB castor correction plates on atm, been on since Aug but recently the drag link has been fouling the radius arms, I'm not a big fan of grinding clearence on the arms/link so went for the gold plated upgrade.

If anyone wants the castor correction plate kit from FNB I will have some for sale very soon!

 

[clivehorridge]

I have to accept that the new bushes alone probably makes the truck feel "tighter".

Trouble is, when you've replaced stuff, you think it's new.... forever!

After 10 years and 170k km later, I imagine them to be pretty much shot. I do regular runs on the mountain most weekends, so they have a bit of a hard time of it.

Anyway, the more stable steering is proof that the castor angle was insufficient, and now that's sorted.

 

[white90]

Good to hear, I'm having them fitted on Wednsday!

I have the FNB castor correction plates on atm, been on since Aug but recently the drag link has been fouling the radius arms, I'm not a big fan of grinding clearence on the arms/link so went for the gold plated upgrade.

If anyone wants the castor correction plate kit from FNB I will have some for sale very soon!

Can I have first dibs on the correction plates when you sell them please? Thanks.

 

[Pumpy]

Can I have first dibs on the correction plates when you sell them please? Thanks.

Sure thing mate, I'll grab a pic of them once they're off on Wed.

 

[Pumpy]

oodles. http://the-overlander.myshopify.com/collections/4x4-parts

 

[clivehorridge]

Not cheap, but they're made superbly well, and IMO worth every penny.

BTW, they're not intended for looks.

 

[clivehorridge]

Mailed from Kendal to Birmingham, I collected them on a family visit 'home'.

Flew them back here in my suitcase.

 

[clivehorridge]

No, parts from Toyota are obtained/ imported by the service workshop I use.

Parts from other sources vary, depending on the supplier. Many won't ship to Romania, some do.

It all depends...

 

[clivehorridge]

Apart from a locally sourced used front axle casing to replace my bent one, and a front locker and dash fuse-block that Karl sorted for me, I've only used new parts:

Nitro gear front shafts & CVs (from the USA but were in stock here);
New radiator - OEM;
Alternator - Trail gear;
Starter motor - reconditioned locally.

Apart from oil seals and accessories, that's been it.

What's with the 20 questions Gary?

 

[clivehorridge]

I'm not down on you at all Garry, for your used parts business, I've even wished you the best of luck with that. I've also acknowledged freely that without used parts, a lot of vehicles wouldn't be on the road anymore. I've used scrap yards all my life for parts.

I've explained in detail what offended me and I thought that episode was over.

If I need used parts, they're very hard to get here (if at all) so you're on the list with several others...

Small world it is, that's a fact.

Cheers to you too.

 

[white90]

Sure thing mate, I'll grab a pic of them once they're off on Wed.

Thank you, much appreciated.

 

[Citizen Brown]

Think i have got this but for clarity these are used with the standard castor bushes?

 

[Pumpy]

Think i have got this but for clarity these are used with the standard castor bushes?

Drop boxes use standard bushes, Castor correction plates use standard bushes, the other option is castor corrected/offset bushes, which no-one has a good word for.

Thank you, much appreciated.

Sorry bud, forgot about the pic, I've got them off all good as new with the bolts and sleaves etc. ready to be packed n posted, I'll grab a pic later

 

[Pumpy]

@white90 the other one/pair is exactly the same, new ones are £116, these have been on since Aug, £75 + delivery at PO rate

 

[clivehorridge]

Think i have got this but for clarity these are used with the standard castor bushes?

Yes CB, one of the advantages is you can use OEM bushes which give you maximum flex without any binding which is sometimes a consequence of using OME or other makes of offset bushes.

It's a win-win result, apart from having to shell out to buy them, of course...

 

[Citizen Brown]

Obliged Pumpy and Clive

 

[toolsplus]

I've got a 75mm OME suspension lift on my 80 Clive

steering's a bit on the heavy side and returns to centre very strong

do you think I need these drop boxes?

cheers

 

[clivehorridge]

I've got a 75mm OME suspension lift on my 80 Clive

steering's a bit on the heavy side and returns to centre very strong

do you think I need these drop boxes?

cheers

Hi TP,

do you have caster correction bushes on the axle, or are they standard?

I'm not the one who should be advising you really, but for anyone to give a useful answer, they will have to know exactly what set-up you have at the moment.

'They' say that 2" lifts generally don't need correction, but yours is 3" so it's likely you need it. The correction bushes should cope with 3" but it depends on whether they're fitted correctly, etc.