Steering rack poly bushes.

[GaryJ]

Job for this morning... 2 hrs under a forklift.

Steering rack rubbers, the rack had side to side play.
So bought some from milners 4x4, kit ain't bad as some make out, yes you get what you pay for, the "D" bush was uncut so cut as to fit round the rack, and the little horizontal one I ended up cutting in half to fit, as the whole thing was to solid to fit in its location, and worked a treat.. But on a whole, the steering is now stiff with no steering play or wander when moving and feels like a new drive... 2001 KDJ95 D4D manual collie... Next job to fit the other 3 front arm bushes as I've already done a lower one mid 2023, and also rear axle bushes minus one trailing as I fitted a new one a little while ago.. All bushes supplied by Milners 4x4 Matlock UK.

 

[Shayne]

I don't think anyone doubts the poly bushes are fit for purpose they just got labelled second best option because they are harder than the rubber which was attributed to a couple of snapped axle turrets a good while back .

Well done to you though its a ball ache of a job and any new bush beats those with 20 odd years of wear and decline .

 

[MikeJak]

completely agree, I rebushed the steering rack and the lower control arms about 4 month ago and the difference in the steering was night and day, the bushes get a bad rep for squeaks but if you grease them well they are just fine..
I wonder about the snapped turrets if it could have been due to suspension lifts with springs that were too stiff... the poly bushes still have quite a bit of give

 

[Shayne]

Age attacks all things so could have just been coincidence that several similar stories popped up in the same year .

Speaking of turrets drill out the pathetically small drain hole while your under there .

KZJ90 first used May 12th 1998

And time for a clean up .

www.landcruiserclub.net

 

[MikeJak]

Not unlikely, by the time the bushes need replacing the turrets can be pretty toast with rust too.
I’ve seen some nice weld on reinforcements made for the 3rd gen 4Runner

 

[Shayne]

I think they are strong enough I have a pair of 90 series that have never been welded . As explained in the link i posted above poor drainage just lets them fill up with muck keeping them permanently damp and prone to rust .

 

[MikeJak]

True, I remember when I was looking for my 90 there was a huge variance on amount of rust on the rear quarter of the underside it does depend a lot on what life and maintenance they had for the first 20y of their life… I know people that have never looked at the underside of their car and the thought horrifies me