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Sumo, and some-more

Peace of mind springs to mind Clive
 
Ok, for those still awake, or remotely interested, I got the truck back today :dance:

Firstly, I’m eternally grateful to @chapel gate for his attention, assistance, advice and offers of parts in this regard. If it wasn’t for me living in Eastern Europe, I would have taken full advantage of several lucrative offers of new parts, however the shipping/import made it evens, when I priced stuff here. Anyway, is seems he’s much more clued up on LCs than many of the “experts” and with his advice, I was able to guide my service garage as to what needed doing.
They installed the “upgrade” into my 80 steering box, being the 105 sector shaft and matching seals and Pitman arm. The service was dubious at first, but soon realized that it would work!
The 105 shaft is thicker at the spline, so less likely to be twisted by impact, than the standard 80 shaft.
They also agreed with me about the steering stops on the axle, they are there to protect the steering box against being forced beyond its limits, when a wheel is hit by a rock or whatever, slamming the steering wheel to one extreme or the other.
In setting the steering box to center, and likewise the steering link bar from the Pitman arm, they found that the number of turns left was not equal to the number of turns right.
This was due to the axle not being central to the chassis rails.
I know this isn’t a big deal, it’s not uncommon in lifted trucks for the Panhard rod to pull the axle over. I didn’t realize, but mine is off centre by just over an inch, so I’m lashing out on an adjustable one, so as to get it central.
They set up the stops at the axle so they now limit the steer angle just before the box gets to its limit, so this will reduce the chances of reoccurrence.
Lesson learned!
They’re also exploring the solution to overcome the track arm fouling the diff casing on full lock.
Iron Man do a kit, so when they find it, I’ll be having a good look at what it does and how, to see if it’s suitable to resolve the issue.
They also replaced a leaking flexi-hose in the power steering line, so no more dampness in that area under the pump!
So, for now, I have a dry truck again, I hate leaks, and the steering is spot on!

Thanks again @chapel gate, your advice was priceless!

BTW, the welder guy put some reinforcement on the Panhard rod mount, but the welding is not as pretty as his work on the cracks. Not to worry, it’s secure, but the welding is a bit gobby. I can live with it though, it’s all strong stuff.

To be continued....
Its a pleasure clive. Im pleased its all worked out for you and your happy with the results.

:thumbup:
 
Its a pleasure clive. Im pleased its all worked out for you and your happy with the results.

:thumbup:


Certainly am CG, and without your guidance, I’d have spent the same amount on the standard sector shaft, ready for it to happen again.

I’m still convinced on the hub-stops issue, and it wouldn’t surprise me if most of the 80s on the road had badly adjusted stops.

Thanks again! :thumbup:
 
Certainly am CG, and without your guidance, I’d have spent the same amount on the standard sector shaft, ready for it to happen again.

I’m still convinced on the hub-stops issue, and it wouldn’t surprise me if most of the 80s on the road had badly adjusted stops.

Thanks again! :thumbup:
I think you hit the nail on the head with the axle being offset by 1" Clive. That would put a correctly set steering arm out by an inch. Probably enough to allow the bend to happen…twice!
 
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I think you hit the nail on the head with the axle being offset by 1" Clive. That would putva correctly set steering arm out by an inch. Probably enough to allow the bend to happen…twice!

Spot on Rich. I’ve known the axle wasn’t central ever since the lift, but I paid it no attention.

After all this nonsense, I’ve decided to fork out another €230 on an OME adjustable Panhard rod, that way there’ll be no excuses!
 
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Certainly am CG, and without your guidance, I’d have spent the same amount on the standard sector shaft, ready for it to happen again.

I’m still convinced on the hub-stops issue, and it wouldn’t surprise me if most of the 80s on the road had badly adjusted stops.

Thanks again! :thumbup:
Tbh ive never even looked at mine let alone adjusted them.
Puts it on "the list"..
 
Tbh ive never even looked at mine let alone adjusted them.
Puts it on "the list"..

Just to qualify that a bit, I'd imagine there won't be a problem if the suspension & steering is 100% stock.

The problem comes with us messing about with lifts and I dunno what. Castor angles go haywire, we correct them, axles shift over, and we say it's only a bit, ignore it.

TBH, I think it all adds up along the way and then there's a chance it bites you in the ass. I've got the teeth marks to prove it! :lol:

I've even changed the front axle casing, so I've got someone else's adjustment, from the donor truck :lol:
 
So time for a bit of an update on these SUMO bars, having fitted the front one, had the welding done, had the sector shaft replaced with matching Pitman arm, I held off fitting the SUMO Track Rod because I noticed that since fitting the drop boxes to give me sufficient caster angle, the track rod has been rubbing on the bottom of the diff casing at full lock both ways... :icon-rolleyes:

This means that the drop boxes are rotating the axle a little too much, so off they came today. In their place, to give me enough caster, I’ve now got Iron Man caster correction plates. The difference is small, but just enough to get the the new SUMO Track Rod in there without it fouling the diff casing... :dance:

We also measured up and found the axle was not centred by about 1”, so on went an OME adjustable Panhard Rod, which oiked it over to centre.

And while it was up on the 4 poster, I managed to get my rear axle non-working rear diff-lock actuator unplugged. Sure enough the plug pins were all corroded, but not eaten away. So they had a good dosing with that leccy-spray stuff that cleans as it sweeps (or some other trickery) and the actuator works fine now.

The indent switch is buggered because the terminals turned to dust, but I don’t need it, the dash light has never shown lock-out in the last 11 years, so why should I worry about that now?

Also while it was on the ramp, we fixed an annoying leak on the return hose of the power steering. The hose was rotted, so a new piece was cut to length and fitted.

5F56B28D-F813-42E6-AF75-79EE71BFB30A.jpeg


Only the one photo I’m afraid, but it shows the caster correction plates and the new shiny SUMO track rod.

What surprised me was the guy doing the job, he’s no youngster, and he knows 80s inside out.

He set the tracking by eye and told me the job was done. I said “aren’t you going to check it with the machine?”
“No” he said, “why, don’t you trust me?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you” said me, “but I do want it right”.
“It is right” said he, as he set up the alignment machine, muttering to himself.

It was spot-on!

I think now, he’s talked me into fitting a turbo next year. He fitted one to his HZJ time ago, and he’s done almost 200k km since with no bother at all. He convinced me that it transforms the HZJ engine, so I’m going to give it a go. It will be a new turbo, and all the other pieces I need will be s/h (he knows where to get them). The turbo will be OEM from Part Souq, Dubai.
 
I think now, he’s talked me into fitting a turbo next year. He fitted one to his HZJ time ago, and he’s done almost 200k km since with no bother at all. He convinced me that it transforms the HZJ engine, so I’m going to give it a go. It will be a new turbo, and all the other pieces I need will be s/h (he knows where to get them). The turbo will be OEM from Part Souq, Dubai.
OMG, we'll never be able to keep up with you now! :shock:
 
OMG, we'll never be able to keep up with you now! :shock:

I don’t know why I’m thinking to do it really Chas, but I suppose why not. I do find it a bit embarrassing sometimes on the hills, in traffic...

We’ll see, but I really don’t want to risk damaging the old girl, head gasket or burning pistons.

He reconned that a 1.2 bar boost wouldn’t hurt it and it will make a lot of difference to drive.
 
I have a second hand garret Clive as a bolt on jobby if there's anyone heading your way.
 
Clive it could be your broken shaft was made too hard and snapped like a carrot. Perhaps Toyota made a softer version which twisted instead. I think I'd rather have the soft than the hard assuming the steering stops are OK and the shaft is not being stressed beyond it's design. Chassis cracks are probo metal fatigue caused by many cycles of bending. I'm wondering if welding them will remove any residual fatigue or whether the whole area should be plated. Just thoughts really. I don't think I'll worry about my shaft breaking as the car has never been off road and is stock.
 
My thoughts are that in running the front axle 1" out of line there's constantly been heavier stresses at points where there should be less which has resulted in the cracks over time. Bigger fatter tyres must also add to the loads and lots of off road use has taken its toll over time.
 
I think it’s all of the above, to various degrees, TBH.

It’s a 22 year old truck after all, and big boots can’t help. Although I take care, I do use it a lot off-road, so it’s bound to take its toll.

No complaints from me, fix it and move on. I had the welds done and plated Frank, so a bit of belt and braces!

All good now for another 400k km :lol:
 
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