steering spacer (body lift)

[kicker]

have just fitted 50mm lift kit to surf, run into e few lil issues, fuel filler hose bein to small, battery terminal wires to short and steering shaft.
i loosened steering shaft at both joints inside firewall and both in engine bay but this has left each joint barely inside the yoke.
i want more coverage just for peace of mind.
just wondering what others have done, would i be best to fit thicker spacer at the rubber joint.
cheers

[tintin]

i just had the same problem with my surf and i made up a urathane spacer, but i might go higher yet and il probley get the steering rod extended

[Heath]

2wd hilux steering rods are longer (from memory) so check out that as an option to just bolt in. If it is a bolt in part from toyota then the WoF dudes wont tell it isnt factory and you wont need to cert it (wouldnt need to as it isnt welded or modified anyway). Adding a spacer or cut and weld will require cert ($400ish for cert)

If I am wrong others will chime in and correct me.

Heath

[kicker]

cheers for that, i have to get a cert anyway, so is the spacer certifiable, it'd probably work out cheaper than gettin a longer rod as wreckers want the earth for parts these days

[SupraLux]

2wd hilux steering rods are longer (from memory) so check out that as an option to just bolt in. If it is a bolt in part from toyota then the WoF dudes wont tell it isnt factory and you wont need to cert it (wouldnt need to as it isnt welded or modified anyway). Adding a spacer or cut and weld will require cert ($400ish for cert)

If I am wrong others will chime in and correct me.

Heath

You're only partly wrong The 2WD ones are longer... about twice as long in fact - so they won't bolt in, but they can be cut down to fit - if you can convince your certifier that you should be allowed to... some won't accept anything welded in the steering system.

The non-power-steer model Hiluxes have a slightly longer shaft, that would probably solve your problem...

Steve

[kicker]

cheers for that steve

[Heath]

I knew it was something like that.

Good to have people in the know (like steve) on here eh!

[lanky]

Just wondering which part of the steering shaft i need to swap for the longer shaft, have just done a body lift and mine is also too short. Would a steering shaft from a solid axle LN65 do the trick?

[SupraLux]

no, you should be able to slip yours a little bit by undoing the UJ inside the cab just by the firewall. You can't fit the 65-series ones into the 130's from memory...

Everything else go in ok?

Steve

[lanky]

ok thanks for that steve, i'll have a better look at the uj in the cab tomorrow, ran outta time today but looked like there wasn't much to play with there either.

Only other problem is the gear lever, pretty tight to get into 5th or reverse, will that sort itself out with the lifted crossmember?

[SupraLux]

I'll speak generally, since this is a bit of a threadjack, although its on-topic...

The simple fix for the gearlever problem is to take all the interior trim out, then undo the 6 screws holding the rubber boot in place, then let it move to its new resting position (4wd selector and gear levers in 2WD and neutral respectively), then dril 6 new pilot holes and screw the screws back in. then check that the lever isn't hitting the sides of the trans tunnel hole (if so, trim the metalwork so its not) then re-fit the trim.

What I can't tell you off-hand is if the lifted crossmember I make will fix the problem without these modifications. Its going to be a suck-it-and-see thing... although it should definitely help.

If there isn't enough slip in the steering shaft then it either needs to be extended, or a different shaft used. Either way certification issues arise. Probably best for me to have a look at it for you.

Steve

[UBZ]

I cut the center out of the inner rubber boot clamp and removed the second inner rubber boot. Stays in Reverse Know.



How are the lifted cross members for the KZN Surfs coming along Steve

[lanky]

cheers guys, im sure i'll figure it out easy enough, haven't even looked at anything yet, i'll have a look at both of these issues tonight.

[SupraLux]

How are the lifted cross members for the KZN Surfs coming along Steve

2 in production now, should be ready thurs or fri... PM me if you want one

Just another thought on the steering problem, muddyhilux makes spacers that go between the shaft and the steering box for way less than the imported overseas ones - and they have the safety pins on them like the stock shaft which is a nice touch for when mr cert guy looks at them.

Steve

[lanky]

Had a wee play and it looks like it should be alright, although im a bit paranoid, last thing i want is to lose my steering at 100ks or something

I've actually already been in contact with him about it, but not too sure whether I actually need one, you can have a look when I bring it in and see what you think.