80 series cruiser steering arm issues

[skid]

righto, I can't remember if I posted this up before but who cares because it needs to be passed on

for those of you who have an 80 series or are thinking of buying one, you need to be aware of an issue with the passengers side steering arm

I have had this happen to me and I heard Sig had the same issue and then this morning a fulla turned up to work for an alignment coz he said his wheels were pointing the wrong way, but the alignment wasn't the issue.

The left hand steering arm knuckle thingy has a habit of coming loose after time. the problem with this is that you dont really get any warning until theres only 1 of the 4 bolts left and the steering gets very sloppy. the bolts will either fall out or snap off, like this case and also the same thing happened with mine. I only had 1 bolt remaining and it was halfway out, 1 other bolt had fallen out and the last 2 had snapped off

I have taken pics of the offending item for your visual reference and I hope that you are vigilant in looking at these nuts on a regular basis as I would hate to see it come loose on the open road......

[turoa]

They're a pain in the ass those things. If you're going to be putting bigger tyres on they really need a dowell or 2 to hold them in place instead of relying on studs.

On another note, have you checked the rear bolt holes on the front seats on your 80? Both mine and my flatmates 80's have cracked enough for the whole nut to come through the top of it. Seems to be another weak spot on them

[QUADRACER]

you can add a key way also, has the same effect as dowels
only stronger.

[skid]

On another note, have you checked the rear bolt holes on the front seats on your 80? Both mine and my flatmates 80's have cracked enough for the whole nut to come through the top of it. Seems to be another weak spot on them

yup, spotted that issue when interior was stripped after drowning

[Sadam_Husain]

its not just an 80 series problem both my cruisers have always suffered from loosening arms, I've always found its the studs coming loose not the nuts and when you just tweake the nuts back up the studs continue on the move and they just get loose again, I pull mine apart and reseat the studs right back down into the swivel housing with some loctite and they seem to stay tight after that. The tell tale sign of them coming loose is the buildup of excess grease coming through the swivel seal onto the ball like in the first photo, its one of the things I usually have a quick look for when doing a quick visual check of the truck

[sig]

well for the 3rd time mine have come loose so its on with a replacement hub this morning .I think that the thread in the hub has been elongated and tightening is only a temp fix .let the grease times begin

[Pedro]

well for the 3rd time mine have come loose so its on with a replacement hub this morning .I think that the thread in the hub has been elongated and tightening is only a temp fix .let the grease times begin

heli coil the holes, to recover hub, if ya going to throw it away i will store it for ya

Pedro

[Big]

well for the 3rd time mine have come loose so its on with a replacement hub this morning .I think that the thread in the hub has been elongated and tightening is only a temp fix .let the grease times begin

heli coil the holes, to recover hub, if ya going to throw it away i will store it for ya

Pedro

Yip had to helicoil all my holes in my truck as im too poor to buy another knuckle.. things I have noticed is that the washers collapse, making the stud come loose. I have torqued mine to 100 ftpds Loctite the stud , ditched the washer and they have only partly come loose, torqued and sweet so far..

[4wdstuff]

If you need some new and stronger studs have got these

http://www.4wdstuff.co.nz/knuckles-hubs/trail-gear-super-metal-knuckle-stud-hardware-kit-10-studs-10-nuts-10-wave-washers-6-co

Cheers
Tim

[cruiser80]

The tell tale sign of them coming loose is the buildup of excess grease coming through the swivel seal onto the ball like in the first photo, its one of the things I usually have a quick look for when doing a quick visual check of the truck

How does the steering arm affect grease coming through the swivel seal?
Mine leaks grease through there so I'm nervous now,

[derk]

How does the steering arm affect grease coming through the swivel seal?
Mine leaks grease through there so I'm nervous now,

when the arm comes loose the swivel bearings come loose and that makes the swivel housing loose and flop around on the ball letting grease and what ever other shits in there come out past the seal they also leak if you've got an excess of diff oil getting into the swivel housing or if your swivel seals are badly worn

[Lchundy]

Yeah this has happened to my 80 after fitting 35s and giving it the jandel in the bush.Could here clicking when dropping into ruts,a dose of loctite has sorted it...

[lax2wlg]

Has anyone tried using hexagonal cap screws instead, for more clamping force?

Because even if the stock studs back out a little bit and you dont notice it due to having a steering damper, that would have to be putting some serious stress through the lower kingpin bearing.

Also Each time the factory studs are tightened it fatigues them further so in theory they should be replaced every time they loosen up.

[turoa]

Has anyone tried using hexagonal cap screws instead, for more clamping force?

How does that equal more clamping force?

[lax2wlg]

You can get cap screws that have an ever so slightly tapered shank that (in this case) would pass through up the lower arm from the bottom and sort of press themselves into the bolt holes, providing additional resistance against it backing off.

I dont know if that technically is clamping force related, you get the idea.

[mudlva]

heres a thought...
those who have raised the suspension did you adjust the steering wheel back to center by unbolting the wheel and moving it or adjust the pitman arm??

the reason i ask is,,,
ive just installed a 50mm kit and its moved the steering wheel center by 50 to 70mm's which once converted is like 14-16 degrees

now not knowing much about the hub stops and the amount of over travel that the box has but all said it does sound like a lot.

that said if you raised it by 100mm then the geometry becomes even worse.

the steering box and pump set up is pretty impressive compared to other vehicles of similar size so the box box will keep on working.

the hubs stops are pretty impressive as well so the middle link here is now the left hub arm and associated bolts which are now getting a bit of a hiding compared to factory set up.

imho potentially moving the pitman arm could help relieve the new "stress" that has been created by adjusting the suspension heights.

second option is to install an adjustable panhard and moving the complete axle sideways to allow for the changed geometry, although this may create other issues??

thoughts???

[imsohi]

I have a 2 inch lift in mine on std panhards but will be going to a 4 Inch lift soon so will get adjustable. Pretty sure the steering box will survive.

[mudlva]

I have a 2 inch lift in mine on std panhards but will be going to a 4 Inch lift soon so will get adjustable. Pretty sure the steering box will survive.

Not on about the steering box as they are bullet proof.

Its the stress on the l/h arm where all the issues are and a possible reason on why after doing susp mods they start breaking bolts and falling off

[sig]

steering boxes aren't bulletproof .have a broken shaft in the garage to prove it .but they are pretty strong

[a80crewza]

I regularly check my bolts with a spanner to be sure.. On another note, after my lift was installed by steering was sloppy when turning left.. Turned out to be a crack in the weld around the panhard mount , I think it was also due to the stress of the axle being pulled to the right and fatigue over time l, so I will be looking at adjustable panhards soon.

[klompy]

I've seen 3 broken out put shafts and at least 6 with twists in there splines so on the way to letting go, so keep an eye on them, not all were running big tyres either.