BucknutBob
New member
Who needs brakes? Just get a beefier front bumper!
KidV's 1985 4Runner
- Thread starter KidVermicious
- Start date
Who needs brakes? Just get a beefier front bumper!
Footofgod
New member
Ask [MENTION=67129]92-SR5[/MENTION] how well that works.
92-SR5
New member
The beefier the better :fro:
liveoffroad
New member
hey kid,
congrats on the new parts, jealous your beating me to high steer
congrats on the new parts, jealous your beating me to high steer
KidVermicious
New member
hey kid,
congrats on the new parts, jealous your beating me to high steer
You know what made me decide to do it this way instead of the low crossover I was thinking about? Low Range has it on sale. I paid $299 for a pair of six-shooter steering arms, a pitman arm, four FJ80 tie rod ends, and a DOM tie rod and drag link already tapped for the TREs.
It's highway robbery, man. Go order yours right now!
liveoffroad
New member
wow thats not bad... doesn't get me closer to my fj80 axle though... but it might be time to let go of that dream for a while, my money tree is not producing fruit right now
liveoffroad
New member
wheres the pics from this alleged high-steer project? :snacker:
Footofgod
New member
Pull and pay in Fountain, CO had an FJ with complete axles front and back. $265. I might just get them for myself if they are still there.
If you happen to beat me to them, that's ok too as I already have a front axle.
KidVermicious
New member
Dude, I've been getting a whack of overtime because of the storms and flooding, I've had almost no time at home. But I've got the frame plated and the IFS box on, and I got the hoses modified and routed this morning before I went to bed, so I'm on the downhill side now. I'll get it wrapped up this morning or the next, and then I'll post some pics.
That's a steal, one of you needs to grab those for sure!
KidVermicious
New member
So I cut all the funky tubing that wasn't going to fit anymore anyway out of my high pressure PS line, and butt spliced the two ends together with rubber hose and hose clamps and lots of this supposedly superawesome glue. It didn't even last long enough for me to bleed the new pump. So I took the end fittings down to the hydraulic hose place, and they're gonna make me a new PS line.
If not for that, I'd be done today. Everything else is in place. I'm supposed to go wheeling Saturday morning and break this new steering in, any more snags and I'll probably have to bug out though.
If not for that, I'd be done today. Everything else is in place. I'm supposed to go wheeling Saturday morning and break this new steering in, any more snags and I'll probably have to bug out though.
BucknutBob
New member
Yeah, you're pushing a LOT of pressure with a power steering pump. Heck, that's how they can power hydraulic winches and such with those pumps. Definitely will have to show pics of the shakedown run!
Offroad_Medic
New member
No backing out! If all else fails you can bring the grocery getter and wheel IFS like the rest of us. Haha
liveoffroad
New member
Interesting, i haven't researched it much but my understanding was that the IFS pumps are easy to install. what snags did you run into with the high pressure line, does it require a different fitting?
KidVermicious
New member
TrailGear high steer install
I was intending to use a low-crossover setup by modifying my factory arms, but when TrailGear's high steer went on sale for $299 that made it a no-brainer. I already had the IFS box I'd kept from my last truck, so I picked up the high steer setup from Low Range a couple weeks ago and decided to use Front Range Offroad's frame brace.
First thing was to get all the old junk off - the push/pull steering box, the stock steering arms, the stock steering links, and the dogbone track bar all have to be removed, the dogbone bracket on the frame has to be cut off, and the frame has to be ground smooth and cleaned up for welding. All of this is much easier if you pull the radiator first. Now put the new steering arms on and have a buddy hold the IFS box in place while you mock up the tie rod and drag link and check clearances - what you're looking for is room for the drag link to clear the tie rod when you stuff the drivers side. You want them moving past eachother, not binding, so you'll want the steering box as far forward on the frame as you can get it. If you're confused now, you'll see what I'm talking about when you get everything mocked up. I left about a half-inch between the steering box and the core support, and I think my drag link will clear the tie rod, but it's close. If you're feeling spiffy, you can cut a hole in the core support for the steering box, but I wasn't that motivated. Maybe I should have been. The other thing to pay attention to is the height of the steering box - I put mine in a little too low, and now I can't get my 32mm socket over the pitman arm bolt. I have to tighten it with a pipe wrench now, so that kinda sucks.
Once you've got your steering box position roughed up, it's time to plate the frame. I'm not an experienced fabricator so I decided to use Front Range Offroad's frame brace. I lined the frame plates up and clamped them in, then held the steering box in place one more time to make sure I had everything right, then I marked out the holes and started drilling.
One note here - you cannot have enough drill bits, nor can they be sharp enough. Your final hole size, at least for the Front Range kit, is going to be 3/4", but start small and step up through at least four or five pilot bits to get there. I piloted the first hole at 3/8", then 1/2", then 3/4", and I burned up a couple bits and it took forever. I used two more pilot stages on the other three holes and they went much faster. Either way, I recommend having a Drill Doctor or you're going to learn to sharpen a bit with a flap wheel, because I dulled the larger bits several times.
Once you're drilled, clamp those frame plates back on there and put the box back on to triplecheck your fit. If it's good, get out the welder. (I won't go into details on this part because I'm a shit welder and have no business giving anybody advice. This is your steering we're talking about - if you don't know for sure that your welding skills are up to securely gluing 1/4in plate to your frame, get help from somebody who's a better welder.)
After you're welded up, it's just a matter of putting everything back together. Steering hoses was the only real snag I ran into. The fittings are all the same size, but there's a weird loopy hardline assembly between the pump and stock steering box, and I had a hard time finding room for it with the new steering box in place. So I hacked it out of the middle of that line, and planned on using a little bit of rubber line to splice the two ends together. That didn't last long enough to bleed the air out of the new box, so I had to run down to the hydraulic hose place. $30 later and they'd found a couple press-on screw fittings to splice my line together, and I'm rolling.
Getting busy:
Getting fit:
Shiny!
Boogers.
Brace is installed:
And the box is bolted up:
Just barely enough clearance:
The weird loopy tube I cut out of the middle of the high pressure line:
My failed splice attempt:
The right way to do it:
Fits perfectly:
All done. Where'd that tie rod go???
It's definitely a different steering setup. Everything feels much looser at the wheel - there's no slop, but it's much easier to turn and feedback from the road is enhanced, so that'll take some getting used to I guess. I'm going wheeling in the morning and we'll see what happens - I still have the stock front driveshaft on there, and it's entirely possible that I'll pull it apart every time I flex out now. The driveline place quoted me $200 to build a shaft with a longer slip, but I'm going to look around for a better deal, and in the meantime I guess I'll carry a pair of 14mm wrenches just in case.
I was intending to use a low-crossover setup by modifying my factory arms, but when TrailGear's high steer went on sale for $299 that made it a no-brainer. I already had the IFS box I'd kept from my last truck, so I picked up the high steer setup from Low Range a couple weeks ago and decided to use Front Range Offroad's frame brace.
First thing was to get all the old junk off - the push/pull steering box, the stock steering arms, the stock steering links, and the dogbone track bar all have to be removed, the dogbone bracket on the frame has to be cut off, and the frame has to be ground smooth and cleaned up for welding. All of this is much easier if you pull the radiator first. Now put the new steering arms on and have a buddy hold the IFS box in place while you mock up the tie rod and drag link and check clearances - what you're looking for is room for the drag link to clear the tie rod when you stuff the drivers side. You want them moving past eachother, not binding, so you'll want the steering box as far forward on the frame as you can get it. If you're confused now, you'll see what I'm talking about when you get everything mocked up. I left about a half-inch between the steering box and the core support, and I think my drag link will clear the tie rod, but it's close. If you're feeling spiffy, you can cut a hole in the core support for the steering box, but I wasn't that motivated. Maybe I should have been. The other thing to pay attention to is the height of the steering box - I put mine in a little too low, and now I can't get my 32mm socket over the pitman arm bolt. I have to tighten it with a pipe wrench now, so that kinda sucks.
Once you've got your steering box position roughed up, it's time to plate the frame. I'm not an experienced fabricator so I decided to use Front Range Offroad's frame brace. I lined the frame plates up and clamped them in, then held the steering box in place one more time to make sure I had everything right, then I marked out the holes and started drilling.
One note here - you cannot have enough drill bits, nor can they be sharp enough. Your final hole size, at least for the Front Range kit, is going to be 3/4", but start small and step up through at least four or five pilot bits to get there. I piloted the first hole at 3/8", then 1/2", then 3/4", and I burned up a couple bits and it took forever. I used two more pilot stages on the other three holes and they went much faster. Either way, I recommend having a Drill Doctor or you're going to learn to sharpen a bit with a flap wheel, because I dulled the larger bits several times.
Once you're drilled, clamp those frame plates back on there and put the box back on to triplecheck your fit. If it's good, get out the welder. (I won't go into details on this part because I'm a shit welder and have no business giving anybody advice. This is your steering we're talking about - if you don't know for sure that your welding skills are up to securely gluing 1/4in plate to your frame, get help from somebody who's a better welder.)
After you're welded up, it's just a matter of putting everything back together. Steering hoses was the only real snag I ran into. The fittings are all the same size, but there's a weird loopy hardline assembly between the pump and stock steering box, and I had a hard time finding room for it with the new steering box in place. So I hacked it out of the middle of that line, and planned on using a little bit of rubber line to splice the two ends together. That didn't last long enough to bleed the air out of the new box, so I had to run down to the hydraulic hose place. $30 later and they'd found a couple press-on screw fittings to splice my line together, and I'm rolling.
Getting busy:
Getting fit:
Shiny!
Boogers.
Brace is installed:
And the box is bolted up:
Just barely enough clearance:
The weird loopy tube I cut out of the middle of the high pressure line:
My failed splice attempt:
The right way to do it:
Fits perfectly:
All done. Where'd that tie rod go???
It's definitely a different steering setup. Everything feels much looser at the wheel - there's no slop, but it's much easier to turn and feedback from the road is enhanced, so that'll take some getting used to I guess. I'm going wheeling in the morning and we'll see what happens - I still have the stock front driveshaft on there, and it's entirely possible that I'll pull it apart every time I flex out now. The driveline place quoted me $200 to build a shaft with a longer slip, but I'm going to look around for a better deal, and in the meantime I guess I'll carry a pair of 14mm wrenches just in case.
Last edited:
zeak
New member
The weird loopy tube I cut out of the middle of the high pressure line:
I always wondered what the point of that was.
op2:
BoatRacer
New member
I always wondered what the point of that was.
I think they use it as an oil cooler. I doubt it does much, but I think that's why that part is metal tube and bends around longer than the hose needs to be.
Nice job KidV, great pics too.
KidVermicious
New member
Four Squirrels Of Fury to the rescue! This poor fellow and the bunch of teenagers with him were up dorking around and playing in the mud, and guess what? This is why mud is bad, people. It will eat your truck.
Went up a trail called Forest Lake today with another first gen, a Tundra, and a whole smear of 3rd gens - 8 trucks total, I think. Several of the drivers were new, so it was a bit of a noob run and we spent some time spotting them through a couple sections, but there's nothing wrong with that. I wish we could have wheeled all day, but I had to bail and get to bed at a reasonable hour. Sometimes working graveyard shift sucks.
[MENTION=65248]UteRunner[/MENTION] got his own 1st gen broken in right today:
I don't know for sure if I like crossover better yet, I sprung a fluid leak on my power steering box and had to pull the belt or run the pump dry. It was definitely interesting muscling The Bastard up and down that trail without power steering. No clearance issues though - I flexed out a couple times and couldn't get the driveline to pull apart, the drag link just barely misses the tie rod, and no burying the tie rod in the oil pan. It's close though, [MENTION=90132]ajohnson85[/MENTION]. I bet I've got maybe 2 inches between the rod and the pan, and if I ever do a good job of compressing both sides at the same time I may get myself in trouble.
I will say, there's much more body roll in the corners with the dogbone removed. It was actually fairly firm on the street before, and not so much now, so I believe I'll start looking to put my sway bar back in the front with some snazzy disconnects.
Went up a trail called Forest Lake today with another first gen, a Tundra, and a whole smear of 3rd gens - 8 trucks total, I think. Several of the drivers were new, so it was a bit of a noob run and we spent some time spotting them through a couple sections, but there's nothing wrong with that. I wish we could have wheeled all day, but I had to bail and get to bed at a reasonable hour. Sometimes working graveyard shift sucks.
[MENTION=65248]UteRunner[/MENTION] got his own 1st gen broken in right today:
I don't know for sure if I like crossover better yet, I sprung a fluid leak on my power steering box and had to pull the belt or run the pump dry. It was definitely interesting muscling The Bastard up and down that trail without power steering. No clearance issues though - I flexed out a couple times and couldn't get the driveline to pull apart, the drag link just barely misses the tie rod
, and no burying the tie rod in the oil pan. It's close though, [MENTION=90132]ajohnson85[/MENTION]. I bet I've got maybe 2 inches between the rod and the pan, and if I ever do a good job of compressing both sides at the same time I may get myself in trouble.I will say, there's much more body roll in the corners with the dogbone removed. It was actually fairly firm on the street before, and not so much now
, so I believe I'll start looking to put my sway bar back in the front with some snazzy disconnects.
92-SR5
New member
It's all about gearing :bigok:
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