96RAM

Hi for some silly reason I decided to move down to central america and couldnt part with my truck I need some tech help on this quick! The roads are awfull down here so the truck has taken a beating. Most of the problems I have parts sent to me for but not these:

1) Steering dampner puking oil(anyone know the exact specs(length?stroke etc) on a replacement? Parts are rare down here so I have to try and match one up in a shop) My truck is always offroad so I think I need one

2)Intermittently heavy/binding steering ie when parked on a cambered roadside
What should I check into?

Looking forward to the help

RCW

My recommendation on the steering damper is to throw it, and get one of the ultra heavy duty versions from one of the off road specialty houses.

On your binding, check the lower bearing on the pitman arm where it exits the steering gear box. They wear excessively, cause the shaft to shift to the side from a load and bind the sector. Windecker (http://solidsteel.ca/) sells a shaft stabilizer that solves that problem.

scottsjeeprolet

take off the damper and try to match it up with one with the same stroke, as for the binding check your ball joints and axle universal joints on the front end.

96RAM

That would be easy enough if I wasn't in central america! But I will see how to get one down here. Thanks anyway. I have a dss already. Check my sig.

The axle uj's were new 6 months ago but the balljoints I am going to check. I brought some spares with me
(I'm replacing front axle bearings, tracbar ends(dt profab bushings are not up to the task but they are getting an HD upgrade soon...), sway bar links(might chuck the sway bar anyway) and maybe balljoints.... )

96RAM

Thanks for that link! It was very helpful! I will be looking into getting that stuff sent down here..... Maybe this'll be a useful link one day for someone as unlike most people I drive my truck offroad hard and fast in sand, mud and water EVERYDAY....

update:
1)so I replaced both front hub assemblies(with SKF) as the bearings were shot aswell as the bushing on the tracbar and everything was all sweet until the driverside front wheel started squeeling a month later. That side has heaps of play now and it seems that the bearing races are dry
After all the pain to get the **** things down here it doesn't seem right... I seem to have been shipped a defective one!

2)Discovered the weight of the mighty cummins is chewing up bushings(aftermarket) pretty fast. Apart from the aforementioned tracbar bushing The skyjacker control arms really cured the steering/clearance issues of the 35's but 6 months later the bushings have heaps of play... I have spare bushings with me but thinking going full heim soon.

I will keep posting problems/updates.....

96RAM

Does anyone know what the torque specs are for the huge axle nut(?) involved in putting the new hub assembly on? How easy is it to overtorque or undertorque?


How can you tell if you have a bent axle??

XLR8R

Are you asking about the nut w/cotter pin that holds the rotor/hub assembly on? I don't torque it on to set the bearing preload...

Also, did you grease those new bearings? You should be using high-pressure/high temperature grease suitable for washdown applications!

96RAM

Yes that is the one I am talking about....
The bearings are sealed into the hub assembly so how do you grease them??And besides it appeared that they were greased..... Confused????
I believe about 175 ftlbs is the correct torque for that nut.

96RAM

how can you tell if you have a bent axle?

XLR8R

I flushed and repacked the hub/rotor bearings (inner & outer) on my '98 more than once...

You mean bent axle or axle-tube?

Either one should be obvious by spinning the rotor on the jack or checking the tube with a straight-edge, respectively.

johnh

[QUOTE=XLR8R;1337670]I flushed and repacked the hub/rotor bearings (inner & outer) on my '98 more than once

how do you take them apart?

cumminsdriver635

[QUOTE=johnh;1337760] I will 2nd that.. They are a sealed unit. You cant take them apart as far as i know. Those wheel bearings are junk anyways. I dont beat my truck at all when I am offroad, and I have already replaced both sides in my front end twice. I also am not sure on the torque specs for the axle nut..

Eric

XLR8R

Is my 2nd gen different from y'alls? Or am I just misunderstanding what you're talking about?

I remove the cotter pin, unscrew the big castle nut, pull out the retaining washer and outer bearing, yank the hub/rotor assembly off, seperate the rotor from the hub, run the hub through the parts washer, assemble the new rotor to the hub (pounding in new wheelstuds if required), pack bearing with new grease, and hang everything back on the front axles... hardest part is stabbing the axle splines back into the hub, which is why we took to turning the rotors down while still mounted on the truck!

Sorry if y'all were asking about another part...

96RAM

XLR8R Is my 2nd gen different from y'alls? Or am I just misunderstanding what you're talking about?

I think your hubs might be at least! I wish it was as simple as that to do mine. The parts might arrive in a months time... in the meantime I have taken the faulty hub assy to a machine shop. They can 'Mcguiver' and/or fix anything down here aswell as being artful fabricators of stuff for the price of a starbucks coffee but the trouble is making sure they do it right and not some half-***ed
job.... hopefully it'll last a while. I am eying up those little landcruiser jeeps like you wouldn't believe. I will keep the cummins for the 'real' work
I could never sell it!

ps torque spec on the huge nut with the cotter pin is 175lbs according to hayne's ... sounds about right!?

scottsjeeprolet

Landcruisers are made by Toyota in Japan. Toyota did try to copy the Jeep when they first came out with the original FJ40.
Jeep is made in the good ole USA by DC. Although mine was made by AMC.
Please don't confuse them.
Now back on topic, those hubs are very not user friendly, i had a heck of a time getting mine off. I found leaving the axle nut tight kept the uni bearing from trying to separate.
Then took a Big Funny hammer to get the bearing assembly off. Most bearing assemblies don't come off easy, takes a big hammer go convince them.