Body Lift on 4th Gen's

[expatoz]

There has been some recent concern regarding at least two 4th gens with installed body lifts that have also broken a steering shaft.

The suggestion is that either
a) Incorrect installation of the BL (not loosening the sliding yoke sufficiently)
or
b) Bending of the shaft at the column tube caused by the body lift and resulting angle son the shaft

has caused the shaft to break.

While this is being discussed/investigated further, for everyone's safety I personally would recommend anyone considering the BL wait until a clear picture of the issue is resolved and that secondly anyone with a BL on a 4th gen inspect their shaft (sic) for any sign of failure.

At this stage it seems very hard to identify whether the shaft has any damage that might be an indicator that it might break, and if the BL really has anything to do with the breakage.

The obvious thing is that when the shaft breaks, you loose steering completely :( Which has happened recently to two 4th gens with a BL.

Regards
Mark

[expatoz]

Lance - would you care to make some comment on this? I believe you might be working with Roger on some spacers for this issue.

I will also make comment that I am concrened that having once again loosened off the sliding yoke from the steering shafts, allowing the shafts to spread apart, that I now only have approx 8-10/32" of the upper shaft in the yoke and I believe this may not be safe enough. I would think at least a 1/2" would be necessary.

Comments?

Thanks
Mark

[expatoz]

Here's the part that seems to receiving a lot of attention for the BL on 4th gens.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/expatozzie/Body%20Lift/Slidingyoke001.jpg

[slosurfer]

Mark, have there been any problems with body lifts on the 05+ Tacomas? I don't know how similar the setup is between the 4th gens and the 05 Tacos.



....that I now only have approx 8-10/32" of the upper shaft in the yoke and I believe this may not be safe enough. I would think at least a 1/2" would be necessary.


1/4"+ does not seem like it is enough to get a good bite on it, but I am no expert. Is there a way to get some adjustment out of both the top and bottom shaft? I was thinking of getting a small body lift for my wife's taco, I may have to hold off a bit on that now.

[expatoz]

Hi Chris,

No you cannot get much gain from lower part of the yoke. There is a recessed section for the lower bolt to pass over the shaft which limits the movement of the yoke on the lower shaft.

Here's the recess

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/expatozzie/Body%20Lift/Slidingyoke016.jpg

[expatoz]

What's concerning is the dead quiet over this issue.

Apparently someone has knowledge about another truck beside Tracy's (Rocky) who had the same problem - a steering shaft that broke clean off, leaving the truck with no steering. Imagine the damage/injury/death that could occur from this if traveling at some speed!

Tracy was lucky to be negotiating a slow turn in a sidestreet when this happened so other than been scared shicheless, and having the ability to come to a stop in front in a relatively convenient location, Tracy was lucky.

My truck is a DD with my family. Not as trail rig. It worries me greatly and I am not driving it more than necessary presently but you know how hard that is with a DD.

Naturally I could remove the BL but that then plays into other issues - just bought NEW sliders because the others were designed without a lift, having to change the new bullbar etc!

I'd really like to know what is happening about Roger's trialing of a spacer than might aleviate the problem but at this stage its just crickets cirping.

Lance - what's your thoughts?

[Good Times]

There have been two incidents where 4th gen owners did encounter a broken steering shaft due to some unknown reason. To date I have no idea as to how the shafts were broken. Roger was informed when the first incident was discovered and an immediate discovery phase was launched to determine if the body lift was indeed the primary factor. Unfortunately all tests were inconclusive but Roger has taken steps to see if possible alternative solutions can be adapted to prevent such incidents. A possible solution has been designed and is currently in it's testing phases. The item that is being tested will bring the sleeve back into the neutral position and hopefully will not change the characteristics of the steering shafts. Until all tests are completed I won't know what the final outcome will be. The modified installation should take no more than 15 minutes (give or take a few here and there).

I'll have photos and a write up once all testing are completed.

Mark:
Sorry I've been inactive, just been busy living life. (call me!) Anyway, the mod should bring some love back to the sleeve as you are describing. I would love to give you more info but I really don't have much more to give. I can give you my thoughts and opinions but since I can't even figure out how and why it's really hard for me to discuss this even if I wanted to.

Chris:
I believe the steering components are the same for the Tacoma and FJ Cruiser so I would hold off on it until all testing are completed. In the meantime just get an OME lift :)

[expatoz]

Thanks Lance.

[Good Times]

Mark,

Here's what suppose to be added to your steering:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/Images/BodyLift44.jpg

not sure if this helps but by added the spacer, it should push the shafts closer in the sleeve and bring it back to a neutral position. The only problem is that this only resolves the issue of the "how much threads is really holding it together" but necessarily does not fix the "how and why" the shaft snapped. Hence my original post of "no clue". Not sure if the pic above helps but hope it gives you some visual representation of what's being used and how.

btw I've had my BL and zero problems. Then again I wasn't driving it everyday but the days I did it was hard. hard enough that it's still fine. I'm wondering if it's just a bad batch of steering shafts or what not as the break is very abnormal. But I'm not a materials engineer so I can't say for certain what is right and what is wrong.

[expatoz]

I'm thinking I might just buy a new shaft to give me some piece of mind for the moment. I'd then like to get it examined by a metalurgist (?) I guess x-rayed, to see if there is any signs of weakness. This would seem to be a good way to either reinforce some "ideas" or alternatively give people some sense of relief. Doesn't look like an easy disassembly tho. Bolts that need to be drilled out..yikes!

I agree with the amount of wheeling various 4th gen trucks have had cumulatively, maybe this is just some unfortunate event being blamed on the BL.

[expatoz]

So any update on this Lance? Seems like the "discovery phase" has come and gone. Do you know what's happening with the spacer that was being tested?

Thx
Mark

[Good Times]

The first round of spacers came and modifications were made to make them fit properly. Roger has been notified of the changes required for the spacers to work successfully and now the real testing begins. Won't know of any viable results until they get some miles under their belt. Updates will be posted with photos when available.

[expatoz]

Lance - who's doing the testing? I prolly make as many miles as anyone with a BL and a 4th gen. because it's a daily driver (and then some during my summer holidays). I could easily be putting some miles on the testing but I know Rocky is not testing them and Andries had to buy some this week so who and how many are actually testing them and how long do they expect to take to put enough miles on them to determine if they are suitable?

Also, how exactly are they determining if they are/will "work" - what's the parameters?

Thanks
Mark

[Good Times]

Mark,

Here's what the installation looks like along with a short description on the instructions:

Installation time: 30 min (depending on your mechanical expertise)
Tools: 10mm socket, 12mm box wrench, 12mm socket, 13mm box wrench and 13mm socket

1. Loosen 10mm bolt in the engine bay where the sleeve is located. You want to loosen this so that more of the teeth will show. See Mark's photo above to get an idea of what you need to look for. To access this, station yourself by the driver side wheelwell (front) and move the rubber engine bay shield. Determine where the bolt is located on the shaft and rotate the steering accordingly until the bolt is accessible. Loosen until the shaft is free to slide up and down. (basically until it's free)

2. Remove carpet and floor mat to access bottom boot for the steering located at the base of the firewall (look for the black plastic piece protecting the steering shaft at the base.

3. Remove 4 white plastic tabs holding down the black plastic piece.

http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/Misc/Body%20Lift%20Spacer%20Modification/bl_spacer1.jpg

4. Here is a sample of what the black plastic cover and the white tabs look like. (note these items will be reinstalled later to please do not lose the 4 tabs).

http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/Misc/Body%20Lift%20Spacer%20Modification/bl_spacer2.jpg

5. Rotate the steering column so that the two bolts are located. Please refer to the image below to determine which bolts to remove. The easiest way to determine the bolt is by looking at the bolt/nut that runs thru whereas the other bolt is just a long bolt connected to a tube that aligns the steering shaft to the base.

http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/Misc/Body%20Lift%20Spacer%20Modification/bl_spacer3.jpg

6. Remove two 12mm bolts.

http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/Misc/Body%20Lift%20Spacer%20Modification/bl_spacer4.jpg

7. Slide apart the steering shaft. Easiest way is to use the tripod adjustment lever located right under the steering and pull the steering column away. This should give you ample space to get a spacer in there.

http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/Misc/Body%20Lift%20Spacer%20Modification/bl_spacer5.jpg

8. Install spacer as shown below.

http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/Misc/Body%20Lift%20Spacer%20Modification/bl_spacer6.jpg

9. Bolt down spacer using supplied bolt/nut.

http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/Misc/Body%20Lift%20Spacer%20Modification/bl_spacer7.jpg

10. Completed image of spacer.

http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/images/Misc/Body%20Lift%20Spacer%20Modification/bl_spacer8.jpg

11. Reinstall the black plastic boot and 4 white tabs. These tabs are easy to reinstall as all you do is push them in.

12. Tighten steering shaft sleeve located in the engine bay.

Nope this helps.

The one install I did on a friend drives quite a few miles so he was a great candidate. As for how long it will take to test it out, no clue. Do note that Roger developed these items to help reduce the likelihood of another steering issue arise and is no guarantee that this is the solution to the problem that others have experienced.

My opinion and note that it is an opinion based on reviewing the facts: It does not necessarily show that the body lift was the factor in the steering issue. So to state that this spacer will fix or avoid any future incidents can not be guaranteed. Unfortunately I am not a materials engineer so I can't stress test the steering shafts to get a better idea of what went wrong but the findings seem to be inconclusive.

[expatoz]

Excellent. Thanks Lance!

Mark

[sschaefer3]

The body lift pulled it out and the spacer will push it back in. That was not enough spline engagement. Problem solved, but I understand the disclaimers.

Similar thing happened to Joe's Tundra in Moab years ago, the shaft pulled out enough from frame flex that the splines striped.

That will fix it.

[expatoz]

Man this 30min mod is freaking me around. For the life of me I cannot move the inner shaft (that goes inot the steering column) either in or out. Moving the telescoping steering wheel does not move the shaft at all. Adjusting the tilt does nothing.

I have tried and tried to lever the shaft upwards with no luck whatsoever.

Is it possible the Sport Edition has a different steering mechanism?

Four hours later and my truck is stillup on blocks and I'm no further advance than 2omins after I started.

Damn!

Lance - pm sent,

thanks
Mark

[Good Times]

Mark did you figure it out? If not, when you're in my area I'll take a look at it.

Thanks!

[expatoz]

So Lance sorted it out for me today. Some damn clip hiding up inside the steering column housing was preventing the shaft from sliding in or out. So now that I've put the spacer on, the SRS light is on. Grrrr.....

On thing after another.

Thanks Lance for helping me out. Of course I forgot to pick up my spoils from the Pismo raffle..roll eyes!

[Seanz0rz]

mark, love you vehicle, its beautiful.

probably just knocked a yellow srs plug loose.

[Good Times]

So Lance sorted it out for me today. Some damn clip hiding up inside the steering column housing was preventing the shaft from sliding in or out. So now that I've put the spacer on, the SRS light is on. Grrrr.....

On thing after another.

Thanks Lance for helping me out. Of course I forgot to pick up my spoils from the Pismo raffle..roll eyes!


Mark, anytime my friend :) Sorry about the SRS light though. I'm really stumped on that one.

The funny thing is that the first time you left I was like crap you forgot the raffle goods! So I took it out and placed it on the washer so I'll remember to mail it out. When you came back the second time I totally forgot until I started to clean up my mess and realized that the raffle bag was still on the washer!! ugh... talk about stupidity :D I'll mail it out to ya unless I catch you at the 50th anniv event.

[expatoz]

Sean - Thanks man. :thumbup:

I hope it's just a plug. I'm too slack to worry about it in the dark ayt night when I get home from work so its a project for another day... :roll:

Hang on to the stuff Lance. We'll catch up again soon. Do you and Bob (and any others) ever get together for a beer on a Friday night? I guess you might be too busy working on the truck for that.

[Good Times]

Mark,

We used to get together every other week or so back last year but haven't recently. If you're ever in the area, just buzz me or anyone else in the area. I'm sure we can rally up the gang. Heck if Henry isn't out near the beach he'll drop by too!