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.

[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

[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:



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.