RCLT HD 2.75" - Travel Numbers and Notes

I like how a different company is going to offer help here and the kit manufacturer offered some condescending reply saying they aren’t going to waste their time on it.

Only thing I’ll ever get from Marlin is the part number for those little bumps they use (which I found two dollars cheaper on Amazon).

Seems like a lot of the old school Toyota companies suck these days. All Pro also isn’t great anymore either.

It’s too bad because this kit could have been great.

 

@Tac05 I wast directing that at you just commenting on the general demeanor of the thread

if Marlin won’t help you out maybe this guy can, but his bushings are also sold offset
https://iconic-fabrication.myshopify.com/products/lc200-steering-rack-adaptors

 

Oh Harry is awesome. I will for sure reach out to him. He helped me tremendously with replacing my power steering pump.

 

What rubs me the most is that it took a month to get that response from them.

 

That might actually work! The description references the RCLT instructions and availability for passenger side bushings!


Update: I contacted Iconic Fab and they only offer offset bushings. Does the passenger side need to be non-offset to work?

 

you would have to move the frame sleeve to use the offset bushing, but if someone planned to run the offset bushing to begin with its just a matter of putting the sleeve in the right spot.

here’s his install thread
https://www.fjcruiserforums.com/threads/lc200-steering-rack-diy-install-guide.748327/

the offset bushing is necessary on the drivers side due to reusing the diff mount bolt and having the rack centered in the vehicle, if you don’t reuse the diff mount bolt it opens up some other options for locating the rack, here’s an example
https://www.fjcruiserforums.com/threads/steering-rack-upgrade.748817/

 

I'll check those out, thank you. My driver's side has the solid mount, so it's a matter of coming up with a solution for the passenger side.

 

I already explained the fix. Theres no need to ponder... an all encompassing x member reinforcement that uses new sleeves on both sides of the rack and captures 3 sides of the existing cross member AND the LCA gussets all in one.

The only reason the other bushing is off center is to place the rack in the correct position, and would not be needed if the new xmember reinforcement had both new sleeves for mounting already integrated.

 

What you are suggesting as a solution makes sense, but it is at the far end of the spectrum in terms of time and cost. If this was conceived during the initial install, when the diff was out, the rack was already out, and before the LCA gussets were installed, then it would have been a viable option. But to propose it as the "no brainer" solution at this point isn't the most helpful, but it might help those who have not yet come to this bridge.

What I need is to find the most efficient way to convert the passenger mount to a hard bushing and reinforce the existing cross member.

 

Thought there was something in the works for using the third mount on the steering rack.
Was mentioned at 16:04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04WkUSRzYSk

 

After reading this thread and watching that video at around the 21 minute mark it gets kind of funny.

 

Good to know they are chasing the weak link to build something that will never fail.

 

He has a broken add tube/shaft right now as we speak lol

 

Nate or BigMike? I went with the ADD delete along with the manual FJ case swap.

Update with Marlin: I sent an email asking if they still considered me a customer and if I could speak to Big Mike. I received a follow up that they were concerned about my situation and wanted to help, but I wouldn't be able to speak to Big Mike (but he is aware of the situation). I've been advised to call their sales manager and I hope to have time to do that tomorrow.

I watched that video and during the install with Nate they do mention developing a 3rd mount option and that some of the KOH trucks were already using the 3rd mount.

 

I would be similar to a large IFS steering box reinforcement. You would torch out the stock sleeves and these would slip up into the holes, and then there wouldnt even be a need to torch out the LC200 rack bushing in the first place. But maybe making two solid Aluminum wouldnt be so bad. The other side an aluminum replacement could be turned on a lathe pretty easy as the hole isnt offset like the other. Just an idea to fix the current problem, yes it would be better to know ahead of time.

 

To be clear on my comment. I wasn’t talking about the third mount, I mean the part where they always take customer feedback and incorporate fixes into their kits. Exactly they opposite or how they treated this.

 

Yeah, I was being slightly sarcastic because that was the line used in the video, chasing the weak link. They were saying how they run the kits the hardest to find the weak link so the customer ends up with something that wont break.

 

I'm picturing BigMike sitting at a massive desk with a Soviet style painting of his dad behind him with guards Infront of the door. A worker meekly comes in: "sir another steering mount failed" mike whips his snifter of sake at the worker, yelling "SILENCE!!!!!!!" "RCLT doesn't just fail" he says, "call him back and tell him to use an OEM rack......"

 

There is an awesome Hitler meme video about vwvortex. It was the VW equivalent of Tacomaworld. It used to be a very good site back in the early 00’s and like most good forums it became a cesspool for people to hangout. I feel this could use an update and fit right in with this thread.

https://youtu.be/sQkCe2--ym0

 

Well in a surprising turn of events I spoke with Marlin and they HAVE been focusing on this issue and are sending me two fixes. The first is designed to make use of the 3rd rack mount. The second is a double shear kit. Both can be installed without removing the rack. They said that they may make a hard mount for the passenger bushing, but nothing is ready for that.

I will say that I was a bit defensive at the start of the call because of the email correspondence I received stating it was a non-issue and not a focus, and even more so after I was again told that Nate's issue was different. There was a bit of a concession there at the end, but they felt that since Nate stated he was being extremely aggressive and bouncing his truck that it fell into the category of abuse and the factory sub-frame that the rack was mounted to is simply inadequate in that situation.

In summary, Marlin is on it, they are sending a fix, but their communication / PR seems to be hurting things the most.