Better Steering Solutions

i wanna say a while back during rag joint fix threads someone said they found a way to replace the u joint in the lower steering shaft. and originally yeah i think the Mar Rack was gonna be its own thing but i think Mike got in over his head trying to make the rclt even get out the door so he switched to the Land Cruiser rack.

 

Just called and spoke to someone there -- they say it only works with their RCLT kit. I'm sure that you could figure out a way to get it to work with any LT kit, but it'd probably not be worth the headache. I looked through their instructions and it's certainly an involved setup, as it has 3 mounting points instead of 2.

Obviously it's stronger/larger, but I think it'd be a moderate challenge to get working on any LT set up, and certainly not stock width without serious effort. It would be cool if they'd offer it to work with any LT system though, maybe that's in the future.

 

The racks they use and why they say its proprietary to thier Kit is its not cut down in width...the bumpsteer geometry would be wayyy off if you tried to just slap it into a different setup...your tires would be doin the miss America wave

 

Subbed for 3rd gen options.

 

Fuck that looks good, looks like it might have some interference with +2 or maybe even +3.5 kits and 37s though.

 

There's an FJ guy (he might be on here but im not certain?) that installed a land cruiser rack with a 3.5 kit and made it work. He said the steering was a little wonkier but worth it for the additional strength and turning force.

https://www.fjcruiserforums.com/threads/lc200-steering-rack-diy-install-guide.748327/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CN8f1INni4_/

 

Anyone know how to contact TNT Fab? I've tried his Instagram and e-mail and I get no reply. I could use a rack saver for my 1st gen.

 

ask @2002 tacoma s/c LT

 

3rd Gen full heim tierods - stock tacoma rack

 

Full hydro.
It has its downsides, but its probably the strongest setup youll find.

 

I follow you from the overland warehouse page on iG and i dig this.

My steering is Absolutely terrible right now to the point where picking a line in the rocks is almost impossible. The wheel will rip from my hands if the rack can’t take it.

while commenting on this thread, I’m working on a full heim steering kit. For stock length, 2.5 and 3 over

I’ll let you guys know when it’s out and we start selling these things

 

For those of you who have down the JDFab Howe Steering Upgrade,

how much of a noticeable difference was it? From someone who wheels there truck hard (more crawling than prerunning) I’m debating on the steering upgrade, as i can barely turn my 35’s or I’m gonna rear gear and lock the front.

shoot me some reviews on the steering please!

 

I don't have it (I wish I did) but literally everyone on here that has it has nothing but amazing things to say about it. It makes that much of a positive difference. If you have the means and are on the fence I wouldn't hesitate to get it.

Edit: Speaking about just the pump. The slide rack has some boot/seal concerns.

 

my rack seems to be fine (for now) lol but my pump is failing. Like pretty bad. In the rocks, half the time trying to pick a line, the wheel will rip out of my hands.

I head to Moab the first week of May and I’m so torn between just replacing with a stock pump and gearing and locking the front or saying screw gearing again lol and just buying the steering upgrade.

i know i will eventually have both but trying to figure out which 2k i wanna spend

and 35’s with the LT kit and my stock gears right now is gonna kill me on the drive out to Moab lol

 

The pump wont help while bound up in the rocks. It works great for street driving and slow speed maneuvers, but you will still always struggle while rock crawling. This is the reason i went full hydro instead. If you can rig up a hydro assist ram to thier slide rack that would be the best option.

 

CGross is correct that on the street its fantastic. I can steer with my index finger only. It is is quite nice. The better thing is when hitting bumps I don't get what I liked to call bump steer, but harry at JD was telling me that is more in how the factory PS pump works and it only works when you start to actually steer, so if you are going straight and hit a bump it cant ramp up fast enough. The how pump does get easier and ramps up as rpm's increase as well from I remember him saying. For me in the desert it works extremely well and I haven't had any issues with it at all and I have more confidence in the steering with the pump and slide rack. For low speed rock crawling it might help a little, will defiantly help with like I said that "bump steering" I was feeling.

 

I'll 2nd everything said above its a perfect explaination as I also have the sliderack and howe pump. I'll repeat what Harry has said in the past, that the Pump needs at least 950-1000 rpm at minimum to work at its best, any lower and you will notice that the steering is much heavier but still better than stock

 

this has been an idea, however, i don’t tow the truck to the trails and sometimes drive 10-12 hours to trails.

I have heard that full hydro on the street isn’t the best as the wheel doesn’t come back etc. unless you have noticed different.

I understand IFS Steering isn’t going to move nice boulders on the trail like hydro assist.

my old xj would literally move rocks if they were in the rocks. My issue now is even day to day driving, it’s a struggle to steer then in the trail it’s worse.

I’m just trying to find an option that can help with my problem a bit. But wasn’t sure if the JD fab kit would put me in the right direction.

I do feel that my factory pump is failing and that simply replacing it my somewhat hep my issue.

 

I can’t speak necessarily to the jd kit, but since I’ve got an Ls I have a Psc pump which is very similar to the howe(also half the cost) and with a tundra rack I can turn my 35’s stopped with very little effort on the pavement. Switching to one of these pumps will make a huge improvement.

 

This is something I have been considering also,
But I’m trying to find the pump and pulley I’d need to make sure it works properly.

from what I’ve heard you have to get the out put pretty close to what the factory output is