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tf Rodeo steering link flip/relocation?

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tf Rodeo steering link flip/relocation?

Postby Rolledeo » Wed May 04, 2016 8:31 pm

I have a 98 TF rodeo and its currently running around 3 inches of lift at the front end, ive noticed that the steering links that run from the main centre bar to the wheel hubs are now at quite an extreme angle and the ball joints definitely arent looking happy as theyre mounted on the bottom side of the lug on the hub, and when im off roading there seems to be a fair bit of bump steer going on and im guessing this is due to the extreme angle of the steering arms?

My question is has anyone ever relocated the joint to the top? Im thinking of getting a suitable size chrome molly rose joint with a matching thread to the existing steering shaft where the ball joint comes from, then drilling the taper out of the lug on the hub assembly where the ball joint used to mount, then bolting a rose joint on the top side, the rose joint should provide enough flex and help flatten out the steering arms at the same time and help with bump steer? Does anyone think this would help? Im also thinking of retro fitting a RTC steering damper to also assist with the off road handling.
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Re: tf Rodeo steering link flip/relocation?

Postby geeves » Thu May 05, 2016 3:55 pm

Should work but 2 things to consider
A: no one else has done this yet so you are first
B: How would this fit with local vehicle rules. In New Zealand it would require an engineers certificate I thought ADR was even worse.
An alternate way to attack this. Google "Hilux High steer kit" You might be able to do something similar with bolt on parts
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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Re: tf Rodeo steering link flip/relocation?

Postby isuzurob » Thu May 05, 2016 7:17 pm

my 2.8 bighorn is running 3 and abit inch suspension lift, same suspension as rodeo, with heavy duty tierods, they are twice the size of the originals and dont have any issues with steering or handling, who did the wheel alignment? i would be more worried about the cvs in the rodeo, they are tiny
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Re: tf Rodeo steering link flip/relocation?

Postby Rolledeo » Thu May 05, 2016 11:04 pm

geeves wrote:Should work but 2 things to consider
A: no one else has done this yet so you are first
B: How would this fit with local vehicle rules. In New Zealand it would require an engineers certificate I thought ADR was even worse.
An alternate way to attack this. Google "Hilux High steer kit" You might be able to do something similar with bolt on parts


the hilux kit looks good but I'm not sure I'd be able to adapt the same design for the rodeo due to the lack of available parts, but I wouldn't really be changing quite as much as what they have if I can bolt the arms back to the upper part of the lug, my main concern is if I can get enough angle from the rose joints on maximum and minimum suspension travel but again if I can get it on the top of the arm it should reduce the overall angle of the arms too, as far as local rules go I really don't have a clue about them, but as long as I don't ever get a yellow sticker it should never have to go over the pits and hopefully I can get away with it ;)

I'll have to order a few parts first I think and see if the angles are gonna work before I drill the tapers out of the lugs and have to replace most of my steering :cry:
But I'll put a few photos up when I start it if anyone else is interested as it should be a fairly straight forward bolt up mod other than drilling the holes out.

Also for the wheel alignment I recently just had it done and it's running fine, it's more so the lift and the extreme angle of the steering arms which is causing the problems (I think), as for the cv's I'm going to be doing a diff drop soon so that should help calm the angles on those down, do you know if it's possible to upgrade the cv's though?
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Re: tf Rodeo steering link flip/relocation?

Postby isuzurob » Fri May 06, 2016 6:55 pm

like i said i have a big lift with no driving issues, the 2.8 rodeo and 3.1 bighorn run small cvs the 2.8 turbo bighorn has way bigger cv joints, well this was the case in my 2.8 rodeo, have to change inner outer cvs and the axle
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Re: tf Rodeo steering link flip/relocation?

Postby geeves » Fri May 06, 2016 7:25 pm

Some vehicles and some drivers are more prone to bump steer than others. If you lift and fit stiffer front springs or shocks you might not get fast enough travel for bump steer to be a problem but soft shocks and springs can make it worse. Of course you want softer springs to get the best articulation. The roads you travel and how you drive make a difference with motorways having little bumpsteer because of the lack of bumps but Outback gravel roads do have a reputation for being less than flat although I know Taupo roads arnt much better. That leaves speed. Arnt most Aussi roads 120kph? thats a lot faster than we are allowed to drive.
One option that might help is a steering damper. Ive always considered them a cover up for a real problem but we dont want to fix the real cause so it might be the next best option.
A photo of the front of the truck might show some other issues.
I know my 3.1 bighorn has more bump steer than the old 2.8 but its still manageable and not enough to be a problem. Maybe when I remove the sway bars I might find it gets worse and I will have to look at options
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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Re: tf Rodeo steering link flip/relocation?

Postby Rolledeo » Fri May 06, 2016 8:03 pm

geeves wrote:Some vehicles and some drivers are more prone to bump steer than others. If you lift and fit stiffer front springs or shocks you might not get fast enough travel for bump steer to be a problem but soft shocks and springs can make it worse. Of course you want softer springs to get the best articulation. The roads you travel and how you drive make a difference with motorways having little bumpsteer because of the lack of bumps but Outback gravel roads do have a reputation for being less than flat although I know Taupo roads arnt much better. That leaves speed. Arnt most Aussi roads 120kph? thats a lot faster than we are allowed to drive.
One option that might help is a steering damper. Ive always considered them a cover up for a real problem but we dont want to fix the real cause so it might be the next best option.
A photo of the front of the truck might show some other issues.
I know my 3.1 bighorn has more bump steer than the old 2.8 but its still manageable and not enough to be a problem. Maybe when I remove the sway bars I might find it gets worse and I will have to look at options


My driving will definitely be far from the smoothest I know that for sure ahaha :roll:

I had a new ironman 4x4 lift kit fitted with new torsion bars and then wound them up a little more for a little bit more lift, it was a stiff as hell so I lowered it back down a bit and removed the sway bar which helped greatly for ride on road and gave a little more articulation without the sway bar off road, its more so the off road driving that I want the improvement for, if it helps it run that bit smoother (without any bump steer) and doesnt limit the flex in the front end then ill do it.
Ive ordered an RTC steering damper for a hilux and just plan to make a mount that will weld to the chassis and bolt to the existing lug in the steering arm too, but I should probably see how that goes first too before I get ahead of myself, obviously the front end will always be limited to the CV's so there will always be a limitation on flex, slightly off topic here but does anyone on here know the maximum flex angles for the CV's on the rodeo's?
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Re: tf Rodeo steering link flip/relocation?

Postby geeves » Sat May 07, 2016 6:49 am

It is bump steer????
All Ifs trucks have limitations in travel set by bump stops and these "should" prevent cvs reaching excessive angles. Lifts move the at rest point in this travel restriction but the upper and lower stops remain the same.
We do two things in conjuction with lifts to get travel back. A ball joint flip which is really unbolting the upper ball joint from the arm then bolting it on the other side. This effectively makes the upper arm about a cm longer which alleviates problems setting castor and camber but also moves the arm away from the bump stop allowing more travel. The other thing is trimming bump stops although I dont recomend both together without the diff drop.
Without these 2 mods and with a 3 inch lift you may be hard on the lower bump stop which will ride terrible
We normally dont exceed 50mm lift a that is generally the point where extra mods are required that push the price up.
Even diff drops come with a risk of dropping too far and having the axle foul the lower arm
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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