The knuckle arm on my 4runner is worn out so bad it almost doesnt feel safe to drive on the streets because i have so much play. I was told this is a discontinued part though, so my question is is there a better alternative after market piece available anywhere or anything?... or if someone wants to sell me one on here i guess thats cool too

 

J arms are weak for trail use but fine for a daily driver. Look at a junkyard or online for one used. Never replaced one as I have just removed them so I do not know if they are side specific. I think I have a junk set at the shop.

 

There is nothing really to wear out on a J Arm (Steering Arm). They do break but other than that there is nothing there but a hardened steel ball on a pin. The problem may be your draglink. If you look at the draglink (horizontal bar connecting the J Arm to the pitman arm) there is a cotter pin on each end. If you remove the cotter pin you can tighten up the springs inside. You need a big regular screwdriver and the screw slot is in the end. Tighten that up a turn or two and reinsert the cotter pin.

If you can move the draglink forward and backward with the truck off then you need to tighten per above or replace the draglink. The draglinks aren't discontinued (to my knowledge).

The other possible problem could be your tie-rod ends. Check for play in those and replace if necessary. I changed my tie-rod to a beefier one sold by Marlin Crawler with FJ80 ends. Very stout.

 

This is what ive done, but it doesnt make much of a difference because that ball joint is worn out and it quickly loosens back up like within a couple hours of driving, so i was told that i needed to replace that part

 

I've got an extra.
PM sent

 

I guess my piece is a little bent and thats why its not tightening down properly.

got the pm

 

The ball on the J arm doesn't move. It's pressed into the J arm. The only moving parts (or Joint for that matter) is on the draglink. Can you post a picture of the J arm with the draglink off?

A very common mistake is to install the draglink without one of the springs. There are two metal pieces with one flat end and one curved end which press against the ball on the J arm from each end. Behind each of them is a short, strong spring. They are very hard to install normally! Often they are so hard that one of the springs is left out. The arrangement on the Pitman arm end is the same.

Sorry to go on about this but I still find it hard to believe that it's the J arm.

Good luck with it.

 

.....

 

There are cups and springs in the drag link .. with an adjustable plug .

The end should have a " cotter pin " THIS would be the ONLY reason it would come loose .. they are ADJUSTABLE .

simply tighten , and replace the cotter key .. YOU DONT NEED HI-STEER





If you cant find the pieces .. we have them avaliable . http://www.toyotafiberglass.com



.

 

I just took all that junk off my 85 ext cab...the PS box and pitman arm are sold/gone but you can have the rest of it. Greasy as all heck but its all there.

 

Ok, i finally was able to talk to the guy who last took that apart, and he said that the ball on the J-arm was worn into an irregular shape. Its not round anymore. So theres the problem

Ill try replacing it and ill post if i still have problems with it. Thanks guys