is your steering arm bent?

Also, My front leaf springs are inverted. Is this normal at all? Are they just very worn out?

Those are the stock springs. How the hell did I bend a steering arm? I didn't know I could do that with a completely stock truck! Dang shoes! I always wear shoes, just not this morning. I woke up, took pictures, then went back to bed. If I get it aligned, would that possibly fix it temporarily?

I could do some self aligning to try and correct the pull to the left though, couldn't I? I need to drive my truck to school tomorrow-friday, so I guess I can't do anything with it until next weekend. How hard is it to do an overhaul? Can I do it in 4 1/2 hours spread over 3 days? Then I could get credit for it in auto shop! Can I just go to the junkyard and get a new arm? Or is it better to just buy a new one? This sucks! Any idea on how I could have bent it?

does anyone have a pic of what it is supposed to look like? I might take you up on that steering arm offer. Just the shipping, right? Yes the  passenger's side, I will need to talk to my parents first. What all do I need to buy from Marlin to rebuild my knuckles? Is it common to bend the steering arms? I don't have another vehicle, and I have been driving it this way for atleast a week now, so should I just stop driving it and get a ride with friends, or should I keep driving it?

i dont think the arms  are bent at all i think  your upper trunion bearing have come apart  and are down inside  your knuckle somewhere

knuckles need to be rebuilt anyway (looks like they have a lot of sludge around em').  Does your tire lean?  I had a trunion bearing go out and it made the tire lean (top was moved toward the truck and the bottom was away).  A relatively quick check would be to jack up the passenger side, take off the steering arm, and look to see what kind of condition the bearing is in.  If it turns out to be the bearing I would definitly stop driving it because you never know where the pieces of the bearing are going...and you will never be able to align it if it is the bearing.

I looked at my friends 83 steering arm, and it looks the exact same, so I think I will skip the steering arm for now, but thanks alot for the offer. The tire has no play at all when jacked up, It is all nice and tight. As far as I can tell, the tire does not lean and is wearing evenly. I don't think I will be able to do anything with the truck until atleast the middle of the week, and I will be gone from the state next weekend, so I probably wont be able to do anything else for quite a while. My auto teacher may let me take it apart in auto and check everything out. I think I will wash the truck sometime this week so I can see everything better as well. Where is the trunion bearing located? On top of the knuckle? I guess I really need to go find my FSM and start looking through it. That may take a week by iteslf, haha. Well thanks everyone for their help! I will update when I find something out. Also, I am pretty sure the axle has never been taken apart. I bought the truck with 165,000 miles on it, and it had been sitting for a few years because the previous owner blew the engine (only a half quart of black sludge came out when I drained the engine). The truck doesn't appear like it has been abused, just not taken care of properly. On the plus side, the interior of the truck was in perfect condition! Ok enough of my typing, I have two papers to write for tomorrow. Thanks!

Edit: Should I be worried about those springs? I think I might go with OME springs if I can ever figure out where to get them and how hard they are to install. From what I have heard, they are awesome springs. I just want to do a mild lift to fit 33s. I was thinking 1 in. body lift and cut fenders, but if I go with the OME springs I wont have to do the body lift. How much lift would I get from the OME springs? 2 in.?

if you hear any noise coming from a bearing when you move the tire like that you should check it out.  I would say the bearing is toast...but if you get the rebuild kit it will come with those (and new races).  It will also fix those leaking knuckles you have.  To make sure, you can do what I was talking about...

A relatively quick check would be to jack up the passenger side, take off the steering arm, and look to see what kind of condition the bearing is in.  If it turns out to be the bearing I would definitly stop driving it because you never know where the pieces of the bearing are going...and you will never be able to align it if it is the bearing.

I did this same thing about 4 months before my bearing completely blew.  I noticed that the bearing was rusted but I didn't have the cash to replace it then.

no, you probably won't be able to really see the bearing very well through the knuckle (unless you are right on top of it with a light).  All the load will be off of the bearing...put your fingers down into the bearing and move it around and side to side.  If you feel any sort of jumping or if it "wiggles" a lot then it is probably toast (be careful because if it is completely toast you may loose a few bearings down into your knuckle...so just go slow...).  Also, look at the grease on your hands and see if it is brown or not (or even extremely black)...could be rusted if your knuckles are leaking and letting water in.  If you drive through a lot of water it would be a good idea to rebuild your axle (save water from getting in your knuckle and save the water from all the oil).  definitly try and get some springs too...looks like you could actually lift the front of your truck even with stock springs.

I am now sure that I am going to rebuild my knuckles, it just might take a few weeks, becuase I am gone next weekend on a trip. So maybe in a couple weeks I will be able to tear it down and rebuild it. I should probably buy the rebuild kt now, so I know that it will be here when I need it. I think I will get the rebuild kit w/ bearings, and some super seals. I think I might also buy the pull scale.


Where should I get NEW springs from? Or should I go with a small lift spring like the OME springs? Has anyone ran these springs? Thank you very much for helping me! I really appreciate it!

I actually would just try and get some used springs (but of course are still good).  Even used will still give you some lift (enough to notice when you look at your truck).  I have a buddy that I need to give a d-shaft back to.  I gave him an 83 and I will see if I can get the front springs for you if you want...they were still good.  I think older springs would be better because if you put more $ into new front springs you will want to lift the rear too (so you don't have that baja look to your truck).  But that is just me...I would put used springs on it and save for a good lift.

If it is your bearing then don't drive it.  

I have 33's (tsl) on my 79 with just a little bit of fender trimming.  Anyway, I will check on the springs...anybody know if they are the same or not?  I thought they were but I could be mistaken.

stock springs are negative arched.  and stock steering arms do bend.

OK. Driver's side is all torn apart, painted, and ready to be rebuilt. But I have a small problem. When I took my hub apart to paint it and put new grease in it, I lost a piece. This was the first time that I had torn a Toyota hub apart, so I didn't know that there was a small spring with a ball on the end of it inside the red knob. Well, I found the spring, but I can't findthe little ball. Is this ball really all that important?? Does anyone know what I am even talking about? If I do need it, can I get it from Toyota? Or will I have to go to a junkyard and buy a whole hub just for the little tiny ball that may not even be in there? Also, I was missing one of the cone washers for some reason. Where can a replacement cone washer be sourced from? Toyota? Please help!

Thanks

I know you can get cone washers from marlin.as for the ball,head down to junkyard