Steering stabilizer bar

[nuclearbeef]

I anticipate that as the rest of the suspension wears, this will get worse.


Did you happen to set your tires to 36 PSI before you installed the aftermarket stabilizer?

I set my tire pressures to 36psi all around on day 2 of ownership. It made a noticeable improvement.
Nothing like the improvement seen from removing the stabilizer.
I encourage you to remove yours and just drive around the neighborhood.
Removal takes 5 minutes. Impact and 18mm and 21mm (IIRC) sockets. Both nuts are welded, so just zip the bolts off and you're done.

 

[Cheshire cat]

Funny, but even though I am 100% happy with my steering I can feel myself getting excited at all the development prospects.

 

[Cheshire cat]

I set my tire pressures to 36psi all around on day 2 of ownership. It made a noticeable improvement.
Nothing like the improvement seen from removing the stabilizer.
I encourage you to remove yours and just drive around the neighborhood.
Removal takes 5 minutes. Impact and 18mm and 21mm (IIRC) sockets. Both nuts are welded, so just zip the bolts off and you're done.

Nuclearbeef
Are you able to assure me that if I do what you suggest, safety is not compromised? I know some companies have disconnect-able bars, so am assuming this would be OK?

 

[nuclearbeef]

Nuclearbeef
Are you able to assure me that if I do what you suggest, safety is not compromised? I know some companies have disconnect-able bars, so am assuming this would be OK?

No, I cannot guarantee any owner modifications from factory spec will not compromise safety.
Experiment at your own risk.
I am satisfied that in my own personal case, the risk is outweighed by the reward.

The disconnect-able bars are for the anit-roll bar (sway bar), not the steering stabilizer.

 

[Obxgrenadier]

Just did mine as well. Same assessment. Slightly “heavier” steering that holds to a line more easily, little bit better return, less buffering at speed in a cross-wind. Just more relaxed.

Had the fox steering dampener installed by the dealer and it is a HUGE improvement!! Highly recommend!

 

[anand]

Just did mine as well. Same assessment. Slightly “heavier” steering that holds to a line more easily, little bit better return, less buffering at speed in a cross-wind. Just more relaxed.

Interesting because all the dampers on the market are actually softer, which should result in a notably "lighter" steering on the roads

 

[Shopkeep]

So, the OMESD24 steering damper mentioned earlier in this thread is primarily designed for the Landcruiser 65/70/75/80. So any damper suited to this range of Landcruisers should be compatible?

 

[bradshow]

So, the OMESD24 steering damper mentioned earlier in this thread is primarily designed for the Landcruiser 65/70/75/80. So any damper suited to this range of Landcruisers should be compatible?

I’m not sure about that. I just know that is the OME that others have used and you might need some spacers. If you want a steering damper that will fit out of the box, I suggest getting the agile off-road Fox.

 

[nuclearbeef]

So, the OMESD24 steering damper mentioned earlier in this thread is primarily designed for the Landcruiser 65/70/75/80. So any damper suited to this range of Landcruisers should be compatible?

That's the assumption I made when I bought the Monroe unit.
I found it by going on Amazon and searching for the cheapest stabilizer for an 80 series.
Search pulled up the OMESD24 and the $40 Monroe unit.
If I knew how easy it would be to fit, I would have bought the OME. I thought I would wind up drilling, grinding and fabbing.
It fit perfectly with the spacers and some washers.
When the Monroe wears out, I'll replace with OME.

 

[Shorty]

This thread has me motivated to change the steering stabilizer in mine. I'm up to 17,000km and don't have a big issue with the steering, however I suspect I've gotten used to it and it would be nicer on the highway and around town with a softer stabilizer. If anyone in Australia has found local suppliers (OME) and tried this I'd be very interested to hear from them. Looks from what I can see that pricing would be as expensive for an OME stabilizer as ordering the Fox from Agile Offroad.

 

[Shopkeep]

This thread has me motivated to change the steering stabilizer in mine. I'm up to 17,000km and don't have a big issue with the steering, however I suspect I've gotten used to it and it would be nicer on the highway and around town with a softer stabilizer. If anyone in Australia has found local suppliers (OME) and tried this I'd be very interested to hear from them. Looks from what I can see that pricing would be as expensive for an OME stabilizer as ordering the Fox from Agile Offroad.

Hold tight, I will probably buy an Ironman 4x4 damper today (if they have stock) and fit it over the weekend. Will let you know how it goes. Even though they promote the OME as Aussie tough hard to find here at reasonable price.

 

[Davman]

Hold tight, I will probably buy an Ironman 4x4 damper today (if they have stock) and fit it over the weekend. Will let you know how it goes. Even though they promote the OME as Aussie tough hard to find here at reasonable price.

I just got a price for the OMESD24 at $230 plus fitment.

 

[Shopkeep]

Hold tight, I will probably buy an Ironman 4x4 damper today (if they have stock) and fit it over the weekend. Will let you know how it goes. Even though they promote the OME as Aussie tough hard to find here at reasonable price.

Picked up an Ironman 4x4 3524 damper today ($175 AUD, full retail but they had it in stock ready to go at their head office in Dandenong), need to get some some spacers/bushes/bearings plus some washers to make it fit correctly so won't get fitted this weekend (although might put it on temporarily and go for a fang around the block). Original Bilstein damper mounts are 14mm bore and 48mm wide, replacement mounts are 16mm bore and 36mm wide. The Bilstein damper is a beefy unit, it slowly extended out to its full length once removed. The Ironman unit is much easier to compress and holds where you compress it to so should be quite different in daily road use.

 

[Davman]

Picked up an Ironman 4x4 3524 damper today ($175 AUD, full retail but they had it in stock ready to go at their head office in Dandenong), need to get some some spacers/bushes/bearings plus some washers to make it fit correctly so won't get fitted this weekend (although might put it on temporarily and go for a fang around the block). Original Bilstein damper mounts are 14mm bore and 48mm wide, replacement mounts are 16mm bore and 36mm wide. The Bilstein damper is a beefy unit, it slowly extended out to its full length once removed. The Ironman unit is much easier to compress and holds where you compress it to so should be quite different in daily road use.

Excited to see and read about your build process. Please document the parts that you buy and the drivers experience.

 

[Shopkeep]

I felt that there might be a tendency to shimmy without a stabilizer.
To be fair, the slight shimmy occurred at high speed (75+mph) while accelerating, turning, and hitting a sizable bump in the concrete with only 1 of the front wheels.
Even then, the shimmy quickly reduced in intensity until it disappeared, maybe half a second after starting.

I don't know if there are any circumstances under which the shimmy would be divergent and develop into a "death wobble".
I can say that after installing the Monroe stabilizer (cheap version of OME), all tendencies to shimmy have disappeared while keeping 90% of the improvements seen without a stabilizer.

If my only 2 choices were factory stabilizer or no stabilizer, I'd run no stabilizer.

I can't emphasize enough, to anyone who has only run the factory stabilizer, what a total transformative joy it is to drive. There would be no comments on videos, forums or reviews regarding the steering of the Gren if they were delivered without steering stabilizers.
The quirky (poor?) steering characteristics are NOT inherent in the design of a "true offroad" system. They are NOT caused by recirculating balls or kingpins or solid front axles.
They are 100% a product of the factory steering stabilizer!

Followed the Beef’s lead here and tried it without the damper, as he says it’s a vast improvement and makes the steering feel “normal”. Returns to centre itself and far less fidgeting when driving straight. More feedback through steering wheel which is probably not what you want in this type of vehicle if not driving on smooth tarmac. There must be a reason Magna Steyr chose to fit such a heavy damper but not really what you want in light to medium use. Maybe done to cover heavy duty off-road usage or max velocity with big wobbly tyres on the autobahn???

I must add that I was not unhappy with the standard steering setup and thought maybe this was a case where the American market had different expectations and/or tolerances of the steering as they seem to be more concerned about the issue. I tried it more out of curiosity, but they are 100% right.

 

[Shopkeep]

Followed the Beef’s lead here and tried it without the damper, as he says it’s a vast improvement and makes the steering feel “normal”. Returns to centre itself and far less fidgeting when driving straight. More feedback through steering wheel which is probably not what you want in this type of vehicle if not driving on smooth tarmac. There must be a reason Magna Steyr chose to fit such a heavy damper but not really what you want in light to medium use. Maybe done to cover heavy duty off-road usage or max velocity with big wobbly tyres on the autobahn???

I must add that I was not unhappy with the standard steering setup and thought maybe this was a case where the American market had different expectations and/or tolerances of the steering as they seem to be more concerned about the issue. I tried it more out of curiosity, but they are 100% right.

Here's a vid of driving with steering damper removed:

 

[Cheshire cat]

Here's a vid of driving with steering damper removed:

Hi Shopkeep
Thanks for the video. Although I can drive my Grenadier using fingertips only, it does look like the steering returns slightly quicker than mine. Currently I am extremely happy with my steering however, it is tempting to try without the steering damper just to 'see' what the difference might be.

 

[Shopkeep]

Hi Shopkeep
Thanks for the video. Although I can drive my Grenadier using fingertips only, it does look like the steering returns slightly quicker than mine. Currently I am extremely happy with my steering however, it is tempting to try without the steering damper just to 'see' what the difference might be.

But did you see how dainty my white collar fingers are???

A decent impact driver, a 22mm & 18mm socket and five minutes of your time is all that lies between you and steering nirvana......and if you don't dig it just put it back on!

 

[Asanka]

Had the fox steering dampener installed by the dealer and it is a HUGE improvement!! Highly recommend!

Which one did you fit? pls share details of the improvement when possible?tks

 

[Cheshire cat]

But did you see how dainty my white collar fingers are???

A decent impact driver, a 22mm & 18mm socket and five minutes of your time is all that lies between you and steering nirvana......and if you don't dig it just put it back on!
View attachment 7858104

Hi Shopkeep
I did note the rather fetching sleeves.
I do have the technology to hand and will give it a go.