The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[Rollywinder1]

Hi.

Recently heard some knocking from the rear when going over bumps , on inspection I discoverd the Upper Control Arm Bracket was cracked due to corrosion, so seems it not possible to weld, will either need another rear axle (not going there) or bracket, which would have to be made. Anyone here have any experience of doing this ?....or know anyone that does.



Cheers.

[Google]

[modvrs]

They're usually patchable, I did mine last year with some 3mm flat plate I had laying around and I'm far from a competent welder. There are some pictures on here somewhere in one of the rust threads. I've seen pictures of completely disintegrated towers being made up from scratch too although presumably it's harder to get the geometry right if there's not much left. Mine were just cracked.

New axles are nice although availability from Milners and Roughtrax seems poorer than it once was and of course they're not cheap.
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1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado 3.4VX

[Rollywinder1]

.

unfortunately, mines total rot, with a big chunk missing from it, otherwise and as yourself, would be a relatively easy job, but sadly....am in need of a complete new bracket.
This last year i've spent on her, thinking she was going to be without problems for a good while, then this, scuppered by a bit of metal  
As said, am not going for another Axle, more expense, time, potential other problems, and as you mentioned, finding one in good order, so , it's the bracket or nothing.

Cheers modvrs.

[locodriver65]

Sorry to hear of your problems.

I had the same problem myself. I replaced the axle casing  (I got it from Milners) I keep my LC in tip top condition so it was the only way to go for me. NOT cheap but solves the problem for the next 25 years.


Good Luck

Paul

[modvrs]

The first two pictures are of the far gone one I saw repaired on here a while back (not my pictures)

The last one is a company in Norway fabricating replacement parts for the axle https://elstadfabrication.no, maybe worth checking out depending on the overall condition of the axle.








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1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado 3.4VX

[Rollywinder1]

thanks for the replies.

locodriver. how bad was your bracket ? looking at the images posted by modvrs, mine looks healthier than that,though an opinion I was given told me it couldn't be done.
I'll give it another look over the weekend, if I find it to better than advised, then regardless, i'll try for the weld, whats there to lose.

modvrs, greatly appreciate your help, that Norway shop is a Very interesting alternative  

[modvrs]

Found some pictures of mine at last, but I didn't take many at the time as my main job was welding the chassis rails. Just happened to notice the turrets needed doing at the time. There were some cracks along the sides as well as the blown out bit on the back but the metal was thick enough to weld, I just cut a rectangular patch for the back which you may just be able to see in the pic from the MOT test. The steel brake pipes fell to bits on disassembly hence the new copper jobs from a Millners kit.




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1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado 3.4VX

[locodriver65]

Hi again
My turrets were very thin with some cracks.

I had been keeping my eye on them for about two years treating them to a dose of wax oil from time to time. In the end my MOT man said it was time to do something.

The idea was to repair the area required. It was decided to remove the axle to do a good job. It would be very difficult to weld the turrets without removing the axle. In the end a new axle case was available so I decided to do a much better job.

I have some pictures but I unable to upload them.

Regards

Paul

[DaveWall]

Its because the two little drain holes at the back get blocked... if you weld a new plate on... make sure you put a moisture relief hole in the lowest part of the rear plate.... I bang a nail through mine each time I grease the prop to make sure its clear...

[Tractionman]

Or better still, drill them out bigger, they are only just big enough to let drips of plain water out, but couple this with all the *beep* thrown up, flakes of rust etc, they block all too easily.

[MisterCruiser]

I had to get this done on my 90 too, my mate welded them up for me, I removed the axle to give us better access.

Them new fabricated "towers" brackets from that Norway crowd look the part. I'd get them, I wonder if they have other LC parts fabricated, chassis sections, mounts, etc,,  must have a browse.