Question about spacers, neg offset, spindle, off road, and tie rods.

I am conflicted over weather to run some wheel spacers with 33" m/t class e. Worried about the structural degradation on the spindle and tie rods. I am pretty controlled off road and not throttle heavy. Wondering if anyone has an opinion on what kind of added stress an -22 offset would do the aforementioned components? Not rock crawling or racing through the dessert just mud, hills, dips and washout. I like the look and the way it drives with the negative offset just wondering about the added stress.

 

You are correct, wheel spacers can add additional stress to components.

 

Had wheel bearing failure within 10k miles running 1.25" spacers. Do not recommend.

 

How many miles total on the bearings when they went bad?

 

The same is true with wheels that poke more than stock. I don’t think it’s going to lead to automatic failures down the line, but it’s fair to say components like bearings will probably wear marginally faster in normal street driving.

I suspect that offset will make you more likely to break stuff when on crawly type situations, or if driving fast off road. By having your wheels out further, outside forces caused by rocks and holes in the terrain have more leverage over steering components. It’s a good habit to hold on the wheel tightly in bumpy terrain, more so with spacers or wheels with negative offset. If the steering wheel gets wrenched out of your hands, I’d bet the leverage results more potential damage to steering components like tie rods, steering rack, or power steering pump.

 

Well, now that I look at it, 165K. But odd that they went such a short time after the spacer install. And, after I installed the new bearings (OEM) I started to hear humming noise coming from the front end. Took the spacers off, purchased new wheels with the correct offset, no more humming. So, I'm going with the spacers added stress to the wheel bearings by creating a fulcrum between the wheel and the bearing. I know it could be argued that the wheel offset does the same thing, but I think the face of the rotor/bearing mated directly to the wheel lessens the stress on the bearing. I can't mathematically prove it, but maybe someone else can... I went from an 18x9 with a +25 offset with the spacers, to an 18x9 with a -12 offset.

 

I think it’s reasonable that spacers could affect bearing that are already worn in with that many miles, more than they would newer bearings.

 

Do not hold the wheel with you thumbs inside the wheel when off-road. If something turns your front wheels with enough force, it’ll result in injury.

 

You'll have 33" tires steering over a 22mm (almost an inch) wider arc. I'm assuming you've done the cab mount chop and pinch weld hammering to clear the wider arc?

 

Yes I have BMC, and hammered down my pinch welds.

 

^Then feel free to experiment. Spindle and tie rods don't see that much additional stress with the lower offset, and you can always reinforce them - spindle gussets, tie rod sleeves, etc.

Wheel bearing forces are higher so bearing life is reduced, but it's just one of several factors reducing bearing life. If you drive through deep water or mud, bearing life is reduced too. When purely street-driven, wheel bearings last a long time - my 4Runner with almost 148k miles is on its original wheel bearings. So it isn't a big deal even if life is cut by, say 70%.

SKF hub/bearing assy is $97: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=12676781&cc=1445180&pt=1636&jsn=434

 

That's what I was thinking. I was mainly just worried about sudden catastrophic damage on the trail and being in a remote location. I know that could happen with or with out spacers being run but I was hoping it would be a more of a gradual onset type of damage with signs of failures beforehand. When something is beginning to wear out I am more than willing to replace the part with oem or better after market parts. Sounds like the stresses incurred with a quality 1.5" hub centric spacer should show signs of mechanical failure in advance of instant breakage (hopefully lol). I was wanting to increase my tires width to a floatation size such as 33" 12.5 17" from a plain 285 70 17 to do that I would need the spacers for my uca to clear. BMC is already done.

 

the one thing I noticed going to 285/70-17 was the steering effort increased. Which stresses out the pump. My power steering oil got super hot in extended slow crawly trails this summer, and I could kinda feel the pump get a little lazy. Unless I let things cool down a little. So with wider tires and spacers you might need to be more gentle with what you ask of the pump, to try to keep things cool..

 

^Add a power steering cooler if you begin to get steering fade. 3rd gen Tacomas has a two-row cooler from the factory, as one of the enhancements over 2nd gen Tacomas. It's however located in an inconveniently low spot, interfering with winch bumper installations.

You'll be fine. In my experience, wheel bearings on these rigs don't suffer catastrophic failure without warning. You get a groaning noise (like the sound effect before a dragon shoots fire in Game of Thrones) at boulevard speeds well before any physical slop develops, giving you a few hundred miles of driving to get home.

 

A PS cooler should probably be on my list.

I’m curious what you or anyone else thinks, is overheated PS fluid the primary cause of what kills PS pumps on Toyotas? In other words, if I can keep it cool, would that make the pump sufficient to take the loads of slightly upsized tires?

 

^Usually the steering rack shits the bed before the pump does. That's why the shortened Tundra rack swap is gaining popularity when upsizing tires. A couple of years ago you had to pull the front diff and weld new mounts into the frame. Now it's all plug-&-play: https://toyo-steering.com/products/5th-gen-4runner-tundra-kit

 

What’s the failure point on the stock rack? Does the rack fail due to overheated fluid, or is it something mechanical that falls apart?

 

^Usually the fluid leaks out of the rack ends and you lose power steering assist.

 

Well I went ahead and put the spacers back on with blue lock tight. Also finished my BMC on the passenger side,cleaned the throttle body, and greased the drive line. I do like the ride on slightly wider stance.

 

I think a contributing factor to power steering failures is people don’t do regular fluid flush’s. Contaminated (dirty) fluids can cause seal failures.

 

^Several contributing factors. Not changing fluid. Using low viscosity fluid. Water can collect in the steering rack boots and cause rust on the output shaft, which in turn chews up the seals.

 

I use the transmission fluid specified in the manual for the power steering system. Are there other compatible fluid options that are higher viscosity that are better in heavy use situations?

 

^No. Dexron 3 per the manual is the correct fluid. Some people put Dexron 6, Valvoline Max-Life, etc. which are lower viscosity and may lead to leaks.

 

Are fluid flushes snake oil / are the benefits controversial? Or are they always good

 

I’m not a doctor, but isn’t that kinda like asking if kidneys are needed.

It’s about removing abrasive contaminate’s from the system.

 

Generally, sure, but I've heard some ppl say engine oil flushes aren't needed but oil change shops push them cuz they certainly bring in money

 

True, seems that if it was a big problem, they would have incorporated a filtering system.

 

Back to offset for a minute......

Are those with Pro wheels going through wheel bearings faster than those with stock SR5 and Offroad wheels? I seriously doubt it.

 

Great point.