Something that I should have put on a year ago when I did my 35″ tires…..but just never got around to it…..a steering box brace. There are several on the market. I stopped by the local 4×4 shop and spoke with my friend (Barry) behind the counter. He said they had good luck with the Tomken model. I asked if anyone had come back to the shop and complained about the fit, etc., and he assured me none had. With that bit of info, I laid down my money and took one home.
This install is about as much of a no brainer as they get. Two bolts to install it and you are 90% of the way done. But….I am getting ahead of myself. So, lets take a look at what I did.
Not much to it. A brace, a bag of hardware, and the instructions.
One end of the brace will be tightened around the bottom of the steering box. There are a pair of cast marks on the box (where the molds came together). Tomken recommends that you file these casting marks so that the brace will fit cleanly around the bottom of the steering box.
The other end of the brace fits in an existing hole up under the radiator. I had a little trouble getting the bolt through this end of the brace. I noticed that there was a bit too much powder coat in the hole. A round file easily took a bit of it out and the bolt fit just fine.
The steering brace, installed and the bolts properly tightened. Pretty easy, eah? (by the way…the cow bell is NOT included with the steering brace!) Not much else left to say. The brace is on…. I think it took about 3 minutes (including my finding the round file).