IFS chassis flex at steering box

[Drifter X]

Hi All

I encountered a strange issue on my 2003 hilux kzte a few weeks ago, I noticed a very small crack at the bottom of the chassis where the steering box mounts. I had this repaired and realised that the reason for the crack was potentially due to the bottom fastening bolt of the steering box being a bit loose which allowed some movement when steering. With everything now repaired and properly fastened I noticed that when moving steering left and right the steering box actually creates some flex on the actual chassis where it is mounted. I am not sure if this is normal or whether this part of the chassis has become slightly weakened. I am aware that the chassis is meant to flex to a certain extent but my understanding was that there should be no flex at an actual mounting. Any advice from the seasoned gurus would be welcome.

[Mud Dog]

I would also think that the chassis should not flex (I assume you mean a twisting motion) from the steering action of the box. I wonder if there's not another crack further back in the chassis that you haven't seen.

[Drifter X]

Yes I mean twisting motion. It's a very small movement. I have checked no other cracks so so I'm a bit confused...

[Mud Dog]

There is normally a brace between the ends of the rails which will minimise twist. Is that still there?

[Drifter X]

Yes it is.

[Mud Dog]

Something is not right, there should be little or no twisting. What tyre size and tread width are you running? I'm thinking that besides the possibility of damage, there must be some reason like steering resistance that exacerbates the problem. (I'm still not convinced that there isn't something wrong with the chassis).

[Drifter X]

Hi Mud dog. I am running bigger tyres. Tread is all terrain so not too aggressive. Going to do a more in depth inspection of the chassis this afternoon.