Bill/John;
Roger. I went to look for replacements at NAPA and a couple of other places yesterday. Nobody had them in stock and the best price I could get for a full set for both sides was $190. My intent was to simply replace them and not have to worry about it.
Based on my experience at the FLAPS I decided to do an inspection of the ones I had. I pulled the hubs apart and looked at the bearings. The bearings themselves looked good. No broken pieces or worn/chipped balls. I was kind of surprised by the state of things. The grease was a little thin. I cleaned them out as best I could and packed a bunch of new grease in them. I reassembled the hubs and torqued the castle nuts to 33 pounds as instructed in the shop manual.
That solved my bearing wiggle/knock problem. They spin free and true and there is no play in the bearings anymore. The passenger side is solid all around. The drivers side still has a little play in it. From what I can tell it is in the king pin.
I'm going to classic truck parts this morning to pick up a king pin replacement set and a set of tie rod ends. I'll be back in the shop manual this afternoon trying to figure that process out.
As always, any helpful hints on king pin/tie rod replacement will be greatly appreciated.
