The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1972 chevy c50 front axle maintenance.....

Hello, I'm finally getting new single piece tubeless type rims and getting new tires for the widow maker replacements and figured since I'm getting new tires I should probably check some other front end parts as well before I wear these new tires badly. I did just replace the front shocks pretty recent and that made the log wagon feel loosen up a tad bit, and speaking of loose I have the manual steering in my truck and my steering wheel has a bit of play in it as well(the grandma 10 n 2 back and forth driving) and wondering if tie rods are due cuz I havnt changed them and would anyone know part numbers? Thanks mike

Try adjusting your steering box first. Search, lots of info here on how to do it.

Don't just look here, read your shop manual about how to adjust it.

After you adjust the steering gear, jack up the front to get the wheels off the ground. Grab the tires one hand on each side & push & pull on the wheel both vetically & horizontally. There should be no free play in the linkage. A small amount in the kingpins is acceptable. Get underneath & grab the tie rod near the ends & pull up & down. There should be no play in either one. Same goes for the drag link. If you do a search you may find ways to check the toe-in. If you can't do it yourself have an alignment shop do it. Nothing effects tie wear & handling like proper toe-in

George

Gotchya thanks for the info and pointers. I'll check the steering box adjustment in my manual tonight and maybe tinker with it tomorrow once I finish up splitting fire wood. Gonna be picking up the new rims with new tires tomorrow, super excited for that.... brand new rims and tires on the 72 c50!!! and soon to have brand new all the way around once my wallet can afford the 4 rears lol

Get a friend to move the steering from left to right while you watch from underneath, you will be able to see what is worn beyond limits and needs to be replaced.

Ed

Mechanic Mike,
I have a '54 4400 that I tried adjusting the steering on to get rid of the play. Nothing was working. I found Midwest Remanufacturing and gave them a call. The owner was very knowledgeable and rebuilt mine for what I thought was a reasonable price since I didn't want to tear it open myself. He repainted it too. Looks and feels brand new now. He's right outside Chicago by Midway Airport.

http://www.pwrsteering.com/

So I got the new rims and tires on the front of the truck and it looks nice, it gave the truck 2-3" more ground clearance in front and once i get the rears probably give me room back there too. The new tires I got are also about 2" wider then the old tires that were on the widowmakers which makes it look tougher lol, but also more tread surface making it less likely to sink in soft ground and maybe stop a lil better not sure on that tho. But my driver side drum brake was tighter then passenger so I adjusted that, makes sense now why it pulled to left a bit when i hit brakes hard. But my passenger "king pin" i think is what it's called, has minor amount of play and the tie rods seem tight but arnt very pretty that's for sure. So since I just got new tires for it, should i make a move on the issues I explained?.?.?. And I havnt messed with steering yet as we just got a cold snap and the tires took enough of my time getting on Haha. I do have to say changing tires on a big rig vs. Daily driver is a HUGE differance, and my back agrees. Maybe once we get another warm day I'll check the steering adjustment....

Ed, I'll definitely try that out. Might show me more wear with the weight on the parts...

Ticket man, how much did they charge to rebuild it? And thanks for the resource, it's kinda far as I'm at the bottom of illinois but I do have family up that way so maybe if I need to do that I can plan a trip there along with family gathering...

Mike,

Since you live in the rust belt, it might be worthwhile to find any nuts and bolts and oil them profusely to let the oil soak in for a while, in case you need to take them apart later in your project.

Ed

Yeah everything I've taken apart so far, which is a decent amount, I have cleaned it up nicely for future fixes.... cuz as you stated i do live in the rust belt and would like it to last as long as possible. it's a great truck and in pretty decent shape becides the driver corner panel previous owner wrinkled it decently. And the driver floor has one rust hole thru it about the size of a quarter and I'm actually planning to search for some replacement floor pans and soon gonna sand blast frame and repaint it soon cuz since I've owned it I have cleaned alot of the built up grease off of frame which has opened it up to rust. But yeah I mainly use it for hauling rock in to our farm and it has alot more to do.... but back to the main issue, the play in front end, so is the king pins and tie rods the only thing controlling the alignment of front end that can get play in it and cause tire wear? And if so any good resources to find replacements? Thanks mike

So I finally found my manuals for the truck.... been doing alot of tractor maintenance and had those out and for the life of me couldn't find the truck manuals cuz I havnt had to work on it in so long Haha but all good things come to an end. Anyway the shop manual shows there are two options for king pins: (f050)5000#,(f055)5500#,and (f070)7000# axles / (f090)9000# and (f120)12000# axles. So my question is does anyone know part numbers for these two king pin options for the 63-72 medium duty truck axles? Reason I want both numbers is I have another front axle which I believe to be a heavier duty one then what is one my truck and eventually would like to swap it out because one its thicker axle and two it has the wider front brakes for more stopping power with loads. But for the time I'd like to just get the pins for the axle on my truck so I dont shred threw these new tires. Thanks Mike

So actually there are 4 different length sizes of king pins, (f050&f055)6 23/64"(f070)7 57/64"(f090)8 3/4"(f120)9 3/4". Does anyone know part numbers for these different sizes of king pins? Thanks mike

HY DIY.MechanicMike, My Euclid catalog only lists only two different kingpin possibilities for a 1972 C50 the 5000 lb. front axle GM p/n 3927942 which is Euclid p/n E-4444B Napa p/n NCP2621472 $76.49 online price. The 7000 lb. front axle GM p/n 3927943 Euclid p/n E-4443B Napa p/n NCP2621017010 $165.99, NCP2621473 $92.99, TWD HKP27.35 $69.99, TWD HKP2080 $76.49 those Napa p/ns represent at least two different product lines, but confirm that they will fit the axle you have, hope that helps.

Hey thanks alot for the part numbers. I'm gonna measure mine to be sure which is which but I'll be able to find the right one easier now. Thanks mike

Mike,

I just saw this and apologize. It was about $300 plus tax for the steering box. It was worth it to me because I could not find a new one anywhere. Like I said, He did a great job. He took over the business from his dad so knows a bunch of the old school stuff.