The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Front wheel bearings?

I removed the front drums to get the axel ready for sandblasting last night and I'm starting get into some uncharted territory. Meanining areas of a vehicle I'm really not comfortable working on because I never worked on this sorta thing before. When I removed the spindle nut, theres a wheel bearing behind it. Can I tell just by looking at it if the bearing is still good? Also the same question goes for the wheel seal and anything else that may be in there. Like I said, I just removed the drums last night and never had a chance to clean out the grease so there may be more things in there to call attention to that I haven't mentioned.
Also, the king pins and tie rod ends. Luckily Jim Carter sells replacements for the 2-ton trucks. Is it nessecary to replace those items as well after I take them off the axel? Or can I reuse the old ones?

Thanks in advance...
~Ron

king pins and tie rod ends can be re-used if they're still good but atleast for tie rod ends everything has to be assembled to check them out kings pins i'm not fimiliar with just yet. As for the wheel bearings clean them out real good with a good solovent and blow dry them off (DO NOT ALLOW BEARING TO SPIN WHEN BLOW DRYING IT, the bearing might explode) then just hold the wheel bearing and rotate it slowly and play close attention to how smooth it rolls, then look at each roller carefully to make sure there is no pitting or spauling (metal flakes off) and you'll want to look at the inner part of the wheel bearing, hold it up to a light with the wider end facing you and look between two rollers at the inner part of the bearing and slowly rotate the inner part of the bearing (this is where a good cleaning counts) as for the races, clean out the hub real good and check the races over check for the same stuff as you would a bearing pitting, spauling, and just run your finger over it for smoothness, if you replace a bearing you have to replace the race also, and for the wheel seals usually each time you take the hub off its a good idea to replace the seal cause most of the time it gets damage when you take the hub off unless your careful and the seal is realativly new, otherwise old seal just replace it, cause if it leaks then you have gease all over your breaks

Nate

OldIron described the bearing cleaning and inspection pretty well. The only point I would add is to pack the bearings thoroughly when you re-install them- don't just smear grease on the outside of the bearing. With roller bearings, that process is messy and takes some effort: take a handful of grease in the palm of one hand, then push the big end of the bearing into the grease until it squishes out the other end of the beaing. Then smear a layer of grease on the outside of the bearing. Its easier with ball bearings- you just fill the cage from the inside until grease squishes to the outside of the bearing. Then smear a layer of grease on the outside as well. In either case, too much is better than too little, but you don't need to fill the hub with grease. Alternately, you can buy a bearing packer and use a grease gun to grease the bearings- but there is less intimacy that way. Either way, use wheel bearing grease, not chassis grease.

I would plan to replace the king pins and bushings, since you are cleaning up the axle. Are you planning to remove the axle from the truck, or clean it where it is? Are you planning to refinish the axle? If not, I would leave it as it is.

You need a tie-rod fork (pickle fork) to remove the tie rod end from the spindle, but in doing so, you will damage the grease cover on the tie rod end. Those can usually be replaced separately. If there is any doubt about the integrity of the tie rod ends, I would replace them. Its cheap insurance. Then you have to adjust the toe-in, so if you remove the tie rod ends, count the turns needed to remove them, then install the new ones with the same number of turns. You should still reset the toe. More on that process if you need it.

Harvester

The easiest way to check whether your kingpins are worn is to jack up the front axle and grab the top of the tire, now pull it back and forth. You should have VERY little to no movement. If you can feel it move slightly you should replace them.

Jeff

Man this is great info! The axle is removed from the truck and is right now sitting on floor jacks with the wheels off. The leaf springs, U-bolts are off. The tie rod is still attached. Plans are to remove everything, sandblast, paint and reattach. I haven't removed the king pins yet. Is there anything in the front suspension that needs to be pressed back on to put back together? Also, my tie rod isn't perfectly straight. Has a few waves on the one end but not real bad. Is this of some concern? If so, can I straighten it myself with a BFH?

Thanks...
~Ron

mummdogg, yes to what rustednuts says about movement in the spindle; but your wheels are off, so you may not get the movement in the pins that you would get with the wheels on. With that, you may conclude that the king pins are in satisfactory condition, when they may not be. Next, no, there is nothing that needs to be pressed together for assembly, except wheel bearing races into the hub if you need to replace them. You can drive those in with either a bearing driver or a punch, just go lightly and evenly around the race as you drive it in. On the tie rod questions, yes and no: Yes, it is a concern, and No, you can't straighten it. Replace the tie rod and ends. There is too much importance to those parts to risk taking shortcuts. The same goes for the drag link, although those sometimes can be repaired, but not straightened if bent. For perspective, remember that those parts, along with others, keep the front wheels pointed where you want them to point- so don't take short cuts- if I might repeat myself.

On the king pins, there is a retaining pin that needs to be removed before you can get the pins out of the axle. Even with that out, sometimes the pins are stuck in the axle. You might have to have them pressed out, although you may be able to find a shop with a king pin press that attaches to the axle/spindle and pushes the pins out. Most any truck shop probably can help you with the king pins if you need help getting them out- they don't come out easily, even with the lock pin removed. Putting the new ones in is no trouble, but the new bushings may have to be honed to fit- check with the supplier on that point. An automotive machine shop should be able to do that without trouble if honing is necessary. When you put everything back together, make sure you align the lock pin flat on the KP with the lock pin shaft, and don't forget to install the lock pin. The lock pin is usually a tapered pin, threaded on one end, with a nut and lockwasher to hold it all together. And don't forget to grease the new pins when all is back together.

Harvester

Ron,

Just for clarity, the bushings referred to by Harvester are in the spindle. Don't put on your spectacles and hunt for them in the axle eye..or was that obvious?

Stuart

Yes, that's correct.

Harvester

On the 1.5 and up the bushings that come with the kingpin kit will have to be pressed in and reamed out. Check the tolerance in your axle with your new kingpin as well, it should be a fit tight enough that the pin should not fall through but be able to push through easily.

Once again...great info! I have (2) shop manuals for this truck and they really pulled through for me so far until now. There really isn't any good pictures with expanded views showing details of the suspension. Theres some text on it a little bit but I'm a picture guy. Are there any resourses out there (hardcopy or digital) showing the inner workings for suspensions? With what you guys are telling me so far...I can't wait to work on it tonight and this weekend.

Thanks again...
the "DOG"

Ron,

Your shop manual probably has these pix, but in the Tech-Tips section there are some great cut-aways of the spindle/kingpin area and all its related bushings, bearing and doo-dads.

Stuart

I just finished doing this on my 46 1 Ton. Someone else on here is into this as well. Check out the tech tip section for some guidance and pictures. Agree with all that has been said so far. You should also check your spring shackles and spring bolts. There are bushings that will wear in both of thos places too. If your spring have horizontal movement that is a problem you can fix easily with the axle off.

Everything on this component affects the wear on other parts. So check everything for wear and movement. When it is all together again get an alignment to make things perfect.

Hi Ron... Everything they have said is spot on. I might add one thing though. When installing the wheel bearing races, if you do so, a piece of brass rod makes an excellent punch for this, as the brass is soft enough to prevent damage to the bearing race, while solid enough to successfully drive thee races in.

Hi Ron. Your drag link is adjustable, but check the spring in it to make sure it is not broken. Rebuild kits are available quite cheap. Just picked up a '48 Loadmaster out of Montana in March with absolutely NO rust and 18,000 original miles. Picked it up it WA, jumped in, turned the key, started it, and on my way back to BC without a hitch. Even 60 year old tires on the front!! Absoleultey orginal, no resto. Came through a snowstorm in Seattle for an hour and the heater kept it warm and windows defrosted and vaccuum wipers kept the window clear. I am amazed at this truck. Because it has to be inspected in BC for insurance I replaced king pins and tie rods although they were only slightly worn. The truck is solid, I have POR15 the frame and undercoated the cab because of the coastal weather we have here and am painting the inside of the cab. Am going to send in pictures soon to share this find. Enjoy your truck, I know I am. The dump will come in handy, too. Thanks.

I got the tie rod off last night. Jim Carter sells tie rods, but from what their website shows, they only sell tie rods 43 1/4". Mine is 47 1/2". Anyone know where I can get one at that length? Doesn't look like its much to it. Just a pipe with threaded ends for the tie rod ends.

Also, I was trying to remove the backing plate off as well. I was removing the (4) bolts and (3) of em came easily and the other bolt was a bear to get out. Was the last bolt pressed in for some reason? Or was it just a typical hard bolt to remove?

Another question. I also removed the drum with the hub still attached to the drum. If I take off the nuts holding the hub to the drum, will the hub come off? I did that and the hub won't budge!

Thanks again!

I think I have what you need. It measures 50 " from the tie rod end to tie rod end. I am guessing when you take the ends off it will work for you. The ends are the ball type and one end is clipped off. The rod itself looks straight. You can have it for the cost of shipping.

Mike...That would be great! Just to verify the measurements on your tie rod. The 47 1/2" I measured on my tie rod is just the tie rod itself. If I remove the tie rod ends and have the rod only with nothing on the ends it measures 47 1/2". If yours measures similar to that without the tie rod ends, I'll take it! Also, the outside diameter of mine measures 1 1/4". I haven't taken the ends off yet so I really couldn't give ya an exact measurement of the inside diameter.

If I could mention the other question again pertaining to the bolt that was difficult to remove on the backing plate. I sure hope I didn't mess up anything. The bolt is out but I had to use a BFH to do it. Please tell me I didn't screw up!

Thanks...
~Ron

Ron I think you got lucky! I recently pulled a set apart and a few of the bolts came out with very little effort. The others werent so lucky and I ended up beating the crap out of them with a hammer to get them free. Needless to say new bolts are in order since these are now mangled... Both sides were different as to how easy they came out and I imagine it has more to do with dirt and kickup from the road over the years making them bind in the holes. Keep that BFH handy!

Jeff

I will dig it out again on Monday and take the ends off and let you know.

I just pulled the tie rod ends off and measured. From threaded end to threaded end it is 43 3/4. So it doesn't look like it will meet your needs. I apologize for the false alarm.

Mike

That's no problem Mike, thanks for checking for me.

I did manage to get the backing plates off both sides last night. Had to do the same thing with the same bolt on the other side though with the BFH!

Is there a trick to removing the hub from the drum? Haven't used the infamous BFH on it yet, just wondering if that's what it takes? Or is there some finesse I'm overlooking? I'd hate to beat the snot out of this thing and end up breaking something cause it's getting harder to find front end parts for these bigger trucks.

Thanks,
~Ron

I believe there are several rivets or pins, or something like that, that keep the hubs and drums together. Im imagining you could grind them off or drill them out. Its been awhile since I had the front end apart so forgive my memory...

Jeff

There are two flathead screws that hold the drum to the hub. Take a wire brush or wheel and clean the areas between the lugs and you will find them. You will need a very wide screw drives to get them out. I had to use a punch to tap them loose.

As far as the bolts go, I used a propane torch to heat the frozen nuts to break them loose. I also wire brush the exposed threads, clean them up as much as possible and apply PB Blaster before trying to remove the frozen nut..

Mike Ive never seen the screws on the front, only the rears. Whats your vehicle?

These were on both my 46 and 52 1 Tons. Many times they are missing, I don't see much need for them anyway. I am sure there is but I don't what it is.

Harvester...You weren't kiddin' when you said the king pins can be difficult to remove. I have the front axle now sitting on jack stands with everything off except the king pins holding the spindles. I printed out the spindle/king pin removal from the tech tips section "atomarc" mentioned, which is very cool by the way. It showed removal and installation for 1/2-1 1/2 tons but not 2-tons, but very simillar. It showed first removing the retainer clip and cap on each end of the king pin. Mine didn't have a retainer clip but it did have the caps. Was able to remove the caps, locking pin and nut. I'm thinking, "OK, this should come out now". No chance! I'll see if a buddy of mine has a press to do it for me. He has a garage servicing garbage trucks.

As for the hub on the drum, I still can't get those puppies off. With the hub on the drum, it creates a cavity full of grease that would be difficult to remove the old grease and replace with new. Can I still remove all the races and seals with the hub still attached? I guess that was my main concern.

Thanks...

You can remove all the stuff from the hubs while the drum is still attached, its just a little awkward due to the weight. As Mike said above, his had screws. I remember mine had some type of rivet or clip fastened through to hold the drum to hub. There really isnt any reason to need them attached as the wheels will hold the drum on when the lugs are put on, just make sure everything is lined up on reassembly.

Jeff