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| | | | Joined: May 2005 Posts: 235 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: May 2005 Posts: 235 | I had a near miss the other day. Hit a pot hole in the road that took the steering away from me and I over compensated with the loose steering and spooked all the cars around me. Fitting the week of Halloween.
I bought King Pins months ago from NAPA and set about to pull them in truck but had no luck.
I pulled the axle and I swear I marked the right and left side but now with paint on I can't find the darn mark.
Before I put the wrong spindle on the wrong side can someone tell me if there is a right and left to the 1 ton axles? The only difference I see is a small 1/4 inch hole on the spring pad. I'm guessing that's to hold the caster shims (there weren't any in my truck) and should go to the back.
I'm putting stuff together today including new tie rod ends, straighten the dog leg in the tie rod and a new Drag link that I made from modern tie rod ends and a center section.
Any help would be grreat.
Thanks, Jeremy
| | | | | Joined: May 2005 Posts: 235 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: May 2005 Posts: 235 | nevermind... i figured it out. the king pin bolts go to the back. duh... | | | | | Joined: May 2005 Posts: 8,878 . | | . Joined: May 2005 Posts: 8,878 | The big clue is the springs are closer together at the front than the back, so the bolt hole pattern in the pads on the axle is angled. You won't be able to bolt it to the springs if it's backward.
Left and right spindle should be interchangeable.
Put the tie rod on the back side of the axle.
Don't forget to use new U-bolts. It's not recommended or safe to reuse old ones.
Grigg | | | | | Joined: May 2005 Posts: 235 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: May 2005 Posts: 235 | Don't forget to use new U-bolts. It's not recommended or safe to reuse old ones.
Grigg I didn't know that. are they designed to be torqued once? Any advice for shocks? That king pin kit we located through NAPA seems to be the right one. Thanks for the help there. I am amazed at how much crud was on the axle and everything else. Not to mention the dog leg in the tie rod. Straightening it is proving entertaining. I suspect it doesn't =have to be as straight as Motorcycle fork tubes which I straighten often enough but it will be considerably straighter when finished. If a left hand tap wasn't so expensive I'd have made my own out of Chromoly.  Big fun on a 1 ton! Jeremy | | | | | Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 255 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 255 | Hey Wrench? What did you use for tie-rod ends? The typical old chevy sites don't list anything for the 1-tons, is there a modern style that fits nicely?
I have a 1950 3800, and the old joints look more arthritic than Abe Vigoda's knees.
Thanks | | | | | Joined: May 2005 Posts: 235 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: May 2005 Posts: 235 | I got mine at NAPA. They had to order them in.
They look just like the originals.
It took them 4 tries to get the LEFT one as they were mis boxed at the factory. Yeah that was amusing.
I used standard tie rod ends with a 4" adjusting section for the drag link.
Had to have the hole in the control arm welded up, and drilled and both the pitman arm and the control arm reamed with a 7 degree tapered ream. I wasn't going to buy the ream for one job.
Jeremy | | |
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