front end

[hammer1]

I see lots and lots of posts here, talking about all sorts of front end issues...tie rods...knuckles..ect.
my truck is 22 years old, and as far as i know, no major front end work was ever recorded ( i have lots of record from the PO's)
i have lifted the front end when i did the suspension, and nothing seems loose. tires dont wobble, no play in the steering.
at 214k, should i be looking for anything?
thanks
hammer

 

[tpattyII]

i am in the process of lifting my 83 60 and will also do a front end rebuild...rods knuckles etc. ive only ever driven one 60 in my life so i can only tell you what i experience in my ride. more or less its loose as all get out. you can turn the steering wheel a good 1/4 turn each way and nothing happens, you can hit a pot hole and there is no telling where it is going to go and when you turn around a sharp bend the nose wants to dive to the outside of the turn. like i said...ive only driven my 60...so this may be completly normal, or far from it. my rig has just under 300,000 miles on it...so if it were my guess, id say its time to freshen up a few parts on the front end. good luck

 

[Mace]

that is far from normal.. THere should not be any real play in the steering wheel.


You need new tie rod ends..

And probably a knuckle service as I said in your other thread

Hammer, if your knuckles weep grease on the inside of your tires you need to rebuild the knuckles. Just short of that you might want to think about repacking the birfields as well. 200K without new grease does not sound good to me.

It is cheap, easy and good piece of mind

 

[soggy60]

( get a friend to help...)

Knuckle test:
1. as others have said : weeping greasy oil ?
2. Jack up rig on frame or bumper, grab tire top & bottom, push-pull. Do you hear clunk-clunk AND can you feel knuckle housing tip ? (clunk-clunk can also be wheel bearings). Have a friend push-pull while you look/feel the housing.

Tie rod end, Drag link.
With a tire off the ground, grab left & right side of tire. Push-pull. See a lot of slop in TRE joints ? Drag link joints ?

Steering system
With tires on the ground, wsteering wheel unlocked (ign key...), rotate steering wheel back & forth ( don't need lot's of force). Look under rig, steering arm moving 'about as much' ?
caution: pinch point - steering shaft to steering box 'u-joint' sloppy ?

 

[chicago]

So I have a question...
Just did a break job on the fronts and did the push pull routine...No play...No symptoms driving as in no steering wheel play, no jumping when hitting bumps etc., but I DO have a fair amount of grease around the OUTSIDE of the knuckle...Its not "splashing" on the tire or anything, and its isolated to the outside of the knuckle itself...
Do I need to re build the knuckel though it is a-symptomatic?

Chicago

 

[Mace]

it is probably just fine. It would not be a bad idea to rebuild the knuckle, but it is probably not necessary...

 

[chicago]

I thought it was fitting grease over fill...The rig is as solid as can be. I was driving down the highway @ 65 and decided to see what shed do if I took my hands off the wheel...Straight as an arrow.
I plan on doing an SOA next fall, and at that time, I was going to go through both axels, clean em up and re paint em.
PRETTY!!!
BUT, if its something URGENT...I wanna get it done soon as possible.

Chicago