Never ending axle service (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter iptman
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Blue77FJ40
SILVER Star
I've posted on this before, can't remember when/where, but the jist is that even if you've clearanced the upper and lower areas of the ball enough that you can slide in the birf, once you assemble and properly torque down the upper and lower knuckle bearing caps, the ball will compress and close the clearances some. Maybe enough to stop the birf from fitting. I had to do this on mine, disassemble, clearance some more, reassemble, retorque. Luckily for me, I got it right the second time, and the birf went in/out no problem.
IIRC, I used a die grinder *lightly* and finished each area with a 3" roloc brown disc to smooth things out. Good luck.
That's your steering center arm. It's adjustable and rebuildable.
OTRAMM
Supporting Vendor
Idler arm and yes it's serviceable. You can get bushing kits if it's really bad or adjust it if it's just a bit loose. The small bolt on top is the lock bolt. Loosen that and then the big nut threads down to tighten up slop.
Blue77FJ40
SILVER Star
The ball has to be ground enough so that the birf slides in and out. I only explained my circumstances so that you would be aware of that possibility. You may not have to go through what I did. I think that it certainly would be a good idea to dry fit the birf after reassembling/retorquing to see if you would need further grinding. Your situation may differ. See what others have to say. Good luck.
iptman
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #47
So apparently I needed another 30 minutes of Dremel time. As @Blue77FJ40 experienced I too had to pull this all apart since after torquing the studs down the birf no longer fit. But thanks to the heads up I test fit it first and didn't grease it up. Unfortunately I broke the grinding stone on the Dremel and had to make an 11:30pm run to Wally World to get another one. I also cross threaded a nut on a stud in my 1:00am fury to get at least one side done. And just my luck the 11mm studs are available out off B-more but the nuts are all on the West coast so it looks like this project isn't getting done until next week.
OTRAMM
Supporting Vendor
I've got extra studs and nuts here if you need them.
Spindle nuts are 29-39 ft/lbs per FSM.
Nice Job
Nice Job
Devilmans Hand
TLCA #19517
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Damn, that looks easier. I've always just used a jam lever.
iptman
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #55
Um... Does grease go bad? I got 2 tubes of the Valvoline wheel bearing grease and they both look like this. Already packed one hub and installed and the preload seems kind of tight with out a lot of torque on the spindle nut. I think I'll have a beer and see some comments before I continue on the other side.
Some greases separate over time, the oils come out of the soap. It probably won't matter.
Yes, pull off the steering dohicky, aka the steering dampner.
Some times you can do one at a time, but often it may be necessary to pull the tie rod relay rod assembly because the tre's are rusted in there and it is easier to do the work standing up.
1st step before removing the tre's is to measure and write down the original lengths from center to center. Then, when removing them, count the number of turns to remove each one and reinstall with the same number of turns. This should get you close, then confirm/adjust based on the recorded lengths.
Some times you can do one at a time, but often it may be necessary to pull the tie rod relay rod assembly because the tre's are rusted in there and it is easier to do the work standing up.
1st step before removing the tre's is to measure and write down the original lengths from center to center. Then, when removing them, count the number of turns to remove each one and reinstall with the same number of turns. This should get you close, then confirm/adjust based on the recorded lengths.
Chances are your dohicky is shot as well... when you get one side of it off, push it in and pull it out. If it has little or intermittent resistance, it is toast.