Check for loose bolts!!!

[airmech3839]

If you drive your truck alot and you get familiar with her, you can forget or skip steps in your before walk around and post walk around.........Well just hope you dont miss one of these for too long....may this be a lesson to check all the bolts on the wheels and axle that spin...

I was cleaning up one of the rims on the driver side to touch up the paint cause it was getting to be an eyesore. Then I noticed it....a bolt sticking out of the axle cover. I was blown away...I mean they have lock washers?? then it hit me...rotational force helped them get that way.... so I grab my handy dandy socket and start tightening.....then I say let me check the rest...... sure enough all but one were loose to some degree....then I said if this one is like this let me check them all and both sides...well the passenger side only had 2 loose but not very loose. But the left side was bad loose except for the front axle...


so foryou guys who would post this smiley

 

[airmech3839]

here you go.... I figured I would keep you in suspense!!!

First couple are of what I found....others are of how I fixed it!!

enjoy!!

 

[maddawg308]

I found mine to be the same way when I got the deuce. I think it's a common problem - good thing there are eight bolts to hold everything together.

I like your solution, at least it will help you check by eyeball if they loosen again...

 

[robr]

good idea

 

[dittle]

Check your driveshaft bolts as well, those can come loose if the nuts are worn out.

 

[porkysplace]

looks like a good part to use blue loc-tight on

 

[M813rc]

The 5-tons do it too. That was one of my chores Sunday, checking/tightening the bolts. Only a few were loose at all, but there are regularly some.

I figured it out a couple of years ago when I had just enough grease thrown onto the wheel to notice, but not enough on the hub to notice the leak. First time around, I replaced the lock washers, but they still work loose occasionally.

Cheers

 

[airmech3839]

Yeah that was how I noticed it...was the little bit of grease on the rim in one spot....then I looked at the hub.... hewew....so glad I found them... I would hate to have to replace the bolts cause they fell out...

Checked the driveshaft bolt while lubing the shafts and front springs and steering linkage... they are good... Yeah I have been looking over the truck to see if anything else is migrating south...nothing else yet..

I used a white dykem pen to mark the bolts after I cleaned and repainted them. not hard to see at a glance now. I did this with my front wheel nuts cause those I really dont wanna come loose.

 

[319]

Great thread! I like the idea of marking the fasteners. Good practice to use on all fasteners subjected to rotational force. On another note, lock washers should not be reused.

 

[airmech3839]

good point 319!!! any locking nut or washer is not to be reused!!

 

[Heavysteven]

Excellent Idea, I am going to go through mine this after noon.

Funny you say that beacuse i found a hose clamp yesterday that was lose, a wire not connected to my alternator, plug in my transmission vent, and grease fitting missing in a universal joint.

 

[jdr2710]

I had the same thing on mine when I picked it up: most of the driver's side loose, most of the passenger side were not. My drive shaft bolts were all tight I was glad to note. But when I had them off to test the speedo I did use some blue lock-tite upon re-assembly. I just love that stuff in stick form instead of the bottles or tubes, works like a charm without excess or the cap getting stuck on.

 

[wb1895]

I can add to the driveshaft story.

Today I was driving to my brothers shop in the deuce when I heard a loud "bang" on the floor board. I was only about a mile from my destination so I kept going while watching gauges, and "feeling" her as I drove.

When I got there I did a walk around and did not notice anything. The drivers side engine cover, under the fender, has cracked and I assumed that a gust of wind caught it and made the loud bang.

Well a few hours later when I had some down time I decided to grease some of the zerks on the front end of the deuce to kill some time. As I was lubing her I crawled underneath to grease the drive shafts when I looked up and saw not one but TWO bolts missing from the UV joints on the main drive shaft . All of the other six bolts that were there were only finger tight, if that.

After cleaning out my pants from my invoulntary bowel movement, I tightened all of the bolts and replaced the missing ones.

So, PLEASE check your driveshaft at least once a month if not sooner, I know I will be. Also please dont ignore the "unusual" sounds that your truck makes it could be something terrible like missing and loose driveshaft bolts.

 

[airmech3839]

wb1895 good point about non typical noises....I know of a issue that I am having where I get a pop when I turn....I know what it is due to me being in the axle in last 6mo and have been putting off fixing it till I knew I would have a day or two available with good weather and the funds for the parts....(uni in driver side is loose)...but now that it is popping I know I better change it soon. If I had not known that was the issue I would have checked the steering arm and linkage and blown it off with no faults found...could not duplicate with parked and be suprised when it finaly comes apart. Its a good idea to check your truck often...even if you feel busy....because it is easier to buy parts and plan on doing maint on a weekend than trying to do it on the side of the road and missing work!!

Tracy

 

[joshgar8]

Torque stripe is a great idea. I work in aviation and all our mechanic set nuts are to be torque striped, even inside a fuel tank with special ink. I have all mine striped including all the lug nuts.

 

[oddshot]

I've been spending time checking various things out ... chasing down the odd oil leak and stuff ...

I found the rubber feed line to the fuel pump was leaking a bit ... when I went to replace it ... I saw that the steering box seemed REAL CLOSE to the pump ... like smack up against it.

I gave it a push ... AND IT MOVED ...

All four of the bolts holding it in were loose ... some hanging out by more than 1/8 inch.



I know about the drive shaft bolts ...

Do I need to be checking any thing else?

oddshot

 

[emr]

ALL NUTS AND BOLTS EVERYWHERE on these trucks need to be tightened at least once a year if it sees even moderate use, just sayin there are thirteen million threads on this, BUT is sure is time to bring it up again with the parade seasons and just get em out on the road time again, That Jack shaft is the most dangerous and has a history of ripping thru the floor if not tended to. good luck.......

 

[Unforgiven]

When I bought my truck I drove it back from NM to NV along I-40.

I pulled in for gas just short of Flagstaff in a snowstorm, filled up, and hit the on-ramp again.

When I gassed it 3rd to 4th a few hundred yards from the gas station the pedal went all the way to the floor.

Luckily the torque of the engine allowed me to reverse all the way back down at idle.

It turned out the nut holding the gas pedal to the linkage below the floorboard had vibrated loose & popped off. I spent an hour going up and down the on-ramp looking for it to no avail.

So I thought I would just use a noncritical nut from somewhere else on the truck.

NOPE. It's a fine threaded bolt. Every other bolt on the truck is course thread.

So I scavenged all around the gas station parking lot hoping to find something, anything, that would connect the linkage to the pedal. I finally found a 5/16 coarse-threaded brass nut. It was soft enough for me to crank onto the fine-threaded gas pedal bolt. But it was only 2-3 threads deep.

The rest of the journey was miserable because I was in fear every time I had to push the pedal. If I lost that brass nut I would have been finished. It would have meant abandoning the truck on the side of the road until the following morning.

Luckily I made it all the way back. My gas pedal now has TWO brand new fine threaded nuts cranked into each other so tight they're probably fused into one.

Moral of the story:

Check your gas pedal bolt way up underneath the floorboard.

 

[Capriceii]

I will be going over all the bolts on my 109 today found all of the axle bolts loose on the driver side front tandem. almost lost it

Which TM covers the torque requirements for the axle bolts? and where can I find the proper level of gear oil for the pumpkin?

Thanks Guys!

 

[Floridianson]

Good info look your machine over. Someone who does not want to get there knees dirty should not have the machine. You should be able to clime over and under these machines and LOOK for something not right.