Steering and Front Axle Rebuild.

[Iceman3005]

I started the front axle rebuild today and updated the steering shaft with a Borgeson Truck Steering Shaft. Also did the ORD steering box brace kit.

 

[Iceman3005]

pics of axle and king pin rebuild kit, all the seals, bearings, and races are still in the box, no pics of that yet.

 

[V8Astro]

Good stuff. Thanks for the pics. Do you still have the part number and vendor of the king pin kit? A friend of mine needs the same thing

 

[Iceman3005]

ORD Online Catalog - 4x4 Suspensions, Parts and Performance That's where I purchased King Pins Rebuild Kit and all the seals, bearings, and races (bearing cups).

 

[Iceman3005]

Got the front king pins and knuckles off today, wasn't to bad. No where near how bad I have heard other guys have had, everything came right off fairly easily. Now tomorrow I will remove front axle and finish the tear down, taking axle of suspension will make it easier to work on, plus I will be lifting anyway.

 

[Iceman3005]

pics

 

[Iceman3005]

Got the front axle out, tour down. Installed new pinion bearing, races and shims, new yoke. put carrier back in, and installed cover. I really am glad I bought the case spreader, made taking the carrier out and installing a lot easier! also bought seal and race drivers, they made installing seals and races very easy and didn't have to worry about damaging them either!

 

[Iceman3005]

I think I am going too need some feed back (opinions), I can't decide if I want too do a shackle flip or just go with a new spring in the rear. I like the shackle flip because it is a stronger mount, but I don't like it because it moves the axle forward, also my rear spring is starting to show signs of wear and droop. A new spring would give me better ride but it costs more than a shackle flip and it uses the weaker mount. I have never had a problem with the stock mount breaking or bending in the past on any lifted trucks I have had but the stronger mount would be nice. I am leaning more to a new spring(lifted) but some feed back would be nice. If I did the shackle flip I could use "zero rates" to recenter the rear axle but than I would have to use them on the front also or the front will sit to low, it already sits about 2 inches lower with the stock springs. Is it hard to install the "zero rates"? But installing the shackle flip and zero rates doesn't solve the problem of my rear spring wearing out.

 

[Sharecropper]

Iceman - IMHO it would surprise me if your rear springs are wearing out. They may settle a bit over time if heavily loaded, however the M1008's were never meant to haul heavy loads such as a contact maintenance box. Just my 2 cents worth.

I installed Ord's shackle flip kit and Zero Rates in my M1028 rebuild. Had to arrange the Zero Rates to move the rear axle rearward 1-1/2" in order to center the tire in the fender opening. Also need to extend the rear driveshaft 1-1/2". Another discovery was that the passenger side rear shock will not work with the axle rotated. I had to cut off the shock mounting brackets and re-weld them farther up on the axle shaft. This turned out to be a good thing, as now there is nothing hanging down to catch on rocks, etc (I had already installed the U-bolt flip kit from Ord). You will also need to re-route your emergency brake cable out of the positioning bracket

Hope this helps.

 

[wallew]

Sharecropper,

I gotta say your build of your CUCV was and STILL IS awesome.

You give me hope that I can do a simple rust repair and repaint of mine.

Iceman3005,

Looking good - Sharecropper has done what he said - if you haven't read about it, do so - it might give you some good ideas

it did for me

 

[Iceman3005]

Ya I have read sharecropper build, would like to do a frame off restoration but I have to many projects going on right now. I am almost tempted to just buy new stock front springs with ORD's greasable bushing kit and call it good for now. I would like to start the frame off resto on my wifes K-5, the seats are starting to fall through the floor, my cucv isn't hardly rusty at all, just a lot of dents, if I didn't do the lift it would give me that much more cash for the K-5.

 

[Iceman3005]

Ok I didn't do the lift, just bought new "4 leaf HD" springs for the front and ORD greasable shackle kit, new U-bolts, now I just have too finish putting everything else back together.

 

[Iceman3005]

Here is pics of the project, the reason I didn't do the lift. As you can see the blazer is pretty rusty, but the new body is RUST FREE!!!!!

 

[chevyCUCV]

What front springs did you go with? How does it ride compared to stock?

And that blazer definitely needs some help, and a brush guard

 

[Iceman3005]

I used 22-402HD there a 1900 lb 4 leaf spring instead of the stock 22-402 1400 lb. 3 leaf spring. As for the ride, I don't know yet it is still on jack stands.

 

[skysix]

Another discovery was that the passenger side rear shock will not work with the axle rotated. I had to cut off the shock mounting brackets and re-weld them farther up on the axle shaft. This turned out to be a good thing, as now there is nothing hanging down to catch on rocks, etc (I had already installed the U-bolt flip kit from ORD). You will also need to re-route your emergency brake cable out of the positioning bracket. Hope this helps.

What did you do with the proportioning valve? And I like the shock mount repositioning idea -vs- longer shocks for exactly the reason you noted - clearance.

 

[Iceman3005]

Well this project is finally getting close to being done, hope I can finish it tomorrow!

 

[Iceman3005]

more pics!

 

[Iceman3005]

Finally done, drove pretty nice too. just need to get an alignment.

 

[Ronbo]

Thanks Iceman !! I'm starting the same project in a couple of weeks. I'll call you if I get in a jam.. I used to live to tar down a front end but its been 15 years, and my forget'er is getting worse..