Well I think an update is in order. In the last update I was going to get the AC charged up, fix the intake manifold leak and deal with the steering play. I dropped the truck at a friends shop for the work.
The AC system was charged up and then let sit overnight. The next morning the system was empty. Charged it up again but with some dye this time. Discovered major leak from the compressor. New compressor and now AC system working great.
Intake manifold re-sealed and cleared out the completely clogged up EGR passage. Cross this one off the list.
While at the shop one of the rear wheel cylinders decided to start leaking. Replaced both and turned the drums. This truck is very light on the rear axle and it was easy to lock up the rear wheels. Backed the shoes off a little bit and along with the trued up drums and big disc's up front, the braking performance is impressive. Smooth, straight and predictable.
We replaced the steering box with a normal replacement box for a 72 C20 and I like it a lot better than the CPP box. It has better power assist and a better ratio for this truck. However, the truck still has too much wander for my taste.
Also, instead of putting it on the trailer, I decided to drive it home. It is about 20 miles from the shop to my house with about half of that is a curvy mountain highway. This is the longest trip so far and it was a white knuckle journey up the mountain. In the turns it felt like the truck wanted to swap ends. This truck has some handling issues to be worked out.
A lot of the handling problems can certainly be linked to the rear suspension. All of these parts are probably original. I'm sure 40+ years of carrying a cab-over camper has taken a toll on these parts. I know the trailing arm and trackbar bushings are shot after all these years. I've received new trailing arms, coil springs and an adjustable trackbar and will be this weeks project.
