1973 K20 Build Thread

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by Zane M

Little late to the party, but great build!

Back in the day all the OEM did have drain plugs on the transmission pans. However, people were just draining the fluid, but not changing the filter. So, to force you to drop the pan(and while you have it off, you may as well change the filter), the drain plugs were deleted.

That makes sense!

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Looks great! My vote is for 255/85r16's!
Posted via Mobile Device

Ha! Your vote may win. I'll look into those, too. I'm limited by the width of the narrow steel wheels, though. They're actually Ford rims that I believe are from a van.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by Pop's C-10

piece by peice..coming along good man

Thanks, Pop's!

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

Good work! Keep it up!

Thanks!

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by BIGBERTHA

Really nice truck man!! I can't wait to get out of Iraq so I can take some elbow grease to my truck. Keep the pics comin

Right on, Marshall! Thanks so much for your service out there. I'm humbled by your comments and visit. Stay safe out there. Anything I can do to help with your build in the way of pictures, just ask.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work! Did you get the axle seals replaced? Please tell me you're going to replace the axle u-joints while you're there too?

Most definitely. That was somewhat of an (expensive) adventure in itself. You'll see what I mean.

[TheWhiteElephant]

After I removed the ball joints from the spindles, I brushed semi-gloss Rustoleum on them to match the frame and differential housings...



Then I watched them dry...




Here I am installing the lower ball joint on the right spindle...



Then the upper ball joint on the right spindle. Notice the breaker bar...

[Dieselwrencher]

Man, I have to say you're making me really jealous.............................. I don't see heat marks or a torch anywhere in your pics. Every old truck here would require that. Heck, it starts at 3-5 years old and goes down. Nice work man!

[TheWhiteElephant]

Okay, most (sane) people insist on using a vise to remove and install the ball joints. I will show you how you can do this WITHOUT a vise. Be forewarned, you have to really muscle the ball joints in there with the help of some wisely-applied leverage. I don't own a vise so I had to do it this way, and frankly, I enjoyed the challenge. If you have access to a vice though, by all means, use it. First get your 1/2" drive breaker bar and the hydraulic jack handle and assume this position...



The trick is to hold the spindle end with your left hand and push downward while tightening the press with your right arm. Basically, you counter the weight. This is the right spindle. It is definitely more of a challenge to install the ball joints than to remove them. You really cannot do this without the breaker bar.



A view of the driver side spindle...




Voila!

[BIGBERTHA]

Originally Posted by TheWhiteElephant

Right on, Marshall! Thanks so much for your service out there. I'm humbled by your comments and visit. Stay safe out there. Anything I can do to help with your build in the way of pictures, just ask.

Thanks! I really appreciate it!

[spudz]

lookin REAL GOOD! Hey what is the flange size on the ramhorns? 2.5?

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Man, I have to say you're making me really jealous.............................. I don't see heat marks or a torch anywhere in your pics. Every old truck here would require that. Heck, it starts at 3-5 years old and goes down. Nice work man!

You know, I've been expecting the worst in every piece I tear down on this truck but I have to say I've been very impressed. Although the truck is from South Dakota, I believe it sat on a farm for a very long time, so other than the usual rust spots and the back 1/3 of the frame being a little rustier than the rest, I've come off pretty well. Either that, or the PB Blaster has really saved me.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by spudz

lookin REAL GOOD! Hey what is the flange size on the ramhorns? 2.5?

Yeah, 2.5 inches. I was pretty impressed since in my research this is the much sought-after Corvette size.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Okay, so initially I "only" wanted to replace the ball joints. However, after removing the driver's side axle shaft and witnessing the gunk on the axle housing, something obviously was not right. I had also noticed some seepage where the diff housing on the driver side meets the axle housing tube but I had hoped it was just leaking power steering fluid. I drained the fluid, and was impressed by the condition of the 4.10 gears. Be sure to take note of the exact position and side of the bearing caps because they must go back on the same way. After removing them, you will likely need a pry bar to bring out the ring an pinion. Be careful not to damage any teeth...





For the most part, the passenger side seal held up very well, the spring around the rubber was in good shape, but some rust was evident on the top...




However, the driver side seal was toast. The circular spring was broken. A catastrophe waiting to happen. You can see it here...





On the passenger side, you can push in the seal with the axle shaft. The driver side is a little more challenging, so I "fabbed" up a seal pusher with the indispensable hydraulic jack handle, some masking tape, and a seal installer set I rented from O'reilly's...



I then cleaned the axle housing tubes by first wadding up a paper shop towel that I soaked with DEP industrial degreaser and pushed it through each of the tubes with the jack handle tool. Check out the mess...

[TheWhiteElephant]

Here is what was pushed in...




I then soaked and wadded up an old sock to finish up the cleaning. I did this several times until I saw no more gunk in there. Here is what they looked like afterward...




Then I ordered a new set of seals from Superior Axle. I checked locally but the prices were outrageous compared to Superior. I would have supported the local stores, but come on, I'm on a budget. There are two different types of seals. One has the "funnel" on the outside which helps guide the axle shaft in. I wish I would have gotten these, since they are also easier to remove, but I was somehow "tricked" by Superior. On their website, they pictured the Spicer ones with the "funnel", but they sent BRG seals. The part number is DS36352. They were only $6.25 each compared to the BRG seals at Napa for $18.99 each. Superior has since changed the picture on their website. Maybe an honest mistake, and in the end no big deal, but still, I like to know what I'm getting before I pay for it.

In order to install them, you are going to have to tap them very carefully with a small hammer because the seal and bearing press will not fit inside the diff housing. Here they are installed...




I also sprayed some Rustoleum into the axle tubes to cover up the exposed inner tubes in the hopes that this would prevent any future surface rust.

[TheWhiteElephant]

The moral of this story is you should ALWAYS replace your inner axle shaft seals when doing ball joints. Do not take short cuts and assume they are okay!!!

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work!

[TheWhiteElephant]

Okay, so here is the infamous Spanner socket. I got it from Rockauto.com for $18.00 or so. I removed the spanner nut and put in the new one.



Put the boots on the joints with the marks on them pointing inward like this...



When you put the spindles on the axle housing, you have to tighten the lower one first. Be sure to place a jack underneath and push it up, otherwise the joint will keep on spinning. This keeps pressure on the ball joint and keeps the tightening nut from spinning. This is what I did...




You have to follow the OEM specs, and you HAVE TO FOLLOW THE TIGHTENING SEQUENCE!

This is straight from the 1973 OEM assembly manual:

1) Tighten lower ball joint to 70 ft/lbs

2) Tighten upper ball joint adjusting sleeve to 50 ft/lbs

3) Tighten upper ball joint castle nut to 100 ft/lbs.

When all is said and done, I had about 2 threads peaking out from under the top like this...

[TheWhiteElephant]

One thing I should say about Moog ball joints. There are all kinds of rumors and hype on the internet that bash the Moogs. People say they are too tight, they don't work, the F250 mechanics don't like them because they are way too tight, blah, blah, blah.

I, too, struggled a bit, but working on them for a while I finally figured things out...

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=462237

I followed the GM specs and they were indeed way too tight. So I removed the spindle assembly (with the joints in place of course), reinstalled them, and nothing changed. I did it a total of 3 times. Here is what I did when things finally worked:

First, I removed the spindle assembly with the ball joints--do not remove the ball joints from the spindle.
Then I tightened the lower one to spec.
Then I fingered-tightened the spanner nut on the top one to about flush with the axle housing.
Then I tightened the upper joint nut to spec.
Then I LOOSENED the upper joint nut.
Then I tightened the spanner nut to spec.
Then I tightened the upper joint nut to spec.

I checked the spindles, and sure enough, they are perfect. I don't know what this did, but I'm telling you this worked. You can check them with a fish scale at the spindle. GM says there should be no more than 25 lbs of pull. Some say you should set them at about 15-18 lbs. Finally, you want to install the lower ball joint lock ring and the upper ball joint cotter pin, and then the grease fittings and grease 'em up.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Next I reinstalled the differential assembly after cleaning it up with brake cleaner. The bearings looked really nice, but the races not so much, so I bought some new races and put the diff back in. You have to work it in a certain way. I put it in beginning at the bottom and then tapped it in with my trusty Harbor Freight dead blow. Then I tightened the caps to spec.




Then I installed the 4 inch Rough Country raised steering arm after painting it a fancy bright red. The conical washers are not flush like in the OEM arm, but they grab on nice and tight. Apparently this is a common "issue".

[Dieselwrencher]

That is a common issue, but I think they designed this part to be easier to remove than the stock one. I've heard they didn'r bore the wedge bore as deep to allow the wedge to sit up a little higher to be grabbed and removed easier. This is what an engineer from Rough Country told me when I was asking questions on a build I was dreaming up.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That is a common issue, but I think they designed this part to be easier to remove than the stock one. I've heard they didn'r bore the wedge bore as deep to allow the wedge to sit up a little higher to be grabbed and removed easier. This is what an engineer from Rough Country told me when I was asking questions on a build I was dreaming up.

That makes sense. From what I recall, I was thinking there are a couple of different angle sizes of the washers, but I could be wrong. I called a few sources to ask around--Offroad Design, Blackbird Customs, and even Rough Country. They all said it was common, but the guy at Rough Country didn't sound too convincing. He said it "should" be okay.

Your explanation sure makes me feel a lot better about it, though.

[TheWhiteElephant]

The next thing you should always do when replacing ball joints is to also replace your axle u-joints. I sprayed all 4 shafts with silver Rustoleum.


I chose to go with the stronger non-greasable Spicers. I ordered them from Superior Axle, paid $60 shipped.

I have to say though that I had some issues with these. To be fair, I screwed up the installation on the first one. DO NOT do this...



I tapped the cups in with the hammer and then pressed them in with the rented ball joint press. It was pretty tight. I believe I may have dislodged the bearings when I was tapping the cup with the hammer because I heard a snap and then...


Needless to say, I was pretty pissed. I then installed the other one with the press alone, but the shafts seemed to be binding as I was moving them around. The C lock rings fit on there REALLY tight. It just didn't seem like they fit right, and it took a lot of effort to press them in. I just didn't like the way it felt.

In the end, I removed the Spicers and went to O'reilly's to get the Precision Super Strength non greasables. I'd be pretty surprised if there was a difference in strength. Here they are for comparison...




So $60 bucks down the drain. Here is the correct way to press in the U joints. I also used a socket (I forget the size) with the press to press them in fully...



The C snap rings on these felt just right, and I could feel absolutely no binding after installation. I don't know what it was, as I know "everyone" uses the Spicers, but I just couldn't figure it out. Someone told me I should have tapped the outside of the axle shafts near the caps to kind of make the bearings settle.

I've used the Precisions before, and apparently they are also made in the USA, so at this point I'm just moving forward.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Here they are installed...

[TheWhiteElephant]

Next it was time to separate the hub from the rotors. They will not necessarily just come off, even though they are "supposed" to. They are held in by the studs. I removed the studs by first threading one of the lug nuts flush with the top of the stud, and then I "tapped" them out with a 4 lb sledge. They come off pretty easily. The night before you might want to soak them with some PB Blaster like this...



Here is where they are supposed to "just come off", but this is what I had to do...



I lightly tapped them loose with a flat blade punch. Disregard the bare toes.