1970 front suspension apprehension

[Dcm]

I am in the tear down phase of restoring a 1979 swb fleetside. Truck has 5 lug disc on the front. I have the truck down to the frame and I have removed the rear Suspension (trailing arms, springs, shocks, rear end). No problem. Very straight forward.

But that front end looks kinda scary. I don't know beans about control arms, ball joints, shims, tie rod ends, etc.... Basically what I am asking is this.

If I mark, measure, and photograph it step by step, how bad can I dog this up?

I want to disassemble, clean, repair/replace worn or broken parts, prime, paint, reassemble and have reasonable assurance I won't drive straight into the nearest ditch.

[Dcm]

TYPO: 1970 not 1979

[NEWFISHER]

The shims are for alignment. Just take a pic and put the same amount back only to get you close as you will want to head straight to the alignment shop after you reassemble everything.

No surprises tearing it down. Ball joints may be riveted into control arms and new ones will bolt in through the same rivet holes. Easy. Count the number of turns when dissasembling the tie rods and re thread them the same turns. It again will keep you close enough to drive to get it aligned. Spring compressor, ball joint tool to push on stud through knuckle, new seals, grease, ruber brake lines. All the common stuff. Remember its just nuts and bolts and the interwebs are full of help.
Good luck!

[Dcm]

Thanks Newfisher. I'm gonna finish sanding rear half of frame and hopefully I can get started on the front soon.

[andrewmp6]

Do you have a haynes repair manual for the truck ?Or watch videos on youtube on how to bust loose a ball joint.

[Dcm]

A Haynes manual is a good idea. I have a knack for overlooking the obvious.

[BR3W CITY]

Honestly, there isn't any way you can "really" screw it up taking it apart. I always go for an alignment anyway after this kind of work, so I don't stress that stuff as much. Grab a paint pen and mark the locations on all the threaded rods, and mark the point on the steering gear that is "center"

Then you can pretty much tear the whole thing apart, and put it back together simply and get a "usable" truck right away.

[lolife99]

If you have lots of time,... rebuild one side at a time.
That way you have a reference side to look at if you get confused.
The key is getting the centerlink installed the same way it came off.
It's an easy part to put on backwards,...

[andrewmp6]

Things like when you unscrew a tie rod end count the number of turns and put the new one back the same number of turns.

[Xeen]

Originally Posted by lolife99

If you have lots of time,... rebuild one side at a time.
That way you have a reference side to look at if you get confused.
The key is getting the centerlink installed the same way it came off.
It's an easy part to put on backwards,...

+1
You took the words right out of my mouth, or fingers as it were.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by andrewmp6

Things like when you unscrew a tie rod end count the number of turns and put the new one back the same number of turns.

You can also purchase new sleeves for a small amount & leave the tie rod assemblys untouched. Just assemble the new pieces to match the overall length (as close as possible) of each side.

As you disassemble, keep the shim packs together in a sandwich bag w/the position of the shims written on the bag. When you reassemble, re-install the shim packs where they were. This helps get you close & then it's just adding/removing shims where required for alignment.

Upper a-arms = riveted ball joints requiring a grinder & chisel to knock them out. On the lower a-arms, the BJ's are pressed in place & will require a BJ removal tool (or hydraulic press) to swap them.

Upper & lower arms have bushings that screw together on 70 models so just try & keep the shafts centered or @ least consistent where possible when reassembling. You can use a pipe wrench on the bushing nuts since many usually don't have sockets/wrenches that large (uppers are like 1 3/8; lowers are even bigger).

Reference pictures are a great idea if the side to side thing isn't plausible. Another idea is to take one side apart first & then reassemble it to help make you familiar w/the process or enlighten the learning curve as the other side will still be untouched. Once you're comfortable, you can do the whole thing @ once.

If you stumble, there's plently of help available here..... Just hit us up.

[andrewmp6]

Yeah a lot of pictures helps and a box of zip lock bags and a marker can make things a lot easier.If i take apart anything i don't know i put the nuts and bolts in a bag and mark where it came from.And if one bolt is bigger then the rest i write on the bag where the big one went also.I know its a little ocd but can save you time putting things back together.

[Dcm]

I'm going to start this job in the morning. Thanks for all the tips and advice. I'll keep everyone posted on progress. I noticed the ball joint of the upper control arm has a cap that is bolted on. Is this the usual?