"The Bucket" project diary

[fun in dirt]

Dana 60 frontend is almost complete now. It's got all new seals, axle ujoints & kingpin bushings. Thankfully all the bearings looked like new & were not needed. Rotors have been turned & calipers rebuilt. Rearend already came with a Detroit locker in it, so we decided to go ahead while it was apart & install a Lock Right for the frontend.
To avoid the wobble factor, eliminating the king pin spring & making plates for that & the crossover steering arm (more pics to come for that part).

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by fun in dirt

Dana 60 frontend is almost complete now. It's got all new seals, axle ujoints & kingpin bushings. Thankfully all the bearings looked like new & were not needed. Rotors have been turned & calipers rebuilt. Rearend already came with a Detroit locker in it, so we decided to go ahead while it was apart & install a Lock Right for the frontend.
To avoid the wobble factor, eliminating the king pin spring & making plates for that & the crossover steering arm (more pics to come for that part).

I would like to understand more about the spring removal mod ( i have the 44 myself so not applicable ) did you find this on the net somewhere?

Love the dirty face picture too thats a classic!

[fun in dirt]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I would like to understand more about the spring removal mod ( i have the 44 myself so not applicable ) did you find this on the net somewhere?

We had a square body dually mud truck before that built and played with for awhile; my husband learned alot about all this with it. I'm still not sure I totally understand what he's tired to explain to me about it, but here goes how my simple mind sees it:
The whole king pin stuff is in place of what is usually a ball joint.
The spring puts pressure on the bushing which keeps everything tight. The spring moving - compressing then not - gives the bushing slack to move on the pin. Big, heavy tires jerking on the spindle multiplies this "wobble" therefore over time starts to wear the bushing against the pin & becomes even more prevalent over time or quicker with real big tires.
So now the spring will be gone and a fender washer added in its place over top of the bushing. The bolt going through the plate can be tightened down against this washer to put continous pressure against the bushing...therefore no wobble!

[swamp rat]

Thanks for the reply it makes sense to me!

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by fun in dirt

To avoid the wobble factor, eliminating the king pin spring

Best choice ever! Lol

Great progress for so early in the spring...we still have snow on the ground and temps are just now hitting the 60's.