Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

and just a pic of the old Gorilla snot on the floor after stripping it off the driver's side

[Gregski]

I must say I am very please with the quality and fitment of these parts, Classic Parts does it again, I liked their rear window seal very much, and now they are 2 for 2 with the door weatherstrips as well

[Gregski]

did I mention the wife is gone for the weekend on an all girls camping trip, well on with the show than, what's next

and the next patient is Steering..., Mr. Manuel Steering

[Gregski]

and after a little belly rub we get our money shot, that's right folks The Greg is a Parts Numbers Junkie - PNJ

and a quick AltaVista search for 5698180 (yeah remember that site) reveals this there box is a box formely known as Saginaw - nice

[Gregski]

now let's check out that Pitbull Arm

I bought it with the pitman arm because I recon there is a difference between the manual and the power arms

[Gregski]

then it was time to make a mess - we tore into it because it sounded like it had square bearings inside, something wasn't right

TOP TIP: to get that three bolt cover off, don't tap it with a hammer or pull on it (I'm just sayin') unscrew the middle screw with a flat screw driver and watch it come off

[Gregski]

a better look inside after cleaning it up a bit with some paper towels

I am in awe of this simple yet effective engineering, ah the good ol' days

[Gregski]

getting the two big nuts off was a major P.I.A. I won't lie to you, after my adjustable wrench got me no where I had to go out and buy a 1 5/16 socket and use a 5 foot long cheater bar on it to loosen the pitman arm nut, jeez

than I had to use a puller to get the pitman arm off

Fun Level = 2.7

[Gregski]

but we persevered and got that pitman arm shaft out and even managed to clean it up a bit

[harley87ta]

Originally Posted by Gregski

a better look inside after cleaning it up a bit with some paper towels

I am in awe of this simple yet effective engineering, ah the good ol' days

Nice and simple the way it should be. I'm digging the S logo on the case.

[Gregski]

getting the worm gear out was no picnic either, but got it out too

I think this is where we first spotted to completely busted up bearing, it was shattered

Mess Level = 11.5

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by harley87ta

Nice and simple the way it should be. I'm digging the S logo on the case.

Yes I believe the S is for Strong, as in, you must be Strong to drive a manual steering truck, or is it S for Stupid... ha ha

[Gregski]

couldn't get to the third flat screw this way, so realized the rag joint has to come off to fully slide it out - even the rag joint needed a puller to git off

[Gregski]

getting there, this is the last pic for the night, but I did take the ball bearings out of that thing that sits on the warm gear, and hopefully I didn't loose none

[Gregski]

... oh oh, the wife just pulled in the driveway, time to vacuum the house...

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Gregski

a little rant about Pick N Pull pricing scheme, so say you want a steering box like I did, ok so you do a little research and you look up the price and it's NOTHING, cheap, ok, then you go there and you pull the part and you go to pay for it, and this is how it goes

oh, is this from a car or a truck, oh a truck ok well its that much more

oh it still has a pitman arm on it so that's more for that

oh do you have a core to trade it, no, ok so its $10 bucks more for a core charge

ok, than there's some BS disposal fee

Core charge at a junk yard? That's a new one.
Disposal fee for what? The core you should have given them?

Greg, this is Sanity calling. Convert to manual steering? Do you have a 24" diameter steering wheel? Or Arnold's biceps?

I went the opposite direction on my old 69 C10. Converting to PS was more bang-for-the-buck than any mod I did on that truck, just ahead of dual exhausts. And I did it all with junkyard parts. Only downside was my then 17 year old daughter decided she liked to drive it.

[SkinnyG]

Originally Posted by MikeB

Do you have..... Arnold's biceps?

You will

[D13]

The single complaint my 6'6", 300# father had about his 1981 GMC with a straight six and 3OTT (ie a light as you can get truck) was that the manual steering with the stock wheel was very high effort. I actually used to have to have the seat belt cinched down tight to keep me in the seat to turn the wheels sitting still on concrete.

I strongly beg to to reconsider. On the other hand your wife will drive the truck once in a concrete parking lot and then will never do it again.

I have manual steering in the truck I'm looking at drag racing. All the DD's will / do be power, and I'm a man who likes my trucks with no frills (5 squares, exactly 1 set power doors...)

[rusty76]

Manual steering. I'm in big time. I've been considering it too for my old rag. I've got my reasons. Lol. It's funny to me but my truck has manual brakes. Everybody wants power brakes. Honestly I never cared for power brakes. My old 74 had power brakes and I never really cared for it. I'm a bird of a different feather.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Manual steering. I'm in big time. I've been considering it too for my old rag. I've got my reasons. Lol. It's funny to me but my truck has manual brakes. Everybody wants power brakes. Honestly I never cared for power brakes. My old 74 had power brakes and I never really cared for it. I'm a bird of a different feather.

Well, I do agree with you on manual brakes. Those in my base C10 work surprisingly well, and they are only 2" wide rear shoes and 1" front rotors.

I will admit that the rear has new riveted shoes, finned drums, and wheel cylinders. Even springs and most of the hardware is new. All I did to the front was replace the nearly worn-out pads with some mid-level pads from O'Reilly Auto. Someday I'll probably get loaded calipers with Wagner Thermo Quiet pads and have the rotors turned.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

... Converting to PS was more bang-for-the-buck than any mod I did on that truck, just ahead of dual exhausts. And I did it all with junkyard parts. Only downside was my then 17 year old daughter decided she liked to drive it.

did I mention I have a daughter too, who will be driving in a few years, ha ha, a man must protect his investment

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Manual steering. I'm in big time. I've been considering it too for my old rag. I've got my reasons. Lol. It's funny to me but my truck has manual brakes. Everybody wants power brakes. Honestly I never cared for power brakes. My old 74 had power brakes and I never really cared for it. I'm a bird of a different feather.

finally somebody on my side, ha ha, strength in numbers brother, strength in numbers

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by Gregski

getting the two big nuts off was a major P.I.A. I won't lie to you, after my adjustable wrench got me no where I had to go out and buy a 1 5/16 socket and use a 5 foot long cheater bar on it to loosen the pitman arm nut, jeez

than I had to use a puller to get the pitman arm off

Fun Level = 2.7

Heat is your friend with pitman arms. even a hand held propane torch helps greatly.

[Gregski]

the latest addition to the workshop, man it feels good to be back in the game, looks right at home on that cart don't it

let there be sparks

those of you familiar with the Lincoln MIG 110 volt machines may pick up that this is the 140C model, the C stands for "Can't get it from Lowe's or Home Depot" ha ha it's a step above the Retail machines and costs twice as much and weighs twice as much as well, has better guts made of metal rather than plastic, etc. also I can get the spool gun for it if and when the time comes to stick some thin aluminum together

The Greg is Happy!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Titomars

Actually the weatherstrip on the doors was used on all years. It came standard on Silverados only. Why you ask, because Silverados are/were special . One possible reason yours might have them is they were installed at the dealership. We used to install them post warranty for wind noise issues. Back in the day they were a cheap fix, a few dollars a piece from GM Parts Div.

So drove the truck in to work today for the first time since installing the door weatherstripping and there is a hissing sound coming from the passenger side door dang it. I hope I can fix it by aligning the door proper as it does sag even with the brand new pins and bushings. I really don't want to install the optional rubber strips on the door if I aint got to, know what I'm sayin' especially since the driver side door don't hiss.