Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

then you wipe off all the oil off the rocker tip only (so it don't wash away the ink) and tighten the rocker back on the valve and pushrod just so its snug (no extra quarter turn no extra 1/2 turn, etc.)

then you rotate the engine by hand at least once, and you watch the valve open and close ie go up and down

then you loosen the rocker arm and stare at the mark

in our case the test with the original pushrods looks good, looks right int he middle, though the factory stamped rockers don't exactly have a fine tip and are more forgiving so I think that explains the wide mark, (donno?)

DISCLAIMER: No the rocker did not fall off the valve, it was moved out of the way to show us the mark. Some of my buddies who saw the pic, were like all, hey oh no the rocker fell off, no...

[Gregski]

and this is the second test this time with the new + .100" longer pushrod as recommended by the manufacturer of my aluminum cylinder heads, aka Edelbrock

as you can see the longer pushrods will be Too Long! as they leave a mark below the horizontal center line (closer to the exhaust manifold

second pic both #6 cylinder Intake and Exhaust valves tested with the longer pushrods

[Gregski]

this is just a perspective shot as if you were standing in front of your truck and looking at the passenger side cylinder head

in this shot you can see what I am talking about when I say the line is closer to the left ie the exhaust side of the engine vs the right ie the intake manifold side of the engine

just trying to help folks, just trying to help, I ain't no expert, ha ha, just learning, and having fun, and sharing

[Gregski]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

These blue plastic pushrod checkers are completely worthless, useless, so don't waste your money. The problem with them is there is no index for where the pushrod should sit on the long end of the checker so it slides forwards and backwards giving you a bad reading all the time, both my short and long pushrods measured OK according to this piece of junk.

[Gregski]

so at this point I decided to keep my original L31 Vortec engine pushrods and I went through the vavle adjustment process all over again this time tightening each rocker stud 1/2* passed snug (last time I only did 1/4* turn)

a quick test drive showed NO IMPROVEMENT and continued rocker chatter but I don't think the rig was fully warmed up yet, so instead of crawling up into the fetal position I decided I will drive it to work for a week and report back

if this don't work I will try adjusting the rockers with the engine running using those tall brand new Summit valve covers after I cut a long hole int he top of them (cutting new parts - whimper)

if that don't work I am buying brand new Comp Cams full roller rockers and giving those a go, my logic being maybe the stamped rockers are just chatter prone, though I had a '97 Tahoe with them and that SUV engine ranned smooth, so who knows

so as always remember: sometimes the Man wins and sometimes the Truck!!!

thanks for readin'

[Gregski]

truck doing truck things...

[Gregski]

new tool being added to the Busten Knuckle Garage stable

can you guess what project is coming up next?

[Gregski]

parts... (complements of RockAuto)

I gotta say we are coming up on one year in our new house, this one we own instead of renting, well the bank owns it but you get the idea, the point being as my daughter said: "daddy we won't have to move this summer" nope honey we aint gonna have to move this summer

those of you who have been along for the ride since the beginning know that Rusty has been in four different garages in the last four years, that can wreck havoc on your "restoration" project

but now we are getting our groove back!

[Gregski]

Full Disclosure: Dummy over here bought twice the amount of bushings we needed, cause well I didn't know two come in a box!

Note The: Made in India, Made in China - - - Nice! gotta be good, ha ha so much for the ACDelco genuine parts

[Gregski]

also decided to buy new 2" drop front coil springs since we've been driving around on cut ones, a few years back I tried McGuphies 2" dropped coil springs and they dropped my front end 4" inches, not acceptable, so then I cut one loop off of my stock ones, which gave me a proper 2" drop and a stiff ride, so it's time to do it right, this time using Western Chassis parts, they are much better

[Gregski]

so we start with the Passenger Side as it has way too much negative Camber (big word alert) for some reason - and we are about to find out why

we make a few mental notes of how the upper control arm is aligned forward and aft and how much the bushings stick out if any

[Gregski]

we also mentalize how many alignment spacers there was in the front and the back, and lay they out nicely for roll call

if we put them back where we found them we will still need to get an alignment done but we will at least have a decent starting point

[Gregski]

I like to loosen the lower control arm first from the bottom of the frame using a jack to compress the spring, then you lower it gently and the spring comes right out

here I am resting the heavy lower control arm as it is still attached to the spindle, they get stuck after 40 plus years of service and need a little gentle persuasion

[Gregski]

here's the anatomy of the Driver Side lower control arm

[Gregski]

the upper control arm was next

[Gregski]

naturally this one is bound to fight you as well... like the lower one did on the other side, ha ha

[Gregski]

and the anatomy of the upper control arm

[Gregski]

SUPER IMPORTANT: Lessons Learned

Unlike the lower control arms the bushings in the upper control arms do NOT get pressed all the way in, this my friends may drive you a bit crazy if you don't pay attention to this fact. Don't ask how I know, ha ha

I suggest you take some measurements of your old setup before pressing these out so you have an idea of the width you are shooting for later

also I learned why they sell new upper control arms, as they tend to warp and shift and bend and twist

[Gregski]

Alright, now what?

[rusty76]

I’m anxious to see how this plays out. I’ve watched a few videos and seen guys replace the bushings before but never did it myself.

[hatzie]

The most exciting thing about replacing the lower A-Am bushings is the coil springs...

I usually use brandy new U-bolts on the lower arms.

Make sure the aligment studs on the upper mount are in good shape and replace em if there's any question.

Gm used some kind of green threadlocker on the crossmember to frame bolts... at least they did on my 85 and the 86 I cabbaged the front crossmember from.

[Gregski]

so first let me show you how to press out the bushing out of the upper control arm the hard way ie using the Harbor Freight 12 ton press

and just so you know I had to do this with a buddy system because a press is not the proper tool for this especially if you don't have any dies or metal props to wedge under to make the A arm level etc...

this will get one bushing out on one side...

[Gregski]

alright now to get the other side out I had to improvise and use a pipe that I happened to have to press the other bushing out

hard work and dangerous...

[Gregski]

and here is a tool I rented from AutoZone that made the process so much easier to both press in and remove the bushings from the upper control arms

EverTough part # 67045

Ball Joint / U-Join Press Set

I know it says Ball Joint on it but it does the bushings too

[Gregski]

in order to get the original rivitted ball joint off we had to use the 4" grinder aka the Death Wheel

at first I tried the trick of just grinding the middle just enough to cut the width f the stem, but that wasn't enough