First day of reassembly.... - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

ChevLoRay · 10-13-2012, 06:49 PM

Today, my youngest son and I began the reassembly of the chassis. It was completely apart. Sandblasted, painted and now, starting the reassembly. It has been a while since I was excited about it. I've lost interest on several occasions and threatened to sell it, piece by piece. Luckily, I didn't.

So, today, we reinstalled the lower control arms after cleaning/painting the attaching parts.

He pulled the axles so I could get the axle seals. The seals bore a GM part number! I think this truck has original stuff on it and that the mileage is actually just 113K! Everything was in such good condition, once we took it apart and cleaned it up. There's just too much on the chassis for me to believe it is anything other than that. I don't think a truck with 213K would still have OEM seals/bearings in the rear end. I may be wrong, but that's my opinion.

Anyway....we're back!

GMCJOE · 10-13-2012, 07:43 PM

GM's axle seals hold up pretty damn good IMO. And it depends on how you drive and what you haul. I have pulled a several axles from various GM trucks of all years that probably had between 150-250k miles on them, went to reseal them and pulled the factory seals and bearings out before I sold them. I had to pull them on my Nissan at 92k, never done them on any of my chevy's or gmc's that I put tons of miles. I asked the parts guy at the dealership why they fail so early and is a common problem. He told me,"If you drove a Chevrolet you would have replaced them at around 50k." I paid for my parts and walked out.

Glad you got your interest back. Looking forward to seeing some pictures of your all's work.

turp mcspray · 10-13-2012, 08:18 PM

It feels REALLY good, to finally bolt something to the painted chassis. It is at that point that you realize you are on the road back!

ChevLoRay · 10-13-2012, 10:30 PM

Had to buy a new tool....

When Joe (youngest son) used my seal puller, he went a touch too far and wrecked the cage on the outer axle bearing. So, a trip to NAPA to get a puller, a new bearing and a die to dress the threads on the u-bolts that hold the lower control arm to the crossmember.

Nothing wrong with new tools, is there? Probably should have bought one about 30 years ago....just didn't need it until today. At least all the parts are contained in one lockable box.

Next tasks are to install the upper control arms, springs, spindles and continue with the tie rods, center link, pitman and idler arm, as well as the steering box. After that, the rear end gets the attention, with the brake getting all the attention and money.

Yep, the money pit is back!

GASoline71 · 10-13-2012, 11:50 PM

Always good to have a nice deep hole in the garage/shop to toss money into!

I love my money pit too...

Welcome back mang!

Gary

10-13-2012, 06:49 PM	#1
ChevLoRay Old Skool Club Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Benton, AR "The Heart of Arkansas" Posts: 10,880	First day of reassembly.... Today, my youngest son and I began the reassembly of the chassis. It was completely apart. Sandblasted, painted and now, starting the reassembly. It has been a while since I was excited about it. I've lost interest on several occasions and threatened to sell it, piece by piece. Luckily, I didn't. So, today, we reinstalled the lower control arms after cleaning/painting the attaching parts. He pulled the axles so I could get the axle seals. The seals bore a GM part number! I think this truck has original stuff on it and that the mileage is actually just 113K! Everything was in such good condition, once we took it apart and cleaned it up. There's just too much on the chassis for me to believe it is anything other than that. I don't think a truck with 213K would still have OEM seals/bearings in the rear end. I may be wrong, but that's my opinion. Anyway....we're back! __________________ Member Nr. 2770 '96 GMC Sportside; 4.3/SLT - Daily driven....constantly needs washed. '69 C-10 SWB; 350/TH400 - in limbo The older I get, the better I was.

10-13-2012, 07:43 PM	#2
GMCJOE Registered User Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Junction City, KS Posts: 782	Re: First day of reassembly.... GM's axle seals hold up pretty damn good IMO. And it depends on how you drive and what you haul. I have pulled a several axles from various GM trucks of all years that probably had between 150-250k miles on them, went to reseal them and pulled the factory seals and bearings out before I sold them. I had to pull them on my Nissan at 92k, never done them on any of my chevy's or gmc's that I put tons of miles. I asked the parts guy at the dealership why they fail so early and is a common problem. He told me,"If you drove a Chevrolet you would have replaced them at around 50k." I paid for my parts and walked out. Glad you got your interest back. Looking forward to seeing some pictures of your all's work. __________________ Joseph Joe's 69 GMC http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=543253 1969 GMC SWB-350 SBC 700R4 2013 Ram 2500 CC Laramie Longhorn Edition-6.7 PPEI EFI Live CSP5 5” ProFlo Exhaust

10-13-2012, 08:18 PM	#3
turp mcspray Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Rapid City South Dakota Posts: 2,359	Re: First day of reassembly.... It feels REALLY good, to finally bolt something to the painted chassis. It is at that point that you realize you are on the road back! __________________ Turp Mcspray New life for an old 2wd, farm blazer http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=505987 My Blazer build http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342299

10-13-2012, 10:30 PM	#4
ChevLoRay Old Skool Club Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Benton, AR "The Heart of Arkansas" Posts: 10,880	Re: First day of reassembly.... Had to buy a new tool.... When Joe (youngest son) used my seal puller, he went a touch too far and wrecked the cage on the outer axle bearing. So, a trip to NAPA to get a puller, a new bearing and a die to dress the threads on the u-bolts that hold the lower control arm to the crossmember. Nothing wrong with new tools, is there? Probably should have bought one about 30 years ago....just didn't need it until today. At least all the parts are contained in one lockable box. Next tasks are to install the upper control arms, springs, spindles and continue with the tie rods, center link, pitman and idler arm, as well as the steering box. After that, the rear end gets the attention, with the brake getting all the attention and money. Yep, the money pit is back! __________________ Member Nr. 2770 '96 GMC Sportside; 4.3/SLT - Daily driven....constantly needs washed. '69 C-10 SWB; 350/TH400 - in limbo The older I get, the better I was.



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