Thanks so much. That's just the sort of opinion I am seeking. My adapter plate already failed so I'm now in the process of obtaining a new one (from Oliver Foster here in our forum). How would I go about checking the integrity of the steering box? It's not leaking PS fluid.

I've assembled most of the parts necessary to convert to reverse rotation steering, but am not ready to make that transition immediately.

Would worn upper king pins also affect camber? (I've got only 136,000 miles on the clock, but my dad owned this truck new and, unlike me, did none of his own maintenance. I'm not certain the oil change folks he used were terribly diligent with the grease gun.)

Thanks again. Were it not for the assistance and advice I receive from this forum, my truck would have ceased operation long ago...

 

About the only things I can think of is to start the truck, leave it idling and reach in through the wheel well and turn the steering by hand stop to stop and check it for smoothness and such. It should be easy to turn stop to stop by hand. Also, make sure your front tires aren't bubbled up from the impact, although you'd be able to feel that in the steering. I think a badly worn KP, in the right plane, could affect camber. I don't know how they can look at them and say they are good. I think it is difficult at best to tell if they're bad except for dynamic symptoms, like death wobble or the weird wear patterns and obvious crack in mine. They had considerably more miles than yours. All that said, I really can't see how a 40 mph hit could possibly damage them, it is a pretty bomb proof setup...Mark

 

As soon as you add camber to the lower end, the camber up top has to change. The axle was design to wear and level with the tire at the top king pin. The nylon bushing is then seated properly. The brass bushings we use wear out and become distorted after a few weeks of driving. At this stage it is seated with the kingpin and the spring pressure keeps the angle proper. The only issue with king pins is the spring compresses and no longer applies pressure to the bushing which will cause the camber to change as well as some wobble. New king pins will last 100,000 miles or more, it's a very good design if you grease them properly.

If you do new king pins I recommend that the tire is balanced otherwise the break in will not be true. Yes, support and stick with spicer

 

Thanks guys, this is a great writeup, with good pics. lots of good info. I will be doing mine soon

 

I was recently asked about a leaking front axle problem and , because I didn't know about the front axle inner oil seal, I didn't replace it. It is a good idea to replace it when you have the thing apart. I couldn't find a how to per se, but Thrashingcows makes a reference to it in post #33 in this thread:

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...-315617/page3/

Here is a link to the seal:


NS470682 Seal Dana 60 inner at carrier

...Mark

 

just wanted to add a little tip/trick I learned from an old school off roader I met many moons ago. this is how he explained it to me and I've been doing it this way ever since.

if you have a worn out dana 60 in a first gen, you know about death wobble.

well this frugal older gentlemen showed me that taking the upper kingpin cap off and throwing a few washers on top of a worn out spring will fix death wobble for about $0.50. He also told me that adding 1 thick washer to new springs adds some preload to that spring and really tightens up your kingpins.

I had real bad death wobble on my 1st gen. replaced the springs and bushings while adding a thick washer to the top about 12,000 miles ago and it's still death wobble free! here is what a worn out spring looks like next to a new spring with a washer.

 

I would think that is a good idea to get by until new springs can be installed. I had horrible, loss of control death wobble that hasn't returned with job described above in this thread. Your experience does show that the springs getting weak are a major reason for DW...Mark

 

As promised, I went through this thread and all of the pics are intact. There are a couple of dead links, but they are taken care of later in the thread...Mark

 

Thanks Mark,

 

No problem, it is not likely that the fotos will go away, I forgot the flikr login a long time ago . I am afraid to try and recover the account and have he account go away, best to leave it alone. I am checking my other sticky threads also...Mark

 

Ok, I just rebuilt both king pins using DANA kits from East Coast Gear. After 10 days one side is now weak again. I do not know if the spring has compressed or has broken. I am going to get another spring and put it in. Anyone heard of this?

 

Was it the new spring that broke? I am amazed if that is the case, they are very tough...Mark

 

Hey, Mark, I just did my drivers side everything...U Joints, KP, seals, etc. followed both this tread of yours to the tee, along with BC847 article on U Joint disassembly and assembly. Printed both articles out, and flipped thru both treads back and forth to make sure I followed them to a tee.
With that said, my kit I ordered from 4wdfactory.com had another seal in the KP kit...I will post up a pic of all the seals you called out for on this tread, and off to the right I will show that lone seal. Just inquiring if maybe I missed something

 

Hi Augie, It might be the inner axle seal that is replaced through the differential. I did not know about that one when I did mine...Mark

 

The one to the right is the only seal not called out for in your install procedure. Know anything about the seal? Thanks in advance