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1st Gen. Ram - All TopicsDiscussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.
my question is will the king pin fit through the knuckle from the bottom up through the top, in other words can I just take the upper cover off an break the king pin loose and pull it out the top
Yes it will if you can get it loose. Typically end up splitting out the hex and then welding a piece of heavy wall square tube to the kingpin and then use a 36" pipe wrench and 6' cheater pipe to get them out. Good times.
Quick ?, do you think I could just pull the top cap and remove the kingpin and then install the new one without completely dissembling the entire knuckle
the king pin is 1 3/4" od. and the plastic cup is 2" od. it should slide through there like really easy !!
the king pin is 1 3/4" od. and the plastic cup is 2" od. it should slide through there like really easy !!
Thank you, the job went really easy with a wire brush, scraper and the trusty air gun every thing cleaned up easy. passengers side first, 8' piece of square tubing it broke loose way easier than I thought, pulled it out and there was minimal wear but installed the new one anyway with a new seal and gasket. The drivers side how ever took quite a bit more torque to break loose. there was visible wear and gaulding on this side, cleaned it up and installed the new parts.
The test drive showed a definite improvement in the way it handles going down the road, however I still think I need a little more caster (BTW the moog k992 kit is only for camber, I guess I was having a blonde moment when I ordered it
The total time from start to finish was about 2 hours with plenty of breaks, I have a almost 2 yo GSD that requires you to throw his toys for him when you are outside whether you are busy or not!
That's a dog toy lol
showing some wear installing new seal, just carefully pushed it in with a screwdriver pass.side on right This is Ruger
Last edited by nonrev; Jun 17, 2018 at 10:06 AM.
Reason: added 2 more pics
Thank you, the job went really easy with a wire brush, scraper and the trusty air gun every thing cleaned up easy. passengers side first, 8' piece of square tubing it broke loose way easier than I thought, pulled it out and there was minimal wear but installed the new one anyway with a new seal and gasket. The drivers side how ever took quite a bit more torque to break loose. there was visible wear and gaulding on this side, cleaned it up and installed the new parts.
The test drive showed a definite improvement in the way it handles going down the road, however I still think I need a little more caster (BTW the moog k992 kit is only for camber, I guess I was having a blonde moment when I ordered it
The total time from start to finish was about 2 hours with plenty of breaks, I have a almost 2 yo GSD that requires you to throw his toys for him when you are outside whether you are busy or not!
That's a dog toy lol
showing some wear installing new seal, just carefully pushed it in with a screwdriver
Mine is the same way, I feels like it could use just a little more caster.
So far I have went from a mostly slopped out front axle and rebuilt it into a better than new front axle. Even with all the time and money I have put into it, I really haven't improved the way it drove - until yesterday.
My 4* pinion wedges showed up on the Brown truck so I ran the '93 in the shop and got them put in in a 1/2 hour or so. Took it for a spin and the difference is night and day. It drives SO MUCH better - It wasn't terrible before, but now it actually drives itself down the road like it should (i.e. self steer).
I do have a touch of play coming from my less than 5,000 mile RedHead steering gear that will have to be addressed, but the increased caster did the job.
1972RedNeck, What company did you get them from and did you use 3 wedges? the reason I ask is because every thing I have read says that on the pass. side you need to have two, one under the spring and one on top to keep the bolts from binding. also do you have any pics you could post on the finished install.
Thank you, the job went really easy with a wire brush, scraper and the trusty air gun every thing cleaned up easy. passengers side first, 8' piece of square tubing it broke loose way easier than I thought, pulled it out and there was minimal wear but installed the new one anyway with a new seal and gasket. The drivers side how ever took quite a bit more torque to break loose. there was visible wear and gaulding on this side, cleaned it up and installed the new parts.
The test drive showed a definite improvement in the way it handles going down the road, however I still think I need a little more caster (BTW the moog k992 kit is only for camber, I guess I was having a blonde moment when I ordered it
The total time from start to finish was about 2 hours with plenty of breaks, I have a almost 2 yo GSD that requires you to throw his toys for him when you are outside whether you are busy or not!
That's a dog toy lol
showing some wear installing new seal, just carefully pushed it in with a screwdriver pass.side on right This is Ruger
Dude, I thought that you said the pins looked good. Try this site:
Mark, No excuse but I really don't remember them looking like that or I would have changed them out as I had the parts sitting tight there.
Edwin, It's not spring wind up that will cause the problem, most of the time it is caused from putting in a lift (which I do not have) and then you use the wedges to change your pinion angle, that also affects your caster. With your truck being a 2 wheel drive it's a whole lot easier to change your settings.
Did you check to make sure that your steering box is not moving around when the steering wheel is turned. It may not affect caster, but it does affect the ability of the wheels to recenter themselves. Ask me how I know ...Mark
Does the spring windup cause the need for wedges to adjust caster?
I can't see that being it. That could only really happen in 4wd with the rear driveshaft disconnected. These trucks are under-caster'ed from the factory. Longer shackles tilts the axle just like wedges do... and may be an easier/simpler install.
Originally Posted by maybe368
Did you check to make sure that your steering box is not moving around when the steering wheel is turned. It may not affect caster, but it does affect the ability of the wheels to recenter themselves. Ask me how I know ...Mark
Sufficient caster and a basic stabilizer will center the steering exceptionally well at highway speed....even with sector shaft slop, cracked steering plate, and pitman arm wobbling on the sector shaft. Ask me how I know....
1972RedNeck, What company did you get them from and did you use 3 wedges? the reason I ask is because every thing I have read says that on the pass. side you need to have two, one under the spring and one on top to keep the bolts from binding. also do you have any pics you could post on the finished install.
Yes, bought two sets of two from Summit Racing - just got the cheapest 2.5" wide steel shims they had.
Well I finally broke down and installed the caster wedges, I went with 3 degree and all I can say is wow it finally steers as it should!
The only thing I'm not happy about now is I think it gives me a little too much pinion angle. Has anyone ever put like maybe 1/2 inch spacers on the tranny mount to lower it a little, or would that put the lower part of the fan too close to the radiator, or any other gremlins that it might cause?
Well I finally broke down and installed the caster wedges, I went with 3 degree and all I can say is wow it finally steers as it should!
The only thing I'm not happy about now is I think it gives me a little too much pinion angle. Has anyone ever put like maybe 1/2 inch spacers on the tranny mount to lower it a little, or would that put the lower part of the fan too close to the radiator, or any other gremlins that it might cause?
Most likely nothing to worry about with stock leafs.
I have successfully run 3" lift and 5" shackles by grinding/smoothing the stock Saginaw CV... or a stock Spicer (2ndgen) CV works unmodified.
...Mark
