84 Crewcab...AKA..Patches

Been working on getting the rear springs all back together.

I thought my neighbors drill press had a slow slow setting...but ti would only go down to 800rpm. I drilled 3/8 pilot holes at that speed first using some areo space drill bits I picked up at a swap meet...worked really well.



Once the small holes were drilled it was on to the big 7/16 bit. Couldn't find any decent cobalt bits...so went with some bits designed for Stainless Steel. Worked pretty good. Slow speeds and lots of cutting fluid. But since the drill press wasn't slow enough I had to do all the big holes with the hand drill.



That sucked...legs and back hurt a lot. :(
 
I had bought some wear tip pads on-line...thought they would do the job. Went to install them and they just wouldn't sit nice and snug. Even though they said they were for 7/16" hole. So I went down to my spring shop and bought some of the ones they use...nice and long...and work in 7/16 - 1/2" holes.

These are the ones I originally bought....

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And the here are the ones I got from the spring shop...





Got everything drilled...new wear tips installed, and then bolted them back together. I re-used the old Zinc liners since they were in decent shape. Once I had the spring packs together I had to take them back down to the spring shop to get the pack clamp brackets (???) installed.



Just need to paint he brackets and they are ready to go in.
 
Since the springs are now done I decided to attack the last thing to remove on the NV4500. It is the input shaft bearing retainer race. I thought I would just slowly cut through with the dremel in two places and then tap it out.



Seemed like a good idea in theory....but I guess with all my banging and hammering to try and free up the old race and get it out of the way I ended up cracking the bearing retainer...:(



Cracked at the oil feed hole. I'm assuming that the bearing retainer is toast now? Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I don't want to half a$$ things...if it has the potential to fail and cause me grief I'd just as soon replace it.
 
Just waiting on my machinist to finish making up new top blocks for the spring packs. The cast block that sits on top of the spring pack and then the over load spring(s) sit on. Since my top spring was so rusty under that cast block, with it's big voids that trap moisture, my spring shop recommended new solid blocks be made up.

They said the slightly longer solid blocks would help spread the load over a larger area, and help keep that rusted out top springs from cracking.
 
Replace the bearing retainer. Remember when I told you we always, always replace the throwout fork (and bearing) when doing a clutch at the shop? A new retainer is on the hit list as well. They're cracked more often than you think. Pretty-much everything between the flywheel and the trans case is replaced, in fact, and the flywheel gets replaced as well. Obviously, in the case of a South Bend clutch, you have no choice. :D It's cheap insurance that isn't cheap until you price out a reman or, God forbid, new transmission.
 
Thanks for the advice Doc. I was searching out new bearing retainers last night...The price on them is very reasonable. I was also looking at the outer surface where the throw out bearing rides....looks pretty worn, and I can feel slight depressions. SO I think this crack is a good thing, as those depressions could be why the old throw out bearing would hang up from time to time.
 
Dr.Jass said:
The last two we used were genuine Mopar parts.
Click to expand...

I ended up going with the aftermarket replacement. I drive, and shift so mild I couldn't justify the added cost of NOS/OEM. I would need to make a heck of a lot more power, and torque to affect this replacement unit. ;)
 
Been sick the last couple days...:( So only doing a little puttering on the truck. I decided to start welding up some of the cowl area cracks, since the wind and rain had stopped for a little while. I still need to finish them off, and then make a couple reinforcement plates as well.



I also trimmed down the tranny tunnel so it would cover up the ugly hole hacked in the floor. Will make it a removable panel just in case I ever need to get at the top of the tranny. ;)

This is what I'll be covering....



And the new panel...before trimming....



And after...

 
I also went to install my sway bar. I had used Rockauto to get the part number for the Moog sway bar bushings....K7302 for a 1 1/16" bar. I never measured mine and when I slipped the bushing over my bar...nope does not fit!! So I measure my bar and I have a 1.18" or 1 3/16" bar. So I have to order up some K7328 bushing instead.

This is the first time I can recall that the Rockauto site has led me astray, or maybe I have a bigger bar for some reason??? Their site does not make mention of this bushing period...so I don't know?
 
I always liked to have people measure their swaybar diameters when they needed the bushings. What's strange is that they only listed the one size for your application, possibly because the Moog catalog lists multiple sizes for just about every application. My expectation is that the diesel got a larger swaybar than the gas-powered trucks, regardless of GVWR. God knows they need it with all that weight up front.
 
Yep. Always measure the bar. No special tools required. Just grab your wrenches and slip the open end over the bar. 1 1/6" wrench fits, thats your bar dia. The moog rep tried to sell me the "Needed tool" to get the "correct parts". You should have seen the look on his face when I told him "no good mechanic would buy that"! The look on his face was even better when I showed him how I do it. :D
 
Never thought about using a wrench....darn good..SIMPLE...idea!! Love it. I just used a dial caliper.
 
Stretch has the only 1-1/6" wrench in town. Every other one around is metric, clearly marked "29.6333MM". :D
 
So my machinist called and said he finally got my plates done. Did a really nice job on them. Little bit longer then the original, and all flat, so should distribute the load better over the slightly compromised top spring. All this was suggested by the guys at the spring shop I use.



Then Got the 2wd Dana 60, and all springs, hangers etc out of the truck on Friday.

 
Today I installed the Re/Re'd springs from the donor 93, and got the Dana 70 in place and bolted up.







Had some fun with one of my shocks. The factory installed the bushings in the wrong ends...top for bottom and vica versa.:( Took me, and my friend and neighbor, about 2 hours to carefully remove the bushing and swap them around.

And all done and sitting pretty....Damn it's going to sit high!!

 
get taller tires to make it look "right" at that height

cow...your slippin..why didnt you paint those axles while they were out?
 
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