Gary Lewis Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 But I don't think anyone is making the dust shields. Mine were so bad I'm running w/o them. I looked everywhere for them, some places claimed to have them in stock, but when I placed the order, their stock disappeared. I wasted several weeks on those cycles. As I recall, those prices were all around $50-$75 apiece. Finally I found a pair on eBay for $200. They are very hard to find, but they are out there if you keep looking. Like Gary, I struggled for a week to get the spindles off. I made a slide hammer tool, my spindles just laughed at that. Finally built a real tool and got them to pay attention. It's now available for passing around as needed, should anybody be fighting the battle Gary and I did. Nice looking tool, Pete. And a generous offer to loan it. Sure would have saved me a lot of work. I've just posted a new thread about loaning tools and posting files to print here, so please let me know in that thread what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted June 30, 2022 Author Share Posted June 30, 2022 Nice looking tool, Pete. And a generous offer to loan it. Sure would have saved me a lot of work. I've just posted a new thread about loaning tools and posting files to print here, so please let me know in that thread what you think. Is there a secret to seperating this joint in the front passenger axel shaft? I keep moving it back and forth and it seems to come out more each time but it has not fully released yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Is there a secret to seperating this joint in the front passenger axel shaft? I keep moving it back and forth and it seems to come out more each time but it has not fully released yet. In my case it took a lot of pushing in and pulling out, and the pulling out had to be done rapidly to get the momentum. It acted like the grease had set up and was preventing it from coming off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted July 4, 2022 Author Share Posted July 4, 2022 In my case it took a lot of pushing in and pulling out, and the pulling out had to be done rapidly to get the momentum. It acted like the grease had set up and was preventing it from coming off. Got it out! It did take quite a few sharp pulls to get it to release. I think the grease was more like glue on mine! With the axel shaft out I moved to removing the knuckle. Both the upper and lower ball joint nuts were very crusty but both let loose at the end of my 5 foot breaker bar. I rented a ball joint press from a local auto parts store and they came out of the knuckle fairly easily. I used the ball joint pickle fork to remove the camber bushing. After I cleaned up the top I was surprised to see that it was a 0 degree camber bushing. Given the state of the worn out suspension I guess I figured it was going to be something on the positive side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 Got it out! It did take quite a few sharp pulls to get it to release. I think the grease was more like glue on mine! With the axel shaft out I moved to removing the knuckle. Both the upper and lower ball joint nuts were very crusty but both let loose at the end of my 5 foot breaker bar. I rented a ball joint press from a local auto parts store and they came out of the knuckle fairly easily. I used the ball joint pickle fork to remove the camber bushing. After I cleaned up the top I was surprised to see that it was a 0 degree camber bushing. Given the state of the worn out suspension I guess I figured it was going to be something on the positive side. Progress! On the camber bushing, I'd go back with an adjustable one so the alignment shop can dial it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted July 17, 2022 Author Share Posted July 17, 2022 Progress! On the camber bushing, I'd go back with an adjustable one so the alignment shop can dial it in. I got the passenger side ball joints pressed in tonight. Nothing to eventful in that process. I do have a question about the adjustable camber/caster bushing. Would it be a good idea to use anti-seize between the bushing and the axel tube? What about between the bushing and the ball joint shaft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 I got the passenger side ball joints pressed in tonight. Nothing to eventful in that process. I do have a question about the adjustable camber/caster bushing. Would it be a good idea to use anti-seize between the bushing and the axel tube? What about between the bushing and the ball joint shaft? Yes and yes. You are going to want it loose at some point, and it is easier if it hasn't rusted to another part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 Yes and yes. You are going to want it loose at some point, and it is easier if it hasn't rusted to another part. The knuckle is back in the truck! Question…are the spindle nuts locking nuts? I ran a thread restorer on the studs and the nuts and none of the nuts would allow the restorer all the way through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 The knuckle is back in the truck! Question…are the spindle nuts locking nuts? I ran a thread restorer on the studs and the nuts and none of the nuts would allow the restorer all the way through. Congrat's!!! The nuts are "prevailing torque", which means that they aren't round and squeeze the stud to keep from backing off. So you shouldn't run a tap or thread restorer through them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted August 8, 2022 Author Share Posted August 8, 2022 Congrat's!!! The nuts are "prevailing torque", which means that they aren't round and squeeze the stud to keep from backing off. So you shouldn't run a tap or thread restorer through them. Is there a torque spec for those 5 spindle retention nuts? I looked in my 1980 Ford Truck shop manual and there is nothing listed in 15-34. It just says "tighten" on page 7. I looked at the end of that section as well and they are not listed in the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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