Ball Joint

[m35a2cowner]

One of the front hubs on my deuce is a bit loose. I tried tightening the wheel bearing but no change so I am guessing that the ball joint (for lack of a better term) is worn. Is it a major job to do? Any special tools needed? Also, last year I replaced one of the boots and it seems to have developed a hole again. I was pretty careful when putting it on and wired up the zipper and sealed the zipper as the instructions said to do. Any ideas? Also, has anyone adjusted the shoes using the 1 1/4 nuts which adjust the brake shoe seats? Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[hot rod deuce]

Howdy and welcome. THe leaky boot is probably due to a bad seal on the inner axle shaft. the boot is just suposed to keep dirt out and maybe some greese in. If the seal is working properly there sould be no oil at the u joint let alone the boot.

Im not a fan of zipper boots myself. If you have the hub off i would just put the zipperless kind on (usa6x6.com has them for 20 bucks or so i THINK they have the seal as well if you cant get he numbers crossed over and the parts store)

The ball joint, now do you mean the onein the tie rod or hub? i assume you know how to replace the one in the tie rod. With that said there are no "ball joints" in the rockwell. I have some pics some where around here. They are just two shafts welded on the housing up and down. Then there are two bronze bushings that they turn on in the...ummm... outer hub/spindle mount/thing that the tie rod mounts to.

The brake adjustment is another thing, i need to go look at one of mine taken apart but if i remember right there are smaller bolts on the top of the backing plate other than the 1 1/4 ones around 11/16 or 13/16 head not sure but right around there that is used for adjustment. illl check to see for sure.

 

[eddiec]

hi, RDD is right, the play is probably the "king pins", which are easy to replace. The seat adjustment bolts are just that, they move the bottom of the brake shoe in and out, toward the brake drum, so the shoes can contact the drum evenly when applying the brakes. When adjusting them, if you can not see them, you need to jack up the rearend to "play" with the adjustments on each shoe to check for propper drag.

 

[gringeltaube]

Eddiec,

I have at least two front axle housings with worn out king pins. You say those pins are easy to replace. I wish I knew exactly how to proceed in this case.
Many questions for the experts: Who has done it? Is there a replacement “kit” and instructions? What kind of steel alloy should be used to fabricate those shafts and obtain the same properties as original? What kind of welding electrodes? How do you ensure correct alignment after welding in place?
I’m always afraid of possible breakage when welding on hardened material and in this particular case I don’t want to think of the consequences!

Gerhard

 

[m35a2cowner]

Thanks for the welcome, if I understand you correctly the king pins are made onto the housing and the brass bushings are in the knuckle? To remove the knuckle do you unbolt the studs from the (as we use to call them banjo housing) or do you remove the bushings from the knuckle and you are able to work the knuckle off of the kingpins? I have changed king pins in 2 wheel drive pickup and medium duty tucks but never anything with 4 wheel drive. I was encouraged to see eddiec say they were easy to change. Also as for the 1 1/4 nuts on the backing plates, would it be proper to back off of the adjusting cams at the top of the backing plate and adjust each of the bottom larger nuts out until you felt a slight drag and then finish the adjustment using the cams? Someone told me once you have to use a feeler gauge and remove the wheels to adjust brakes. Sounds like a lot of extra work.

Also, I will pass along this bit of knowledge I picked up trying to fix a dragging brake. For years the right front brake would not release as fast as the left. I tried changing the cylinder, spring, lubing the shoes (where the ride on the backing plate) and changing the brake hoses (which larger NAPA stores can match with items they stock). Turns out the hole in the brake shoe (where it goes over the stud with the snap ring) was a bit undersized on that particular shoe. A few strokes of the rat tailed file and a dab of Never Seize and it was fixed. It was one of those Homer Simson moments. Thanks for the help

 

[ken]

I rebuilt my front end last may. The king bushings are mounted in the knuckles. If you look on top and bottom of the knuckles you will see 4 bolts . These bolts hold the bushings. I strongly sudjest you remove the hubs, spindles and brake backing plates. It's a lot easier to move the knuckles with all that weight removed. I bought a kit from boyce equipment to do it. You'll have to pull the axle shafts to get to the inner seals anyway. I made a puller to get the inner seal caps off. But it's not nessary. When you get the new bushings the need to be burnished or reamed to the proper size. Also the ones i bought didn't have grease grooves so i put them in my lathe and cut some. It's easier than it sounds to swap the bushings. And i'll bet some one can post pick on how the get the inner seal holds out.

 

[rdixiemiller]

If the pins themselves are worn, it is harder to repair. I would probably turn a sleeve to drive over the original stud and ream the bushing to fit.

 

[m35a2cowner]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like an interesting job. Ken I have a question, how do you cut the grease groves. I don't have a lathe so I'll have to rig something up. Are the groves straight up and down or on a spiral? Is there someone who sells them with grooves? Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions and information.

 

[gringeltaube]

Robert,

Those pins wear out mainly in one direction adopting an oval shape and it doesn’t take to much wear (-0.02”) to cause wheel wobble and shimmy because of loose steering knuckles. Replacing just the bushings won’t help to much.
On the other hand a new (thin wall) sleeve, pressed over the worn out pin, would reproduce the same “out of roundness” so it’s no remedy.
What I did once was using a Dremel and lots of emery cloth to grind and polish the shafts back to a nearly cylindrical form and fabricate custom bronze bushings. Good results but terribly time consuming!! There has to be a better, more professional way! Who has done it and how?

Gerhard