Hello/High School Shop/How did I get into this lol...
- Thread starter Plumcrazy
- Start date
I think unless it's visibly damaged, it's fine to reuse. (with new plastic bushings)
- Location
- Fruita, CO
The lower towers will be fine. Ive had to severely beat on almost every one Ive ever had. As long as the upper kingpin doesnt have any pitting or flat spots it should be fine to reuse.
Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
The lowers are a real b*tch to get off of old, crusty axles. If you dig something awesome, like crack one of the holes, PartsMike and a couple other places are selling the lower kingpins for I think about $40/ea.
The upper kingpin itself is nearly indestructible, the plastic bushing wears against it-- so unless it's obviously messed up, you won't have to replace it. If you DO-- factory torque spec on it is like 600ft.lbs, but mine practically unscrewed themselves: one good push on the breaker bar and it was loose. A 7/8 lug nut can be used if you can't find hex stock that big-- just weld it to a big bar and have at it-- but ONLY IF YOU NEED TO!
Kingpin rebuild kits also include two different-height rubber "seals" that go against the bottom of the kingpin, between it and the bottom of the outer knuckle. The taller one is for Fords if I remember. just compare them when you get everything apart. D:
The upper kingpin itself is nearly indestructible, the plastic bushing wears against it-- so unless it's obviously messed up, you won't have to replace it. If you DO-- factory torque spec on it is like 600ft.lbs, but mine practically unscrewed themselves: one good push on the breaker bar and it was loose. A 7/8 lug nut can be used if you can't find hex stock that big-- just weld it to a big bar and have at it-- but ONLY IF YOU NEED TO!
Kingpin rebuild kits also include two different-height rubber "seals" that go against the bottom of the kingpin, between it and the bottom of the outer knuckle. The taller one is for Fords if I remember. just compare them when you get everything apart. D:
So today was a pretty good day for progress. We managed to get the dana 60 completely taken down. King Pins look good, sleves look wore so I will need a king ping over hauls. Lower bearing looked really good. We pulled the carrier, ring, pinon, inner axle seals, etc... The housing will be sent to sand blaster along with the the other rusted parts. We also pounded out the wheel studs the good old fashion way, lol... The rotors need replaced and the calipers also. So far all bearings look really good so just seals. Need to order the gears and instal kit.
In addition to the dana 60 taken down, we also finally got the motor cleaned all the way down with wire wheels, and de-greaser... A couple layers of paint and it looks good. Just need parts back from the powder coater to finish it up.
We also got our intake in and cleaned the factory heat shield up and attached it...
So thing are moving along. I need more money, lol. But we will get there. We have state testing next 2 weeks and then Spring Break. I am also now coaching baseball which will take a couple days over the season. I am too busy, but thats is OK, I am still young (well sort of)...
So here are the picks...
So we had only 1 big pipe to get out the axle seals... It worked, but next time I will remember my set up from the garage...
Engine looking good and new:
Our King pin...
Removing the studs...
And finally the heat shield... read for install...
In addition to the dana 60 taken down, we also finally got the motor cleaned all the way down with wire wheels, and de-greaser... A couple layers of paint and it looks good. Just need parts back from the powder coater to finish it up.
We also got our intake in and cleaned the factory heat shield up and attached it...
So thing are moving along. I need more money, lol. But we will get there. We have state testing next 2 weeks and then Spring Break. I am also now coaching baseball which will take a couple days over the season. I am too busy, but thats is OK, I am still young (well sort of)...
So here are the picks...
So we had only 1 big pipe to get out the axle seals... It worked, but next time I will remember my set up from the garage...
Engine looking good and new:
Our King pin...
Removing the studs...
And finally the heat shield... read for install...
This week has been spring break. good for me as I spent a couple days in Moab with my 5 yr old daughter wheeling, but bad for the build.
Actually the week was not a waist. I got engine parts back from the powder coater and also managed to get the frame and the axle housing full sand blasted. If anyone ever needs anything powder coated or sand blasted I can not say enough about the Pro Powder Coating in grand Junction. Dave has given us tours, let kids use the powder coating system for fun and has given us huge help money wise. Please consider him.
At any rate this week I hope to get the motor put together and then we are taking the high school field trip to MOOB...
Can you believe it going to MOAB for a field trip on the Friday of the jeep Safari? Lucky kids.
Our trip will be great. get there at 10:00 am and spend 2 hours at the vendor display. Then go into town and visit the Mopar/Jeep display and walk to lunch.... Once we are done with lunch head out to Potato Salad hill for an hour of watching the guys crawl and play. Then head home.
I cant wait. We will definitely take pics soon.
Thanks for the support from everyone, kids are already asking about shop hours this summer to come in and work on it...
Actually the week was not a waist. I got engine parts back from the powder coater and also managed to get the frame and the axle housing full sand blasted. If anyone ever needs anything powder coated or sand blasted I can not say enough about the Pro Powder Coating in grand Junction. Dave has given us tours, let kids use the powder coating system for fun and has given us huge help money wise. Please consider him.
At any rate this week I hope to get the motor put together and then we are taking the high school field trip to MOOB...
Can you believe it going to MOAB for a field trip on the Friday of the jeep Safari? Lucky kids.
Our trip will be great. get there at 10:00 am and spend 2 hours at the vendor display. Then go into town and visit the Mopar/Jeep display and walk to lunch.... Once we are done with lunch head out to Potato Salad hill for an hour of watching the guys crawl and play. Then head home.
I cant wait. We will definitely take pics soon.
Thanks for the support from everyone, kids are already asking about shop hours this summer to come in and work on it...
So here is our progress as of now... And what we have been up too...
First off I need to start with thanks you from our sponsors/donors. Every little bit counts and some guys are going way above and beyond. So our big thanks in order:
Ground Pounder Fabrication (found on jeepforums.com) He donated the material to make one of his rear bumpers. They are stout and awesome bumpers. It was huge and has settled our rear bumper needs in a major way. Eddie is a great guy. He included the the bumper, 2 d ring mounts, 3 mounting brackets, and a receiver hitch tube. Now we just need to weld it up.
Our next big thanks goes out to Ruff Stuff. They generously donated 2 heavy duty diff dovers (14 bolt and 60) as well as disc brake brackets for the 14 bolt. The stuff is amazingly heavy duty and of great quality.
We also need to thank ProPowder Coating in grand Junction, CO. They gave us significant discounts on sand blasting out axle housing and frame. they also gave us a great deal on powder coating parts for our engine. They did an excellent job and will be receiving more business as the build progresses.
M.O.R.E also helped us out with good discounts on thier products. They helped with shipping and have been extremely helpful on the phone and very patient with us. they have been a great company.
Also I had a great experience buying from the guys at alljeep.com they gave us good pricing on some 5.38 gears front and rear, master install kits and the big one: A yukon zip locker....
Also to refresh we also had a twin stick set up donated from JB Fabrication for our dana 300.
And Crab Tree Tool donated some heavy duty front and rear hangers and shackles.
Also rust bullet has been great and donated product to coat and cover our frame and axles. I will have it done before the school year ends (coating that is).
We have been blessed so far... With that all out of the way here is what we have been doing. This last month we had 2 week state testing (what a waste of time and money(ooops I mean it is great lol). We also missed a day for Project Based Learning Projects (luckily I took the kids fishing for our project and visited a state fish hatchery).
So lately things have been slow, but this month we have been getting a lot done including a field trip to Moab during EJS!!!!
So here are our projects. We have begun installing the final items on the 360. This month we finished the paint job on the block. Got our powder coated parts back from Propowder Coating. We clearanced and rebuilt the oil pump assembly and also clearance the water pump. We got the Oil pan installed, water pump/timming chain, and oil pump installed. We also installed the intake, valve covers and got a new HEI distributor. The finish is nice and glossy, we just had some greasy finger from installing cork gasket.
Here is our engine as of now. Gloss Black and Plum Crazy Purple... I like the look. We also have the pulleys in Plum Crazy and the motor mounts will be plum Crazy as well...
Here are the parts we have gotten lately... More parts to install than time:
From M.O.R.E: We have a set of Bomb Proof Motor Mount, A steering Box Brace, and the front end full width kit. It is a great kit and very heavy duty.
We also have the Ruff Stuff Diff Covers and 14 bolt disc brackets:
We have the gears/locker and install kit here:
And our sand blasted frame... needs some repairs then it will get painted with Rust Bullet...
In adition to the motor and all the take down of axles and sand blasting, breaks, testing etc. We also managed to: Change the oil on 3 vehicles, replace the output bearing on a 72 blazer np205. Replace a rear yoke on a gm 12 bolt, replace a wore out u joint, and do a mega spring cleaning...
Up next we are going to finish up getting the other engine items installed (power steering, alt, york compressor for on board air, etc.) We are also going to patch up frame and coat with rust bullet. We have to built the front and rear diffs and assemble king pins etc. We have like 5 weeks left ( I do not think we will be as far as I had hoped).
Luckily this summer I have students already wanting to come in and work on it. How ever I will be driving truck this summer to make some extra money.
Wish me luck and thanks for all the great support thus far. It is amazing where we had started and where we are heading...
First off I need to start with thanks you from our sponsors/donors. Every little bit counts and some guys are going way above and beyond. So our big thanks in order:
Ground Pounder Fabrication (found on jeepforums.com) He donated the material to make one of his rear bumpers. They are stout and awesome bumpers. It was huge and has settled our rear bumper needs in a major way. Eddie is a great guy. He included the the bumper, 2 d ring mounts, 3 mounting brackets, and a receiver hitch tube. Now we just need to weld it up.
Our next big thanks goes out to Ruff Stuff. They generously donated 2 heavy duty diff dovers (14 bolt and 60) as well as disc brake brackets for the 14 bolt. The stuff is amazingly heavy duty and of great quality.
We also need to thank ProPowder Coating in grand Junction, CO. They gave us significant discounts on sand blasting out axle housing and frame. they also gave us a great deal on powder coating parts for our engine. They did an excellent job and will be receiving more business as the build progresses.
M.O.R.E also helped us out with good discounts on thier products. They helped with shipping and have been extremely helpful on the phone and very patient with us. they have been a great company.
Also I had a great experience buying from the guys at alljeep.com they gave us good pricing on some 5.38 gears front and rear, master install kits and the big one: A yukon zip locker....
Also to refresh we also had a twin stick set up donated from JB Fabrication for our dana 300.
And Crab Tree Tool donated some heavy duty front and rear hangers and shackles.
Also rust bullet has been great and donated product to coat and cover our frame and axles. I will have it done before the school year ends (coating that is).
We have been blessed so far... With that all out of the way here is what we have been doing. This last month we had 2 week state testing (what a waste of time and money(ooops I mean it is great lol). We also missed a day for Project Based Learning Projects (luckily I took the kids fishing for our project and visited a state fish hatchery).
So lately things have been slow, but this month we have been getting a lot done including a field trip to Moab during EJS!!!!
So here are our projects. We have begun installing the final items on the 360. This month we finished the paint job on the block. Got our powder coated parts back from Propowder Coating. We clearanced and rebuilt the oil pump assembly and also clearance the water pump. We got the Oil pan installed, water pump/timming chain, and oil pump installed. We also installed the intake, valve covers and got a new HEI distributor. The finish is nice and glossy, we just had some greasy finger from installing cork gasket.
Here is our engine as of now. Gloss Black and Plum Crazy Purple... I like the look. We also have the pulleys in Plum Crazy and the motor mounts will be plum Crazy as well...
Here are the parts we have gotten lately... More parts to install than time:
From M.O.R.E: We have a set of Bomb Proof Motor Mount, A steering Box Brace, and the front end full width kit. It is a great kit and very heavy duty.
We also have the Ruff Stuff Diff Covers and 14 bolt disc brackets:
We have the gears/locker and install kit here:
And our sand blasted frame... needs some repairs then it will get painted with Rust Bullet...
In adition to the motor and all the take down of axles and sand blasting, breaks, testing etc. We also managed to: Change the oil on 3 vehicles, replace the output bearing on a 72 blazer np205. Replace a rear yoke on a gm 12 bolt, replace a wore out u joint, and do a mega spring cleaning...
Up next we are going to finish up getting the other engine items installed (power steering, alt, york compressor for on board air, etc.) We are also going to patch up frame and coat with rust bullet. We have to built the front and rear diffs and assemble king pins etc. We have like 5 weeks left ( I do not think we will be as far as I had hoped).
Luckily this summer I have students already wanting to come in and work on it. How ever I will be driving truck this summer to make some extra money.
Wish me luck and thanks for all the great support thus far. It is amazing where we had started and where we are heading...
