Pinion Nut Chapter Two

When the work in Chapter One is only – mostly done, you need a Chapter Two to get it –really done. Let me quickly summarize Chapter One, the Pinion Nut Episode.

While I was out riding my bicycle with Lance Armstrong, juiced up with synthetic testosterone, I decided I had to remove my pinion nut in order to fix a leaky rear end. The pinion nut could not be removed in the regular way, so I split the nut, found a replacement nut, installed the pinion oil seal, put the nut back on. Voila, done, finished, happy ending.

Not so fast Alice! A couple of days after this alleged happy ending, the rear end spun on the stand that was holding it and ended up pointing straight down.  No big deal, the new oil seal would work. However two days later, Dale came by and casually asked what that dark stuff coming out of my rear end was. After I checked that my Depends were not leaking, I too saw that a pool of oil had leaked out of my truck’s rear end. This was not good. Obviously my earlier work was not done correctly.

My first thought was that I had purchased the wrong oil seal. Remember my 1954 ¾ ton truck is special and if I don’t put “pretty please with a cherry on top” on my order, the parts companies send the ½ ton part – which doesn’t work. I carefully looked at the part description and sure enough it was not the ¾ ton version.  I call the store and they confirmed it was only for the ½ ton truck and they did not have one for my special needs vehicle.

After spending the next few days searching the internet parts stores, I could only fine one store that had the correct part, or so they stated - Bill’s Truck Store in Canada. When I called I actually got Bill, this had to be a sign.  He was very helpful, gave me some tricks to try, and said to send in pictures of the old part so he could double check to make sure the new part was correct. After many calls and emails it turns out that the new part I had was what he sold and should work. Now what??

I decided to test the oil seal and see where it was leaking. I would put the parts together, put oil in the seal, and then observe the results. Perfect, I just had to get some type of oil for the leak test as I didn’t have any transmission oil, and isn’t oil, oil.

This reminds me of another time where I used a substitute oil instead of the correct ingredient. I was making dinner for my 13 year old daughter at the time. She loves macaroni and cheese, the kind in the box. I, coming from the ‘any ingredient’ will work culinary school, wanted to substitute something for the two tablespoons of BUTTER called for in the instructions.  Cooking oil is like butter, right? And Olive oil is the best oil, right? Nothing but the best for my little girl.

Well it turns out not all oils are created equal.  Brooke had her brand new FDA/USDA 100% pure taste buds set for real Mac and Cheese. As soon as the first solitary macaroni touched her tongue, it was like someone with a gun going through airport security – alarms, sirens, flashing lights. No way Jose! She ended up eating frozen waffles that night for dinner. Even I had to admit that olive oil did have a distinctive flavor that infused the Mac and Cheese with a taste you could not forget. I called Rachel Ray and told her to cancel this recipe.

Well for my oil seal leak test I opted for vegetable cooking oil, the seal didn’t leak. My conclusion was that I didn’t know what was going on and that unless my truck was pointed straight down, in which case I would be worried about a whole host of other things than a leaky rear end. I was putting it back together and living with mostly fixed.

Everything went back together just as expected, but now I had to tighten the pinion nut with 160 to 220 foot pounds of torque. Next time I make Mac and Cheese I think I might add a little Torque, it has to be better than olive oil. If you remember from chapter one, I needed a 1-5/8 inch Huge Ass socket to do the deed. Tightening the pinion nut was a two person task and required some create use of bars and other parts to keep things from spinning while you are torquing down the nut. I concocted a U-bolt, angle iron device to attach to the pinion flange and then had my lovely wife hang on for dear life while I was busy torquing the nut. With both of us about to bust a chitlin, we got to 160 fps of torque. Hallelujah!

The first thing I noticed was my nice U-bolts now looked like L-bolts, fixing this will be Chapter Three. My wife is one strong Mamacita. The second problem was the slots in the pinon nut where the cotter pin slides through did not match the hole in the shaft.  What this means is that I had to tighten the nut more in order get all the slots and holes into perfect celestial alignment.

My previous technique was not going to work; another way to tighten the nut had to be used. I resorted to the time tested solution – Manly Power Tools.  The first thing I did was grind a 16^th of an inch off the Huge Ass socket so it would fit all the way down on the pinion nut, then I plugged in the air compressor and put on the air impact wrench. It was like magic, the air tool neatly moved the nut so everything lined up. It took 5 seconds.  In retrospect I think it would have even taken the nut off in the first place instead of having to split it. Live and learn, testosterone is the best way.

If anyone wants some Mac and Cheese, I do have leftovers.



The Kingpin Exercise

As you can see the front suspension was rough. After 57 years, parts wear out, I can attest to that. The before picture shows the front brake drum, shock absorber, leaf spring, axle, and engine. Besides the normal wear and tear there was some trauma to the right side of the truck as the leaf spring was broken at the rear spring eye. The job was to take it all apart and replace the worn components, without breaking the bank.

Taking the front end apart was not too hard, just dirty. You can see all the parts posed in perfect harmony. The biggest job was removing the bushings from the steering knuckle. Initially Brian offered to press them out. So I dutifully loaded my kingpin parts, steering knuckles, and axle in my car. However, due to work schedule conflicts I had the parts rolling around in the back of the car for three weeks before we could hook up.

Brian has more Big Boy Man Tools than anyone, that is all except for the special K357 Kingpin Bushing Reamer tool. It is critical to ream your bushings after they are inserted. While you might confuse this with polishing your nuts, you could say it is at the other end of the spectrum. Brian wisely suggested that I have a machine shop ream my bushing! Better safe than sorry is my motto.

Using a machine shop was a good idea, although it was hard to find one that would do it. I called regular shops then called automotive shops, they all said no, even the references they suggested did not work on kingpins. Finally I called R & R Speed shop, Yes! They did Kingpin bushings. Whoohoo and only $15 dollars each.

I took the parts down to R&R and dropped off the steering knuckles, the new kingpins, the old kingpins, because you never know what they really do in a speed shop, they might need the old ones for historical purposes. Then I brought in the front axle. This is when the salesperson gave me the look – the you really don’t know what you are doing, look. He says, “what is this for”?  I reply that you press the kingpin in the steering knuckles, through the axle. He replies that everyone knows that, but that is something you can do, Pilgrim.  Okay so I take my axle home and wait for them to press in the bushing. By this time I would be lost without an axle sliding around in the back of my car anyway.

Two days later, I picked up the parts, well I didn’t quite get it correct. It was $15 per bushing, 2 per knuckle, $60.  All in all a bargain, cause they slid in perfectly.

I followed the directions in the Shop Manual, put in a few shims and voila, the steering knuckle is attached to the axle. When I first got the truck, we towed it, from where the transporter dropped it off, to my house. It was steerable, barely. However, once we got the parts apart I could hardly move the spindle, now it is easy as pie - man does it feel smooth.

You can see it installed. Kingpin through the steering knuckle, attached to the axle, front bearings installed, brake backing flange, and steering linkage. Just like a hip replacement.

Happy Day



Progress Update

We did survive the April 27, 2011 outbreak of killer tornados, little or no damage in Huntsville, but we were out of power for four days and with parts of the county out for seven days. I was able to work quite a bit on the truck, but got behind on my updates.

Orders

Custom Wheels in California shipped the chrome rims and they should arrive at the house on Monday or Tuesday. Signature is required. The last order I got that required a signature took three tries to deliver and eventually we had to go to FedEx to pick up the package before it was returned to the sender.

The running boards made it last week and don’t they look grand.  Sturdy, light fiberglass looks great and won’t rust. I also bought the running boards bolt set as well as the gaskets and cab retainer. Well guess what, the bolt set is for the original steel running boards and won’t work for the fiberglass version. Off to Fastenal, I am going to set up a house account. This is starting to put a damper on ordering the parts early, almost half the time I do, it turns out wrong.

Got a call from Posie’s two weeks ago, the front springs were finished and they wanted to know if they should ship them now or wait for the full order and ship it all at once. Heck yeah! Ship those babies. Now I can really make some progress. The springs came midweek and I quickly filled up the living room with leaf springs and spring parts. Sometime before I came home the next day a Leprechaun transported all of the parts to the Man Garage. I was really disappointed since I was going to drink beer and look at them that night.

The new leaf springs mostly fit; this is car terminology for “they did not fit”.  When something mostly fits, that means you can take out all your cherished Big Boy Tools and really get to work. With the one-two combination of the grinder and Huge Ass hammer, the springs “now fit”. I put them on the frame with the front axle – looking good.

I did get a boo-boo while installing the springs. Turns out a small piece of sheet metal sliced my finger. I stopped crying once I got my Hello Kitty band aide to stem the out rush of blood.

Well stay tuned, lots more to come.

Easter Restoration Dinner

The old saying is “don’t play with your food”, well my take on it is “dine on your project”. You just have to take some time to have fun with the restoration project.

Stephanie decided to invite all our empty nester neighbors over for an Easter Restoration Dinner this Sunday.  The weather was glorious, nothing is better than a spring Alabama evening, cool, no bugs and even no humidity.

I was able to use some plywood to make a table top on the frame, this is what we call red neck table leaf extensions. Yes Virginia, there is a 54 Chevy Truck frame under there. As you can see the old Stove bolt cleans up nicely. Just compare it to three months earlier. Like I said, spring in Alabama is great.

Stephanie cooked up an Iron Chief worthy resurrection dinner that started with her signature shrimp cilantro ceviche, the main course was a dichotomy of hot green chile chicken enchiladas and red chile carne adovada. Did I mention that they were Muy Caliente.

Que Tal Mamacita!

This dinner was a culinary fusion between Bobby Flay and Click and Clack.

This is me serving dinner.

Living in the South you must have the proper place settings, plates, knife, fork, crescent wrench, shop rag napkin, and beer glass. This is Cotillion certified, in other words a high speed collision between Martha Stewart and Tony Stewart. We found that the 3/8 inch wrench worked best for the fresh berry desert.

The red beverage cooler was Stephanie’s birthday present, happy birthday baby, when I get done with the Truck Project I will lower it, put a turbo charger on it, and paint it with flames.

The highlight of the dinner was when our fifteen year old daughter Brooke graced us with her presence. At this age they are skittish and unpredictable so we enjoyed the sighting, brief as it was.

All in all, a truly unique evening with friends, family, southwest cuisine, and southern automotive culture.

What could be better!



Master Cylinder and Brake Lines

I have dutifully wire brushed the master cylinder and it looks sweet – there is something about a 55 year old patina and a retro design. I know some bronze sculptors that would kill for this look. Just for the record this has nothing to do with the mechanical functions, but then neither do high heels, sometimes looking good is the point. Regarding the mechanical part of this exercise, I have carefully taken the master cylinder apart and have the rebuild kit on standby.

As you would expect the insides are corroded and scored.  Could be a problem, but I don’t really want to buy a new one. After using 1000 grit sandpaper to hone the cylinder, I am just not sure that it is good enough. I decide to use a Lifeline – the neighborhood Goodyear shop. We take both our cars there and they do great work. I take a quick walk to the shop, it is just three blocks away. With the master cylinder in hand I confidently go in and talk to the salesperson at the counter. He gives it a look, admiring the patina (Ha!).

His first comment is that they never rebuild anything anymore. I am thinking to myself, can I cancel this Lifeline and reuse another time. Actually, I agree with him and we all know Dale does. If I was in business the time it takes to rebuild a part is cost prohibitive. He did look at it and basically said to try it, if there is no flow through the seals, you are good to go. If not, well there are plenty of options all involving new parts. The plan is to pressurize the brake system and check for leaks.

In my quest to reuse as many parts as are safe, I am going to use the existing brake lines. They seem to be in good shape, rusty, but solid. I take out my trusty wire brush and get to work. They clean up nicely and I spray on rust inhibiting primer, Magnific!  The compression fittings all turn, so I will be able to install the lines properly. Okay, all but one bad boy. You guessed it; the fittings on the long line would not turn. After crushing the brake line trying to turn the fitting, I used Uncle Hank’s automotive tip #5. Measure the old line with a string to get the accurate length and then buy a premade brake line at the auto shop.

Well my string said to get a 7’-1” line, Houston we could have a problem.  Sorry but no 7’-1” premade lines, however it is better to be lucky than good.  The store had a 6’ and a 1’ line, and the happy ending is the connector is 1’’, exactly what I needed. With my $2.00 pipe bending tool I formed the lines to the exact configuration needed, Sacre Bleu. By comparing the pictures I took before we disassembled the brake parts, I was able to re-install the master cylinder along with the front brake lines.

Oh sweet progress.

Pinion Nut Episode

There was a major oil leak from where the differential connects to the U-joint. Use of modern diagnostic MRI technology indicated that the pinion oil seal failed. This is not a fatal condition, but does require replacement. It was fairly easy to find a replacement part for the oil seal. The next step was to remove the pinion nut. First problem, this is a 1-5/8 inch size nut, translation into everyday speak – a Huge Ass Nut.  No one I knew had a socket this large; I figured I had to call Halliburton to send out some oil rig equipment and a drilling platform to get it off. Next issue, the pinion nut is a castle nut with slots for a cotter pin; this just makes it, well special.  The third issue was that Ricky Bobby the last person that put the pinion nut on used a chisel to tighten the nut. See reason one and two to understand why, he did not have a Hugh Ass Socket or know anyone at Halliburton, but he did have a big hammer.

The chisel technique basically fused the slots into the pinion threads making it impossible to remove the pinion nut. So Brian and I resorted to an advanced Man Technique, crack the nut off! This involves using a small drill bit to drill through the side of the nut, weakening the nut so that you can crack the nut in half with large hammer and chisel. I got out my brand new Harbor Freight drill bit and one metal filing came off and then it was like drilling with a wooden dowel. I used all 5 of my Barbie drill bits that were made in China with no progress. It was like trying to drill a hole into super hard steel with a piece of limp spaghetti. When things get tough the Manly thing to do it to buy bigger and better tools, so I bought 3 carbide bits at Home Depot, made in the USA. With one bit to spare I drilled through the nut and was able to split the nut.  Ouch!

 There was this little voice in my head that kept saying, it will take a miracle to find the replacement pinion nut, however, I was reassured by my pit crew that they were a dime a dozen and we could always make one as a last resort. Right…My first call was to Fastenal, one of my favorite stores, they have all the bolts and nuts anyone could want. The web site had a category dedicated to slotted nuts and even had a 1-1/8 diameter nut, just my size. Whoohoo!

Since I was out of town, my loving wife took my cracked nut to the Fastenal store and said she needed one of these for her husband. You have love her spunk. They made her put down the hammer and chisel before they would help her.

Turns out the pinion nut is very special, having 19 threads per inch, so Fastenal did not have one, but did offer to “fabricate” one for only $150.  When I retire I am going to get into the fabrication business and make a lot of money.

Next stop was Bills Truckstop web store, I gave them a call and while they did not have the part they did say that Randy’s Ring and Pinion would be my best bet. How could I go wrong, with Pinon in their name, they had to have it. Well, Randy’s catalog only went back to 1962, I have heard this before – is this a conspiracy? Okay, being resourceful I Binged - Huge Ass Pinion Nut, this is like Googling but not as good.  Let me make a socio-anthropological comment, it is scary that this is how we talk now.

After a number of dead ends I landed on West Coast Differentials, Jay the salesperson was very helpful, in fact he is the first salesperson that said he would look into something and call me back, that actually called me back. Luck was on my side and they had a 1-1/8 inch ID, 19 threads per inch, 1-5/8 OD Pinion slotted nut for a 1954 ¾ ton Chevy Pickup Truck. I took a deep breath and said the dreaded words – How Much? Silence, I could tell he was figuring out how much more he needed for those Laker tickets.  Twenty dollars was the reply and well he threw in the washer for good measure. All I could say was – Great! I was glad he didn’t say $50 dollars.

I got it in a few days and it looks great, they even dressed the threads, who said customer service was dead.



One Good Turn Deserves Another

The work on the brake system is progressing. After cleaning the drums, cylinders, and wheel brake parts with my trusty wire brush and chemical bath, I am rebuilding the cylinders. Two of the wheel cylinders are in good shape, but two have some corrosion. The shop manual says NOT to use an emery cloth to smooth out the cylinder inside, okay I won’t. It says to use a Crocus Cloth, - WTF! Okay, I am sure I need one, so off I go to the local parts store and ask the salesperson which aisle has the Crocus Cloth – I get the same look my daughter gives me when I ask her a question. “Huh”. No Crocus Cloth, so I decide that 1000 and 2000 sand paper will surely work.  I am going to sand the cylinder walls smooth and see if the seals hold, if not I can replace the units.

The temptation is to replace everything as all the parts are old, dirty, and rusty, not to mention almost 60 years old.  I have decided to reuse the parts if they still work and are not a hazard. I will replace them if they don’t work. It will be easy to replace the parts since I will have done the deed and will be past the learning curve.

Now for the brake drums. They had some grooves so I figure I should get them “turned”. Don’t know why I knew that, it must be something in the Man Genes.  Same reason geese know how to fly south for the winter.  It turns out that the local parts store turn brake drums for $12 bucks each, not bad.  I bundle up my cleaned 8-lug drums. This is a bit like how women clean up their house before the maid comes.  No man would take his dirty drums to be turned. I am off to the store for the turning!

Next thing I know I am talking to the salesperson and asking some questions about how you can tell when it is time to do the deed, when he comes out and asks “Why are you turning your drums, pilgrim”.  Well can you say deer in the headlights, I just looked at him and thought if I said it was in my DNA and it was turn my drums or fly south he might call the police.  While I was trying to come up with a reason, the lady salesperson, looked at the drums and pointed out that she could see some very small scoring, so maybe it was needed. Her ‘compassion gene’ kicked in, thank goodness.

That was when they informed me that I would need new brakes shoes, since everyone knew that once you turn the drums the old shoes would squeak like crazy if they were reused.  Okay, another conspiracy, so my question was, how much are new brake shoes? Oh not much $10 each, great I say, I will take four.

I got the drums turned and bought two sets of shoes and I am back to the garage.  Well the next day I take a look at the brakes shoes and they are 4 inches wide and a few inches short.  My old brake shoes are 2 inches wide.  Well I take the shoes back and explain that they are the wrong size.  Turns out that the stores computer only went back to 1962 (I have a 1954 truck) and the salesperson figured that since this was the oldest he had they would fit.  Something is wrong here.

Now I am looking for the brake shoes for a 1954 ¾ ton Chevy truck, code name “unobtainium”. However, I did find a couple of web stores that had them, but they were $50 a set. Oh well, par for the course. I ordered them and if I am lucky they will be on the same boat that my chrome wheels are one.

What do you know, a miracle happened and the new brake shoes arrived today.

Looking forward to a great weekend. I am going to sell the old shoes on eBay, anyone need 1962 brake shoes?