Axle pt34

I installed the knuckles and axle shafts tonight. I had to remove the spinal, rock guards and caliper brackets so I could mount the knuckle and slide the shafts through  the opening. I was in such a hurry putting the passenger knuckle on that I forgot to line up the plastic bushing with the slot in the knuckle. So I pulled the cap off, removed the silicon, lined up the bushing, reapplied more silicon and bolted the cap back on. Also I am still working on my house, the last pic is the first wall with insulation and proper sheet rock in my garage. I also picked up an older craftsmen tool chest recently. I took it all apart and cleaned everything, removed the casters and re installed them with larger hardware (missing and damaged hardware as well as a frozen wheel). I have been amassing more tools and it will be nice to have a home for them.

Axle pt33

When I cleaned up the king pin parts I noticed that one of the shims that goes on the bottom of the spring was broken. I decide to replace them both. After visiting all the local parts store I came up with nothing... so I made my own. I welded a couple washes together. A large one on the bottom in that will sit between the spring and  the kingpin bushing and a smaller one on top to keep it centered. I also painted the top and bottom caps gloss black engine enamel. 

Axle pt32

With the defective u-joints out I took some 220 grit sandpaper and cleaned up the u-joint mounting surfaces before applying a thin layer of grease and pressing the new u-joints in. They took quite a bit of force to press in but were easier than the defective ones. 

Axle pt31

Anytime I rush something or settle, it comes back to bite me in the ass, u-joints are no exception.

The autozone u-joints were a little too tight and when "persuaded" to fit the last one cracked... I'm glad this happened now while everything is apart. So I had to remove them drop $120 on a pair of Spicer ones.   

Shocks pt1

Since I have been putting some serious money into the front axle I figured I might as well have nice shocks as well. Here are my Stage 3, 10" Thuren built King 2.5 shocks. The 2.0 fox shocks will go on Thomas's first gen dodge. I also plan on building a pair of radius arms and picking up a set of Thuren soft ride coil springs.

Axle pt30

I finally got some paint on the housing. Three coats of gloss black engine enamel.

Fuel system pt2

I replaced the lift pump today. I ditched the mounting hardware and went with 8-1.25 X 45mm studs, lock-washers and nylocks. I went in from the top removing the fuel filter. I removed the old one and tried to remove the fuel heater but it would not budge. I unplugged the fuel heater and installed the new pump, it was a PIA with the studs it would really suck to reuse the original bolts. I hooked everything back up and fired the truck up. It ran rough for about 10 seconds then it smoothed out. Since the over drive likes to pop out the second you let off the throttle I went ahead and installed a DNR customs TPS delete kit. It allows you to set the overdrive shift point manually. I set it to engage at 45mph.

Here is the link to a TPS delete I did on my 12 valve,

95 cummins over drive fix  

Fuel system nightmares

The starting issues with Eli's truck are not over. They were gone for a short time then returned with a vengeance. The truck would crank and crank and when it would finally fire up it would run extremely rough for about 20-30 seconds like there was air in the fuel. After a fair amount of running around I found Napa Auto parts carries diesel fuel line. I picke up 11 feet of 3/8" id rubber line (it was all they had). We lifted the bed up dump truck style to get to the fuel tank and bypassed the supply line. I put an inline filter near the motor and bypassed the fuel heater. After running to autozone to buy  a hand held fuel transfer pump (I couldn't find mine) I pulled diesel though the new line and hooked the line straight to the lift pump. I primed the pump and started it up. The truck fired up on the first crank and was running smooth, the lift pump was leaking like a sieve though. Next up replace the lift pump...  

Axle pt 29

Some wire wheel action for the hub spinals as well as u-joint removal. I picked up new u-joints only to come home and find that one was missing a seal. After returning to the store i was informed that those were the only two in stock. So I took a 20 mile trip at 9:30 at night to another store to get the u-joint.