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1989 K5 - Gradual Learning

First 4x4 - learning basic maintenance / upkeep and maybe some small mods.
Overview Gallery Discussion
shima said:
Thanks, @imiceman44. I appreciate it. I am honestly not sure if it is the original axle or not.

I took a look online... couldn't find just that seal on AutoZone's website. I did find this kit that looks to have the seal I need:
https://www.autozone.com/suspension...front/duralast-wheel-seal-sbk1/12299_747966_0
Click to expand...
I looked back at previous posts and you have a 10 bolt so it probably is just a bad angle that makes it look different.
The kit you found has the spindle inner bearing and the hub seal plus an o ring that I don't recognize.
If you go in the store you might be able to get just the seal.
The spindle bearing rarely goes bad but if the kit is cheap enough might be worth getting it and changing it.
 
I ended up buying a couple of new hub seals:
New Hub Seal

New Hub Seal


I found the seal's part # from the kit description then searched for just that and it turned up. $5 each.

A question for you all:
When tearing everything down I got to the point where I could remove my hub and then stopped. I didn't take anything else off, so for example the shields are still on each side and the axle shafts are still in on each side.

All I intended to do was clean and repack my wheel bearings + clean and lightly lube my hubs. Should I do anything else while I have everything apart like this?
 
shima said:
I ended up buying a couple of new hub seals:
New Hub Seal

New Hub Seal


I found the seal's part # from the kit description then searched for just that and it turned up. $5 each.

A question for you all:
When tearing everything down I got to the point where I could remove my hub and then stopped. I didn't take anything else off, so for example the shields are still on each side and the axle shafts are still in on each side.

All I intended to do was clean and repack my wheel bearings + clean and lightly lube my hubs. Should I do anything else while I have everything apart like this?
Click to expand...
If you didn't have any play in the bearing then you are good with your plan.
If it wasn't tight then I suggest you change the bearings and check the ujoints on the shaft
 
I "finished" this job last Thursday night, then promptly caught a stomach virus. I have been out for the count from then until basically now.

Some notes from the job...
  • This video was excellent for demo, I followed it step by step:
  • This video was excellent for hub cleaning:
  • I followed the Haynes instructions for reassembly / adjustment. My torque wrench only goes up to 130 (?) ft lbs. I saw other threads on here about wheel bearings and some guys were saying they would do 120 on the outer spindle nut and call it good. I used my impact on it which was probably a bad idea but it felt like a reasonable solution at the time.
  • I couldn't get the snap rings back on. In the demo video that I linked (above), there are no snap rings at all. So I figured it wasn't the end of the world.
I have some questions for you fine folks!
  • Can anyone remember exactly where the snap rings fit? I can try and get them on again, but I was having a hard time remembering exactly where they sat when I took them off. It has been a few weeks now.
  • After reassembly I ended up with a gap between my locking hub "cap" and the actual hub body. I must have really goofed something up, anyone have any ideas?
These are the snap rings that I couldn't get back in:
Snap Rings

Snap Rings

Couldn't get these back in...

Here are some pics of the gap that was left behind (this is on both driver and passenger side) after the reassembly:
Gap #1

Gap #1


Gap #3

Gap #3


Gap #4

Gap #4


EDIT: @CK5 is there a way for me to display the raw YouTube URL in my post? The [MEDIA] tag is applied automatically every time I try and post the link. I just want the link to show - not the preview.
 
shima said:
I "finished" this job last Thursday night, then promptly caught a stomach virus. I have been out for the count from then until basically now.

Some notes from the job...
  • This video was excellent for demo, I followed it step by step:
  • This video was excellent for hub cleaning:
  • I followed the Haynes instructions for reassembly / adjustment. My torque wrench only goes up to 130 (?) ft lbs. I saw other threads on here about wheel bearings and some guys were saying they would do 120 on the outer spindle nut and call it good. I used my impact on it which was probably a bad idea but it felt like a reasonable solution at the time.
  • I couldn't get the snap rings back on. In the demo video that I linked (above), there are no snap rings at all. So I figured it wasn't the end of the world.
I have some questions for you fine folks!
  • Can anyone remember exactly where the snap rings fit? I can try and get them on again, but I was having a hard time remembering exactly where they sat when I took them off. It has been a few weeks now.
  • After reassembly I ended up with a gap between my locking hub "cap" and the actual hub body. I must have really goofed something up, anyone have any ideas?
These are the snap rings that I couldn't get back in:
Snap Rings

Snap Rings

Couldn't get these back in...

Here are some pics of the gap that was left behind (this is on both driver and passenger side) after the reassembly:
Gap #1

Gap #1


Gap #3

Gap #3


Gap #4

Gap #4


EDIT: @CK5 is there a way for me to display the raw YouTube URL in my post? The [MEDIA] tag is applied automatically every time I try and post the link. I just want the link to show - not the preview.
Click to expand...
Something is not seated all the way. Do not run it like this.
 
imiceman44 said:
Something is not seated all the way. Do not run it like this.
Click to expand...

I won't - I'll probably just have to take it all off and try assembling again. Bummer but now that everything is cleaned and greased it shouldn't be too bad.
 
Welp, figured out what I did wrong this time.

Watched this video, and saw clearly that I installed the outer wheel bearings the wrong way when I put everything back together.


I had 'em put in the other way. Stupid mistake. Hopefully I didn't harm them when I torqued everything down and they were in there backwards.
 
shima said:
Welp, figured out what I did wrong this time.

Watched this video, and saw clearly that I installed the outer wheel bearings the wrong way when I put everything back together.


I had 'em put in the other way. Stupid mistake. Hopefully I didn't harm them when I torqued everything down and they were in there backwards.
Click to expand...
As long as you didn't run them they should be fine
 
Got the wheel bearings finished up. Happy to be done with that job - I know it is important and I was meaning to do it for a long time before I finally dove in.

Silly question tonight for anyone out there reading, but how do you all handle seized bolts? Believe it or not all I'm trying to do is rotate my tires. One of the bolts that holds on the "4x4" center cap is seized in my wheel.

Here's a pic of the seized bolt:
Seized Bolt 2

Seized Bolt 2


Here it is up close - it's damaged real bad now:
Seized Bolt 3

Seized Bolt 3


All I have used on it thus far is a flathead screwdriver!! I tried soaking the back side with penetrating fluid, but the head of the bolt is too far gone now. My screwdriver just slides out when I try putting any real force into it.

Here's a pic of the back:
Backside View

Backside View


I was about to jump right in and start screwing it out with a drill bit, but figured I should ask around first and see what tips you all may have for me.

Thanks for any and all input, it is seriously appreciated!
 
Yeah, likely you'll have to drill it out. Ideally you drill it out with a bit that is the same size or a little smaller diameter than the shank of the bolt, by that I mean the diameter of the non threaded part of the bolt. Then you can try running a tap thru with the same thread pitch as the bolt is supposed to be and clean out the threads without having to cut larger bolt threads.

Worse case would be drilling it all out with a larger bit and cutting threads for a bigger bolt.

You can avoid this problem in the future by putting anti-sieze on the bolt threads.
 
Buy a cheap propane torch and heat from the backside. Not too much because you don't want to melt your hubcap. Once you have some heat in it, turn it over and stick a nice big flathead screwdriver in there.
Square it up, straight on to the screw head, and hit it hard with a hammer. Might take several blows, and a few times heating it, but the impacts and heat will shock the threads. Should screw out.
 
mrk5 said:
Yeah, likely you'll have to drill it out. Ideally you drill it out with a bit that is the same size or a little smaller diameter than the shank of the bolt, by that I mean the diameter of the non threaded part of the bolt. Then you can try running a tap thru with the same thread pitch as the bolt is supposed to be and clean out the threads without having to cut larger bolt threads.

Worse case would be drilling it all out with a larger bit and cutting threads for a bigger bolt.

You can avoid this problem in the future by putting anti-sieze on the bolt threads.
Click to expand...

Justin V said:
Buy a cheap propane torch and heat from the backside. Not too much because you don't want to melt your hubcap. Once you have some heat in it, turn it over and stick a nice big flathead screwdriver in there.
Square it up, straight on to the screw head, and hit it hard with a hammer. Might take several blows, and a few times heating it, but the impacts and heat will shock the threads. Should screw out.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!! I guess I'll give Justin's approach a few tries tonight and if I don't get it after an hour then I'll move to Scott's plan. Never tapped threads before, sort of exciting to do that for the first time maybe. I will definitely be using anti-seize when I install everything!
 
Won't help @shima too much, but I actually have an impact screw driver set. You hit it with a big hammer and it twists a little plus providing the impact shock.
 
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-bit...NJWka54jS1wgiOX5LsM2KzNcO6J8vOMxoCiQUQAvD_BwE

64812_W3.jpg
 
Ran to Home Depot last night to get some replacement hardware for these stripped / destroyed bolts...

A guy that worked there helped me find replacement bolts. I told him about the seized bolt that I was dealing with and he convinced me to try out a cold chisel. I got two of 'em, each a different size. They were cheap. He said to basically dig it in and tap the chisel so that the bolt is moved counter-clockwise. Said he was a "junkyard guy" and that there was "no bolt that he couldn't get out with cold chisels". :D He was honestly a really nice dude.

Technically I did get the bolt out with one of the cold chisels, but I was using @Justin V's suggested technique. I was just trying to carve a new channel for my flathead, but coincidentally I was doing exactly what he suggested a few posts back. Next thing I knew the bolt threads were free.

Here is the new bolt I got from HD and the f***ing bastard bolt on the right:
New vs old

New vs old


Unfortuantely for me, the new bolts won't work as replacements... no room to get a socket in there:
New bolt won't work

New bolt won't work


So, I got my tires rotated but I had to reuse that destroyed bolt (and all of the other original bolts) for now. I know it's stupid. I am going to shop around for replacements - HD just didn't have exact clones.
 
I also recommend those eBay bolts. They worked great on a K10 I built.
 
Amigos!

Wanted to do a quick little K5 check-in...

Three questions for you all:

1. Can anyone tell what size gas tank I have from this picture? From reading the forums I am guessing 31 gallon. Just wanted to double-check.
What size tank?

What size tank?


2. When I turn my steering wheel to the right or to the left, it looks like my front wheels bow outward. Here is a picture of what I am talking about. This is with the steering wheel just gently turned to get into the parking space. Is this normal, or do I need to make an adjustment?
Normal?

Normal?


3. I changed my transfer case fluid recently. All I had on-hand was ATF+4, which to my understanding is Chrysler's proprietary ATF blend. I figured it was fine to put into my NP241 but thought I'd double-check with you guys.
Here is what I put in:
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/0e...a0383_1.693a7461e8d7cf44d772486ec85f190d.jpeg

Thanks for any and all input, as always!!
 
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