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'72 K5 - Where do I go from here?

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No good news, but a good lesson learned. I attempted to put the u-joints in the axle shafts (I had the old ones pressed out). Seemed like an easy thing to do......famous last words! Long story short, after banging on the caps with a 4lb sledge, I still could not get them in far enough to get the clips on (they are the inside clips). I honestly considered saying screw it. My logic was that as hard as I slammed those things in, there was no chance they were going to just come out on their own. I thought that over for a day and realized the potential disaster if they did come apart.

Tail between legs, another big piece of humble pie, back to the shop I go.......well, apparently I (somehow) got a needle bearing or two stuck between the joint and the cap on a few of them. I was really busy at work, the shop was really busy, but they were pushing to get (new) u-joints installed (properly)........Friday they ran out of time, yesterday they ran out of time......yes, if I had known they did not have time I would have taken it somewhere else, but by the time I found out it was mid afternoon on Saturday - my plans to get the front end all back together this weekend were out the door. Sure, I'm frustrated and pissed off (at myself) over the whole thing, but I can't get mad at the shop, they are taking care of people who need a way back and forth to work first, my 'toy' gets pushed to the bottom of the list under those circumstances, and I agree with that rationale. I lose next weekend (anniversary, and wife already said, "next weekend is US, period."

I'm sitting here finishing off a cup of coffee debating between insulating/drywalling the shop bathroom, or doing some other stuff on the Blazer. Yesterday a friend dropped off stuff for the bathroom (5 sheets of drywall and a bundle of insulation are sitting on the Blazer frame.....pissing me off every time I look over there).........btw, he was supposed to come help me with the drywall today.......time to make some phone calls.

It's all good. I'm learning a ton, having fun with it all, and, at the end of the day, laughing at all of my mistakes.
 
We call that sort of thing "tuition" around here. Greg72 has a bin full of steel pieces he calls his tuition pile. We all inadvertently break parts, fab stuff wrong, or make other mistakes that cost us time and /or money but buy us experience...

Good thing it's a hobby and not a business huh?
 
I appreciate you taking the time to share the good and the bad from these experiences. Like you said earlier in the build, when you're done you will be able to say you built the truck from the ground up by yourself and everything will be new and working properly, thats going to be a great feeling! All this stuff really helps those of us that haven't been down that part of the rabbit hole yet too.
 
Thanks Adam - that's why I try to document all lessons learned - so others can learn from this site as I am. Some great people on here, any little thing I can do to contribute will be done.

Rusty - I love that, "tuition." Perfect. Yeah, damn glad I don't count on this to make money.......I'd go bankrupt.

Said screw the bathroom. Moved the Sheetrock and insulation out of the way and put on the new tie rods. What a PITA! Lesson learned - pipe wrench to hold the steering......cross connector (round tube goes from one side to the other). Those old tie rods were in there tight - very tight. Pulled the front diff cover - only about 3-4 ounces came out. With pan laying flat, it barely covers bottom!

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With the workweek I'm having - this is nice to see. Wife picked them up from the shop today. Sure, I feel like a loser having someone else fix my screw up, but oh well - lesson learned.

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Don't feel bad, those can be a real whore...especially if it's the first time doing them, and if the parts are old.
 
When (or, "if") something goes easy.....I'll be worried. Thought I came up with a clever way to bang in new lug studs - use race remover/installer upside down. Banging away and they all go a certain point - but no more. I put washers on a stud, grab a lug nut. Fire up the compressor - impact gun until I strip the lug nut - you can still move the hub or rotor independelty. Not much, but you can rattle them. I investigate old vs. new lug studs - note the tiny difference in the shoulders (new one has a taper further up). That alone is keeping them from seating. Lesson learned, be very careful selecting lug studs. If I am wrong, fire away, but i don't see what else is keeping them from seating.

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Past the lug stud debacle. Trying to wrap up hub. I am absolutely baffled. I even took it all apart and ensured the race was seated. The two pics below - first is inside of the locking hub, the length of those splines and the second is the axle shaft protrusion from the spindle (the length of those splines before the groove for the locking ring. The splines on the hub are longer than the splines on the axle shaft before the groove, meaning that you can't get the locking ring on, and you can't pass the "play" test. The spline bolts on, can't change that length and the axle shaft is seated in the rear, can't change that.

It's not anything with the two nuts (one with protruding nub) and the washer. The washer is seated with the protruding nub in a hole. Hell, in the pic you can see the end of the spindle, so I know the bearings and nuts are not causing the problem.

Any ideas? I am totally baffled.

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Dirsuper said:
Past the lug stud debacle. Trying to wrap up hub. I am absolutely baffled. I even took it all apart and ensured the race was seated. The two pics below - first is inside of the locking hub, the length of those splines and the second is the axle shaft protrusion from the spindle (the length of those splines before the groove for the locking ring. The splines on the hub are longer than the splines on the axle shaft before the groove, meaning that you can't get the locking ring on, and you can't pass the "play" test. The spline bolts on, can't change that length and the axle shaft is seated in the rear, can't change that.

It's not anything with the two nuts (one with protruding nub) and the washer. The washer is seated with the protruding nub in a hole. Hell, in the pic you can see the end of the spindle, so I know the bearings and nuts are not causing the problem.

Any ideas? I am totally baffled.

View attachment 200214

View attachment 200215
Click to expand...

Kinda looks like an issue that I had with my hub swap. Read through my Suburban thread, starting here.
 
My guess is the slingers on the axle shaft aren't letting it seat past the seal. Dealt with that same issue on a hub swap before.
 
Temporarily bolt the caliper on and see if it lines up with the disc. That'll tell you if somethings binding and keeping the hub from seating.
 
AJs72K5 said:
My guess is the slingers on the axle shaft aren't letting it seat past the seal. Dealt with that same issue on a hub swap before.
Click to expand...
Yep, maybe the seal. Also, take a big pry bar and force the stub shaft into the spindle from the rear. You might need to compress that stub seal some to get the lock ring on. Keep the knuckle straight when doing this.

Wait. I've never seen a tapped hole in the end of a stub shaft. WOOh
 
What is this seal?

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Martin
 
I can't thank you guys enough! K85 - prybar did the trick. You Sir, are a goddamn genius! bp71, I appreciate it, had done that earlier in the day and it all lined up. Hell, at that point I was questioning......'did the caliper mounting plate go before or after the spindle.........'

As far as threaded hole is concerned, I have no idea, I defer to those with more knowledge (pretty much everyone else on here) than me. I do know that the two sides are different. This side is late model, not '72.......FrankenBlazer! Hey, my middle name is Frank......and I appreciate Sinatra........I might be on to something.

82355, I don't understand the question.....it's the spindle seal. I don't know enough to provide any more info. I can only say that acquiring the parts for this aspect of the build involved quite a few hours of research, phone calls, returned parts, trips to NAPA Auto parts, etc.

Thanks guys, I am stoked. I read the replies this morning when I got back from the gym and was chomping at the bit all day to get home to try out the pry bar.

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82355, found this if it helps:

Thank you for your order from www.quad4x4.com.

Your invoice number for this order is Q19315.
Please retain this invoice number for reference information.

You have ordered the following:

Qty Description Unit Amount
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 (4734) QK4734 SPINDLE BEARING KIT $25.60 $25.60

2 (40232) QU40232 SPINDLE THRUST WASHER $16.00 $32.00

2 (40043) QU40043 ONE PIECE SPINDLE SEAL $8.58 $17.16

1 (5500) QT5500 BEARING PACKER $28.98 $28.98

1 (1802) QT1802 BEARING CUP INSTALLER $25.97 $25.97

1 (1803) QT1803 BEARING CUP INSTALLER $24.97 $24.97

1 (1100) QT1100 1" X 8" HANDLE $19.97 $19.97

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: $174.65
Shipping & Handling: $21.14
Total: $195.79

Order placed at: Fri Feb 19 12:35:59 2016
 
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