I didn’t know you already had the Eaton. Use the Eaton.
Martin
Martin
CK5
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'88 K5 - Running Down A Dream
- Thread starter jimmyleetn
- Start date
Ground up restoration of my '88 K5. The plan is to go through every inch of the truck and fix or replace pretty much everything that needs it. This will also be a full vert conversion and I plan to make the vehicle look more like a 73-75 than 88.
Getting that angle grinder workout these past two days. Finally got it stripped down and coated in rust encapsulator. Ran out on my second coat but more is in the mail along with 2k epoxy primer and 2k satin black. It's amazing how much a little paint can make something look so much better. Also, the HF axle bearing puller is garbage. I sheared the pin the first go around and had to replace it with one from a smaller puller in the kit. I returned it this morning after I got the bearings out.
Man I'm close to putting it all back together. I'm currently torn on which pattern is better. I like the 0.032in pattern more but I know that it'll move when I press the bearing on, most likely shallower (the front did) . This makes me want to do the 0.034in. The problem is I did get some 0.010 readings with this setup. 0.007-0.009 is in the specs in the instructions. The shim kit I have only goes in increments of five so it's hard to go a little less. The Yukon shims that came with my bearing kit didn't fit so I'm using a Motive Gear one from the parts store. I do have leftover shims from the front and I did buy a second kit that I have not opened. It took every shim in the box since the Truetrac is shorter. May have to sand some shims down instead of returning that extra kit.
Final assembly and contact pattern complete. It was a big pain setting the backlash. I had it at 0.009 and tried to get it tighter and then chased my tail for over an hour with various shim combos. Finally got it set at 0.007-0.008. I used the OE 0.034 shim and used a pinion bushing with shims to set preload at 19in lbs. Considering I've never done any gear work before this truck I'm pretty happy. Should be painting it Friday.
It's looking good. I did a better job painting the front, but I'm gonna blame some of that on humidity. No one will ever see it in the light like I have anyways. I'm on target to be on the road soon. I've got a pretty good oil leak up front behind either the harmonic balancer or timing cover. Once I get the rear end on the ground I'll be fixing that (mostly so it doesn't drip/spray oil on all my freshly painted stuff). I'm also toying around doing a slip yoke elimination but can't convince myself it's really necessary for my intended use. Any thoughts or insight is appreciated. Either way my rear tail housing needs some help. Pretty good chip/crack by the seal causing a steady leak there too. Found a good refurbished one on eBay. Once I make a decision on the SYE I'll need to measure for axle shims, I'm sure I'll need a few degrees for a truly smooth ride.
You still have the NP208 right?
Martin
Martin
Yes. I think I'm going to just replace my damaged tail housing and run it. I talked to driveshaft specialists at Denny's and Tom Woods and neither felt like a SYE was necessary for my measly 3in lift. I do think a double cardan would be an adequate upgrade however. Truck rode rough at high speeds before I parked it, but a lot of that was a bad u-joint. I'm gonna run the stock shafts for the gear break in at least.
Side note: I'd love to have a NP241 with mechanical speedo but not enough to do a swap.
I agree with that sentiment. Unless you have a nearby salvage yard where you could pick up a Dodge NP208.
Martin
Martin
What year Dodge's have the NP208? There is a pick and pull nearby but I don't know if they'll have anything that old. I miss those days when I was in high school and I could go to the junkyard and find stuff dating back to the '60s or older. I don't think those types of places are around like they used to be.
I don't know Dodges well enough to answer that. I would just poke my head under a few, or see if they have any transfer cases already removed.
Martin
Martin
Same years as a Chevy.
The only problem with dodge cases is that they are not a direct replacement.
The bolt pattern is the same but the clocking is off so either you put a clocking ring or you use the back half of the dodge on your 208c case.
To do that you will need to drill a hole for the shifter rail because it's in a different place.
I have have done both options before and I ended up selling them so I can't show you anything but if you get your hands on a case I can guide you with the setup.
I appreciate the insight. To be honest the more I think about it I think I'm just going to run what I got. If I was going to be doing hard wheeling and have more of a lift I would probably start thinking about it. Considering the amount of work it seems like it would be a smarter play to just wait for a NP241 if I was going to go through that much of an effort.
When I did it, np241c was unobtainium.
Now I have a few
Funny how that works out that way. Same thing for me when I was looking for full tops and windshield frames.
Well, it runs. Fired it up for the first time since January today. Did not run smooth, probably just needs to be driven. I need to replace some sensors while I'm doing the harmonic balancer timing cover work. I know it needs a new knock sensor and plug and I'm thinking I may do the ignition sensor in the distributor as well. And has a tendency to not want to start once it gets hot and the starter is not the problem. Hoping to do a shakedown run tomorrow. That drive angle is scary btw! You'll see it in the picture below. I have new drive shafts order with double cardan joints. It's going to take a 10° shim to get it angled correctly. I almost wish I had just done the SYE but I still would have had to have done at least six degrees worth of shim. The front angles aren't as bad but I wouldn't shim it anyways because of steering issues. Today my Dad and I bled the power steering, bled the brakes, and filled both diffs full of oil. Took a little work to get all the leaks stopped on the brakes. I think the rear diff is going to leak, which is unfortunate because it has a lube locker that's only been used once. Stainless steel brake lines from inline tubing are the bomb by the way. Check out the pic of the rear. It's super sharp. I would have driven it today but the wipers don't work and every time we went out into the shop after a break it would start pouring.
Well the first shakedown run is in the books. It felt really weird driving it after having it parked for so long. Steering is definitely better. I think my toe is off some but it wasn't hard to keep it on the road and straight. The only thing that really concerns me at the moment is when I let off the gas for a very brief moment I hear a grinding sound. I really think it's coming from the transfer case or the driveshaft since those angles are so steep. I think if it was a pinion bearing it would do it the entire time I was coasting and it's not really a whirring sound, which from what I've read is the way it should sound if that was the problem. It also didn't sound like it was in the very back of the truck. For all I know it could have been doing it all along. When I had those thornbirds on there I couldn't hear anything before I started this tear down. Any thoughts?
Getting the shakedown runs done is fun. The vibration on decel is probably coming from the driveshaft. The pinion is dropping and making that angle at rest worse than before. The pinion needs to come up a slight amount, but I'd get some measurements off of each end to see how bad you really are.
I'd be careful driving it as mine made a similar noise on decel and ended up chucking the rear joint off of the pinion yoke when I came to a stop. My angles were off enough with 4" of lift and a slip yoke output I had to change to a cv on the front end of the shaft.
I'd be careful driving it as mine made a similar noise on decel and ended up chucking the rear joint off of the pinion yoke when I came to a stop. My angles were off enough with 4" of lift and a slip yoke output I had to change to a cv on the front end of the shaft.
I was talking with my dad and my neighbor and I believe you are correct on the drive shaft. I did the measurements on the Tom Woods website and it said I needed a 10° shim. I've got a double cardan ordered from Denny's. The shim should come in Wednesday so I can get the measurements.
To make matters more interesting I had put a new ignition module in last night and I'm pretty sure it's junk. The truck died on me going down the road on the second run and never did start again. If it did run it ran horribly backfired and blew lots black smoke. If I put it in gear it died. So now I've got something else to look at. I'm going to put the old ignition module back on and see if it runs better or at all. I got towed home by a Ford Explorer. It was a low moment for sure.
To make matters more interesting I had put a new ignition module in last night and I'm pretty sure it's junk. The truck died on me going down the road on the second run and never did start again. If it did run it ran horribly backfired and blew lots black smoke. If I put it in gear it died. So now I've got something else to look at. I'm going to put the old ignition module back on and see if it runs better or at all. I got towed home by a Ford Explorer. It was a low moment for sure.
Update: distributor cap came loose. I'd say that's why it would not run. Fun times.
Dumb question is that 10° shim with or without the double cardan shaft? With the CV the pinion should be in line with the drive shaft.I was talking with my dad and my neighbor and I believe you are correct on the drive shaft. I did the measurements on the Tom Woods website and it said I needed a 10° shim. I've got a double cardan ordered from Denny's. The shim should come in Wednesday so I can get the measurements.
To make matters more interesting I had put a new ignition module in last night and I'm pretty sure it's junk. The truck died on me going down the road on the second run and never did start again. If it did run it ran horribly backfired and blew lots black smoke. If I put it in gear it died. So now I've got something else to look at. I'm going to put the old ignition module back on and see if it runs better or at all. I got towed home by a Ford Explorer. It was a low moment for sure.
