broken anchor plate

[chicken joe]

so this afternoon i replaced my front spring bushings. all was going well, had the right side all done and torqued. my dad was troquing the u-bolts on the drivers side, he had two done and working on the third, the eye hole for bolt position 3 broke off.

tore it all back apart and found a broken king pin, the broken anchor plate, the u bolt is sprung 3in wider, my shim hole is all tore up, and the hole in the top of the axle for the king pin is all tore up.

turns out upon inspection of the anchor plate it was cracked befor today, it was half rusted where it broke.

anyone have any ideas what might caus this??

thanks mike

 

[rebelgregory]

Most likely caused by loose U-bolts.

Loose u-bolts will put a lot of load on the center pin (what u refer to as kingpin). The center pin will eventually beat up the mounting hole in the axle. Once it has a little clearance to move around it will cause all the rest of the damage you have. It will move around a bit while driving, but the axle will shift hard under braking.

For that kind of damage, there were most likely other symptoms (steering/brake-pull/noise/etc). If you haven't noticed any, I bet it will drive way better once you get it all together.

You'll have to get new center pins, shims, u-bolt plate, and repair/replace the spring perch. If you leave any slack in the joint, you'll be doing it again.

And most importantly.....

Replace your U-bolts. Torque 'em tight and check them after a few miles of driving and then peridocally thereafter. You're not alone, though. Most people who have had these trucks for any amount of time have had loose u-bolt issues.

 

[chicken joe]

this thing drove like a wet noodle in the city, and i was scaired to go over 45.

one time i had to slam on the brakes to not hit a dog and i felt the axle move, i just thought my bushings were that bad.

now all i can say is, im glad it happened on jack stands in the garage, than on the road.

 

[rebelgregory]

Kinda figured. With that kinda damage, it couldn't have driven very well. It's gonna take a little work to get it right - especially if you have to repair/replace the spring perch, but it will be worth it.

But yeah, glad you found it on the jackstand. It could have gotten ugly on the road.

 

[chicken joe]

that did it even the steering wheel is straight. more on my build page

thanks for your help