D60 washer trick- concensus?

[Can Can]

It looks like I need to boost up the spring preload on my D60 by a hair. Is there a general concencus out there as to what amount is sufficient. I have read and been told that 1/8" is just about right.

Any comments?

 

[Chaddy]

ya 1/8th is perfect for me which= 2 fender washers.

 

[6.2Blazer]

When I first installed my '77 D60 with what were probably the original bushings and springs it took 2 washers to cure the DW. After i installed new springs and bushings I just put one washer in each and it feels good.

 

[Chaddy]

When I first installed my '77 D60 with what were probably the original bushings and springs it took 2 washers to cure the DW. After i installed new springs and bushings I just put one washer in each and it feels good.

I did the same thing and after about a month or so I could feel dw tryin to come back so I put 1 more under there and its been 6 months with no probs.

 

[FRIZZLEFRY]

I put an 1/8" of washer per side and it did nothing.I have hydro assist also.My death wobble is so bad I cant even get in to 4th with my new 4 speed

 

[mouse]

One washer helped a little, and I would like to try two, but I need longer bolts to pull them down on the drivers side. Since I'm procrastinating, I'll probably buy kingpin rebuild kits and replace the springs and only use one washer per side.

 

[RedBrute]

I did this on mine about 2 years ago. It made a huge improvement to DW . I did notice the truck "tracked" differently going down the road after 2 washer install on both sides. Not bad... just different. I just rebuilt the whole front end this weekend. What I noticed was the new springs felt a ton stiffer than the old. The before comparison was with the front axle on jackstands, I could place my foot on the rim and cause the rim to deflect(compress the spring) without full body weight. with new pins bushings and springs it takes all my body weight to get even the slightest deflection. I'd say washers are a good temp fix, but looking back If I was going to pop the cap off, I'd rather throw at least new bushings and springs in. Also, I was amazed to see how much the original bushings had worn. It may be possible for that bushing to wear to the point where the washer the spring sits on the contact the top of the king pin. If that happens, no amount of fender washers will help.

 

[readymix]

try the fender washers first.
If that does not help call Highonda from PBB. He got me all the kingpin parts except the kingpins themselfs for a great price. I don't think that you could beat his price.

 

[Ryan B.]

Yep my k5 is driveable because of this trick.
I tried a lot of different things like playing with the toe in, tightening everything up... etc.
I ended up putting in 2 fender washers and that was about right. When i put 3 in and tightened down the kingpin cap, i could barely turn the tire back and forth by grabbing onto it (no tie rod attatched). So i took #3 out and just left two in there and it works pretty awsome. For the first week or two the steering had a little more trouble returning to center, and it tracked a little more because the kingpins were tight. But that loosened up after a week or two and now its fine.
Hydro assist was the big fix for me. The DW just came back after a year of driving so i finally tried this trick.

 

[4X4HIGH]

I had DW and tried the fender washer trick first with one washer and still had DW, then tried two washers and STILL had DW. I finally broke down and bought new springs and bushings and STILL had DW. I finally replaced my tires and the DW went away, for about 1000 miles. Now it is starting to surface again but not as bad. I'm now getting ready to install hydro assist and see where that brings me.