The RedBurb

[imiceman44]

Thanks for the info. I’m always learning something new.

That's like tapping on the starter to get a few more days out of it or wiggling the plug to get a better connection.
It's a way to get by until you can get in and fix the problem.
On my suburban it's in the driver's door, the main switch is unplugging and I have to press it back in.
It happened so many times that now I have it hanging out so I can do it faster until I figure out a way to secure it

 

[AugustDiesel]

That's like tapping on the starter to get a few more days out of it or wiggling the plug to get a better connection.
It's a way to get by until you can get in and fix the problem.
On my suburban it's in the driver's door, the main switch is unplugging and I have to press it back in.
It happened so many times that now I have it hanging out so I can do it faster until I figure out a way to secure it

I kind of thought it sounded a lot like the starter tapping method.

My driver do window switch was doing the same thing, and I was doing the same thing for a while. I finally just replaced the switch and the connector.

 

[Chevman88]

I'm glad I'm getting rid of those switches and factory wiring, and moving to rocker switches and relays. Glad you got your window figured out.

 

[AugustDiesel]

I'm glad I'm getting rid of those switches and factory wiring, and moving to rocker switches and relays. Glad you got your window figured out.

Interesting. What brought you to doing this and how are you going about it? Custom dash or center console?

 

[Chevman88]

Interesting. What brought you to doing this and how are you going about it? Custom dash or center console?

I've never liked the quirkiness of those switches and my passenger side didn't work anyway, so I decided to setup my own circuits for the windows and door locks and put the switches in a custom center console (may go where the factory radio is supposed to be, my radio is getting put in the center console).

 

[AugustDiesel]

I've never liked the quirkiness of those switches and my passenger side didn't work anyway, so I decided to setup my own circuits for the windows and door locks and put the switches in a custom center console (may go where the factory radio is supposed to be, my radio is getting put in the center console).

As I was collecting my replacement doors, I seriously considered doors with manual cranks and manual locks for that very reason. But alas. Power windows/locks was all I could find.

 

[imiceman44]

As I was collecting my replacement doors, I seriously considered doors with manual cranks and manual locks for that very reason. But alas. Power windows/locks was all I could find.

I had a nice set of crew cab doors to put in my suburban but never had the time to put them on and finally after a few years and trying to sell them and no bites I scrapped them.
Now I regret doing so.

 

[AugustDiesel]

I had a nice set of crew cab doors to put in my suburban but never had the time to put them on and finally after a few years and trying to sell them and no bites I scrapped them.
Now I regret doing so.

Ah regrets, how they haunt us ...

 

[AugustDiesel]

Took the truck to an alignment shop Friday just to see what they could identify with the pull to the right. I always get kind of tense when someone else is working on my truck. Not really sure they did much for me. They changed my toe and my draglink (steering wheel is now cocked to the left when driving straight, I had it dead on before).

They also said to adjust the Camber, I would need to install “wedges”. I don’t know what they’re referring to, and I don’t think they really knew either (based on the lack of confidence in their description), but sounded like shims installed between the spring pack and perch. I’m not really understanding how that would affect the camber. Any thoughts?

I’ve included the alignment report for y’all review and commentary. I’ll try swapping the wheels from side to side next to see what that accomplishes.

 

[stan1688]

The only way you could change camber would be with spindle shims. A quick search shows some for dana 44s. I've never used them before.

I'll be interested to hear what others with more experience in the this field have to say about it all.

 

[AgDieseler]

My 60 came with one shim installed, and I chunked it because it didn’t need it after rebuilding the knuckles. I don’t like the idea of using them only because it puts odd stresses on the spindle hardware, but I might be overthinking it.

David

 

[AugustDiesel]

The only way you could change camber would be with spindle shims. A quick search shows some for dana 44s. I've never used them before.

I'll be interested to hear what others with more experience in the this field have to say about it all.

My 60 came with one shim installed, and I chunked it because it didn’t need it after rebuilding the knuckles. I don’t like the idea of using them only because it puts odd stresses on the spindle hardware, but I might be overthinking it.

David

Sounds like this is something I probably won’t want to mess with, but will keep in my back pocket as an option.

My ultimate concern is just making sure I’m not going to have excessive wear on my tires. I want to do my best to make sure they last the 40,000 miles they’re guaranteed for. If the concern for excessive wear is minimal, then I am fine with adapting my expectations and just living with it.

I’ll try swapping tires side to side, and I have one more idea in mind that requires a little more work that I’ll save for January if I need to.

I am currently wrestling with my power steering pump. Decided to do a warranty replacement and go the free route before dropping the $$$ to finish the hydro assist. Got it pulled during lunch and should have it back in before bedtime.

 

[Fastereddie]

Took the truck to an alignment shop Friday just to see what they could identify with the pull to the right. I always get kind of tense when someone else is working on my truck. Not really sure they did much for me. They changed my toe and my draglink (steering wheel is now cocked to the left when driving straight, I had it dead on before).

They also said to adjust the Camber, I would need to install “wedges”. I don’t know what they’re referring to, and I don’t think they really knew either (based on the lack of confidence in their description), but sounded like shims installed between the spring pack and perch. I’m not really understanding how that would affect the camber. Any thoughts?

I’ve included the alignment report for y’all review and commentary. I’ll try swapping the wheels from side to side next to see what that accomplishes.

View attachment 321136 View attachment 321137

Typical damn shop. All they did was take your money and mess up your straight wheel and toe. It takes alot of work to properly align a straight axle and they never have the parts on hand to do it. Looks like your caster may be the cause though. When I used to do alignments, the common thought was to set the left caster .3-.5 lower than the right to compensate for the crown of the road.
Caster will pull towards the lower number side.
Nowadays I hear the thinking is you want a very slight pull to the right, so if you doze off it won’t pull you into oncoming traffic. Ymmv...

 

[Fastereddie]

And for what it’s worth, my rig has always pulled to the right since I put the Hydro assist on it. I’ve just gotten used to it. Keeps me from getting bored.
Haha!

 

[Fastereddie]

Also, jack up all four corners and see if you notice more drag on one of the wheels. Could be tighter bearings or brakes. I’m sure you already have all your tire pressures even.

 

[AugustDiesel]

Typical damn shop. All they did was take your money and mess up your straight wheel and toe. It takes alot of work to properly align a straight axle and they never have the parts on hand to do it. Looks like your caster may be the cause though. When I used to do alignments, the common thought was to set the left caster .3-.5 lower than the right to compensate for the crown of the road.
Caster will pull towards the lower number side.
Nowadays I hear the thinking is you want a very slight pull to the right, so if you doze off it won’t pull you into oncoming traffic. Ymmv...

And for what it’s worth, my rig has always pulled to the right since I put the Hydro assist on it. I’ve just gotten used to it. Keeps me from getting bored.
Haha!

Also, jack up all four corners and see if you notice more drag on one of the wheels. Could be tighter bearings or brakes. I’m sure you already have all your tire pressures even.

Thank you for the feedback. It’s very helpful. I definitely had the impression that they didn’t accomplish much. I’ll definitely be looking into your suggestions.

In the meantime, I’ve made a bad situation even worse, it seems. I’ve got the replacement steering pump in, as well as a new reservoir, and while nothing seems to leak, I have absolutely NO steering. I can’t get the steering wheel to budge at all, not even a little.

Any ideas as to what would cause this and what I should be looking for?

 

[Fastereddie]

If I remember right you have hydroboost (I’m not real familiar with the bleeding process for that)
But normally you want the front end off the ground. Fill the resevoir. Without starting the engine you need to slowly turn lock to lock, adding fluid as you go, untill the level doesn’t drop anymore. Could take 25-50 turns... Then start it and let it idle. Check that the fluid didn’t drop. If it did, Shut it off and refill again. Keep doing that until the level stays full then slowly turn lock to lock checking fluid again with it running.

 

[AugustDiesel]

If I remember right you have hydroboost (I’m not real familiar with the bleeding process for that)
But normally you want the front end off the ground. Fill the resevoir. Without starting the engine you need to slowly turn lock to lock, adding fluid as you go, untill the level doesn’t drop anymore. Could take 25-50 turns... Then start it and let it idle. Check that the fluid didn’t drop. If it did, Shut it off and refill again. Keep doing that until the level stays full then slowly turn lock to lock checking fluid again with it running.

Yep I have hydroboost. I primed the pump as specified, but did not bleed as you are indicating. I’ll give this a shot in the morning and see how it goes. Thanks again.

 

[AugustDiesel]

Typical damn shop. All they did was take your money and mess up your straight wheel and toe. It takes alot of work to properly align a straight axle and they never have the parts on hand to do it. Looks like your caster may be the cause though. When I used to do alignments, the common thought was to set the left caster .3-.5 lower than the right to compensate for the crown of the road.
Caster will pull towards the lower number side.
Nowadays I hear the thinking is you want a very slight pull to the right, so if you doze off it won’t pull you into oncoming traffic. Ymmv...

Question is, how do I adjuster the caster angle? I have been looking on the internet but not finding much information.

 

[KirsL]

Yep I have hydroboost. I primed the pump as specified, but did not bleed as you are indicating. I’ll give this a shot in the morning and see how it goes. Thanks again.

The pump definitely needs to be bled and is done just as stated by fastereddie.

As for your alignment sadly most shops are too stupid to get it right. Even on my Dodge I've had to go right back because the wheel wasn't straight. The wheel being straight is more then just the look of it, it also throws off the turn signal cam too. So I'd definitely would be bitching at them to correct it. The needing of shims isn't uncommon. When I had the D44 front mine had them under the spring, to basically shim the entire axle.