The Ultra Newb Thread, but could also be a nice refresher for all

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

Ok so im new here, but already I have learned so much from you guys and I swear I said this too one of you guys and I mean it. This has been by far the best 25$ investment i have ever made for my Blazer!

That being said here is my ultra newb thread, what will follow are a series of parts in a list. If you guys got the time or are bored enough could you post in reply what each part is and what it does, maybe even a location? Pictures would be nice if ya got em! ill set it up so you can just copy and paste the list

Once again I know it may be a no brain-er to some of you guys but i really wanna learn this stuff so i can stop paying people to do what all you guys do. As always thanks for the help and hope all your rigs are healthy!

What is.....
1. A king pin


2. Tie Rods


3. Zero Rate


4. Spindles


5. Ball Joints


6. Splines( gears )


7. Pinon


8. Yoke


9. Locker


Feel free to incorporate your own rigs into this, as in your setup, and why and how you like it. Im pretty much stock right now so the skys the limit as far as what will go into project "lets do it all over again to the same truck?"

 

[lectric80]

I will do my best, but I don't have pictures for you.

1. King pin is in the D60 front end. It replaces the upper and lower balljoints with a stronger pin design that incorporates a spring. Any searches for a D60 kingpin will show you what you need.

2. Tie rods are the big rod that you have that runs from left to right in front of the front axle. It is what ties the front tires together so that they both turn when you turn the wheel. They also prevent the tires from pointing at each other.

3. Zero rate is an add-a-leaf type block that adds an inch of height. They also allow movement of the axle forward and back 1" to 1.5". As the name implies, they add nothing to the spring rate.

4. Spindles are the portion of the front axle that the rotor and hubs ride on. Spindles allow the axle to pass through them, while still remaining attached to the knuckle. Since the knuckle doesn't spin the spindle is solid, with the rotor and hub being supported by a pair of wheel bearings. The spindle contains a bearing to allow the axle to spin freely.

5. Ball joints are like kingpins above. They allow the front wheels to turn, by providing a smooth surface and keeping the knuckle verticle. Ball joints are used on most axles outside of the Dana60.

6. Splines are the gears that slide into a matched coupler. Different transmissions, axles, transfer cases, and flanges have different spline counts. Spline counts must match to fit. For instance, a turbo 350 uses a 27 spline output, so any transfer case being mated to it must also have a 27 spline input.

7. Pinion is the portion of the front and rear axles that the driveline turns. The pinion is turned by the driveline, and it in turn turns the ring gear in the differential to rotate the axles.

8. Yoke is the portion of the pinion that the driveline attaches to. In a typical four wheel drive like ours, you have yokes on the drivelines, pinions, and axle yokes in the front axles. This is the portion that holds your u-joint.

9. Lockers allow the axles on an axle to be locked together. In an open differential, if one wheel is in the air all the power goes to that wheel. In a locked differential, both axles will spin regardless of contact with a traction surface.

 

[badmix]

#6 Splines - the number of "teeth" on the end of axle or drive shaft.

 

[68MUDSTUD]

1:Kingpin

2: Tie Rod

3: Zero Rate

4: Spindles:

5: Ball joints:

6: Splines

7: pinion

8: Yoke:

9: Locker

 

[MTBLAZER89]

The top picture is not a King Pin, but its a yoke (where one side of a U-joint goes)

Here is a King Pin...that needs to be replaced LOL

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

What is.....
1. A king pin

A kingpin is a pivot for the front axle so that it can steer. Kingpins are really the old way of doing things, they're more expensive and difficult to implement than balljoints (kingpins and balljoints are two different ways of accomplishing the same thing). Kingpins are generally stronger and last longer than ball joints.

2. Tie Rods

A truck with a solid front axle will generally have 1 tie rod, its purpose is to mechanically connect the two sides of the axle together. Generally the steering linkage will only affect one tire, the tie rod makes sure that both tires do the same thing.

3. Zero Rate

An aftermarket spacer that gives the truck 1" more height and allows you to move the axle forward or back by 1" or 1.5".

4. Spindles

Spindles are essentially pieces of tubing that support the wheel bearings.

5. Ball Joints

See #1

7. Pinion

The pinion is the smaller of the two gears in a differential. It will have fewer teeth than its partner ring gear and this is where the gear reduction in a differential comes from.

8. Yoke

A yoke is generally attached to the pinion gear or transfer case and its purpose is to create a method of attaching the universal joints on the driveshaft.







In this picture:

#'s 40-48 show the kingpin on a dana 60

#11 is a yoke

#2 shows a ring and pinion gear

#61 is a spindle

In case your interested in what all the parts are, I got the picture from here.

 

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

Wow! all of you guys this is so awesome thank you so much for the through and informative replies and thanks a ton fo those pics this thread is gonna really help!

 

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

Question. are zero rates something i should have? i hear about them all the time here and am wondering if its a mod i should do?

Question. how do i determine what splines i need too match up for my new gear assembly, I have a 700r4 with an np208 and 10 bolt rear diff.

 

[resurrected_jimmy]

zero rates are usually a solution to evening out a lift or if you want to move an axle +/- an inch from stock, until you get into a real plan of what you are building for I wouldn't include zero rates in your gotta have category.

There is no spline matching you need to do to change gears, ( I think that is what you are asking)

 

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

cool sounds good, i was just wonderin cause my truck looks almost as if its not level ill post a pic for reference. and as far as the splines im buyin a gear rebuild package and their were a whole bunch of different spline choices i just want to make sure i order the correct setup since its an online purchase.

 

[resurrected_jimmy]

your truck is very close to level it looks like, if you do want to go up an inch in the rear than zero rates are the perfect solution.

As for the gears are you looking at a locker as well (axleshaft spline) or do they want to know the pinion splines?

 

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

well im havin a local ck5er do the work so im tryin to decide on what route too go. i can afford the regear, but im thinkin if hes in thier might as well get the locker too right? i dont do any wheelin so im not sure if a locker is neccesary but im not sure any ideas?
oh and ill link the gear set up im lookin at as well as the locker

this is the gear package
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetra...237&t_pt=100679&t_pl=6066&t_pn=KITGM108510456

this is the locker
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetra...t_s=237&t_pt=5589&t_pl=5458&t_pn=DET187C-148A

 

[lectric80]

For the very limited amount of off road driving you are planning, I probably wouldn't do a locker. I would regear the 10 bolts and leave it at that. Yes, it is easy to do a locker while regearing, but for your intended purpose you aren't really going to see much benefit. And lockers can be really fun when it snows or get's slippery, not exactly daily driver friendly.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

well im havin a local ck5er do the work so im tryin to decide on what route too go. i can afford the regear, but im thinkin if hes in thier might as well get the locker too right? i dont do any wheelin so im not sure if a locker is neccesary but im not sure any ideas?
oh and ill link the gear set up im lookin at as well as the locker

this is the gear package
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetra...237&t_pt=100679&t_pl=6066&t_pn=KITGM108510456

this is the locker
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetra...t_s=237&t_pt=5589&t_pl=5458&t_pn=DET187C-148A

If you don't take it wheeling don't bother with a locker, there's no reason for it.


My internet sucks really bad right now so your links aren't working but if 4WP is selling them I'm sure they are Genuine gears.

I have installed MANY gearsets in my day and will never, ever touch a set of Genuine gears. They are absolutely the cheapest and worst manufactured (Chinese made) gears imaginable. Half the time they are impossible to setup because they simply aren't made with tight enough tolerances which makes the gearset: noisy, weak and causes it to have a short life.

I would get your gears and bearings from porc (call them), they will be the lowest price and will supply you with much higher quality USA made parts. If your paying, what, $200 per axle for gear setup and spending $600 or so on gears and bearings its worth the extra $100 to have much better gears and make sure you don't have to spend the $1000 dollars again.

 

[lectric80]

Also try contacting CCOR (vendor here) and see what they will do for price. When I PM'd them, it was less than $1000 for a detroit, 4.11 gears front and rear, and master install kits. Gears and install kits were less than $500 and were Yukon gears. I know a few others on the board have dealt with them, and they have been happy with the gears and service from them.

Here is a link to their thread in the Vendor forum, with their phone number and other contact info:

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172854

 

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

awesome man that sounds great i want yukon gears anyways i hear nothin but good things about them and if i can hook it up through a fellow ck5er i would love that even more!
how do i get in touch with that particular vendor?

 

[h0wl0ngcanitbe]

ya well i definitely dont want too put any foreign parts in my rig, i try to purchase everything in my life from US made products thanks for the warning on the cheapo parts!

 

[lectric80]

awesome man that sounds great i want yukon gears anyways i hear nothin but good things about them and if i can hook it up through a fellow ck5er i would love that even more!
how do i get in touch with that particular vendor?

You can go to the thread I linked, and then put in a request for a price quote, or you can click on their user name and send them a private message, or they have a phone number at the top of the thread to be used to contact them.