[cerial]

Ordering new spindles and warn gold hubs today to install thanksgiving weekend. I can hear one drivers bearing rattling around when the wheel is in the air so I am guessing the spindle is gone.

I will just drill the old hub heads off. Will let me just pull the hubs and submerge the old ones in a vat of penetrating oil while the new ones are on the truck spinning.

If I can save them then fine if not then they have had a good 31 year run


Thanks for the help.

Bit of rambling below about the history and future of the truck if your interested.

Truck only has 103 on the dash and was all factory untouched. Confirmed after removing several factory parts. But the previous owner never maintained the thing. Most of the truck was all original factory 31 year old parts that amazingly still worked ok when I got it. Coil went out quickly after it made it back the 50 miles to the house. But I was able to clean up and save the distributor base despite having to tap and drill holes for the cap. The transmission pan leaked from a shifter seal so they just kept it topped off with fresh fluid for years. Even installed a new shiny chrome pan and neglected to tighten the pan drain bolt so the thing was leaking out of the seal.. But hey all that neglect kept the transmission clean. Suspension is good and the thing goes straight at 90. That's better then most my previous c30's.

I am chipping away replacing parts to save this thing while making upgrades. Engine exhaust currently leaks from a few spots but is quiet "enough" at idle. The thing also has bad rings and valve seals(smokes a little if I get on it) from neglect and sitting so I am just going to pull the engine next summer. Unfortunately they did not leave the oil pan bolt loose like they did with the transmission and constantly topped the engine oil off with fresh oil every few hundred or I would probably save the short block..
I am just replacing the 87 5.7 with a used good ($800-1000)88 from a part out upgrading to serpentine with all the accessories in the process which will avoid me snapping exhaust bolts off in the 87 head. I am not after power just making the thing reliable keeping it mostly factory. Should be a plug and play deal done in a weekend. Eventually I want to stuff a full standalone harness in it to replace the wiring.
Lots weekend upgrades to do before that point sensors, floor, shifter, and so on. I am about 30% of where I envisioned the "finished" truck in my head when first looking at the pile back in April. I have put around 3k into parts on this truck that was headed to the scrap yard with only around 3000 miles ran since April. Probably another 4k to go before I get the thing where I want it.

But she runs good enough to get me back and forth the 7 miles to work each day and I enjoy the look of and driving a square body. I just keep going at it on the weekends replacing parts and chipping away at the old girl despite her sometimes taking a swing at me from time to time with these rusted and seized parts.