The Pig Rig!

[1976gmc20]

My poor old 91 suburban feels so neglected now ...

[ericjon262]

lol, thats how my project car, and my DD both feel right now!

I pulled the 6 lug front axle out:



Hung new springs:



and got the housing in:






this is when I started to hit a few snags, the tierod is super close to the leaf springs, way too close, especially when you consider the fact that the ball joints and leaf spring U bolts aren't tight yet. the knuckles are pre-1977, which have a top down taper, instead of a bottom up taper.









I started working on the rear brakes. the shoes look great, and there really isn't that much dust, I suspect they have been under utilized, maybe a bad rear brake line not passing fluid?







The fluid in the wheel cylinder was nasty. I'm going to replace them both, they're only about $10 each, so well worth it. for good measure, I'll do the calipers too.

[Offroad Design]

We commonly will use these to get some Tie rod clearance on the nut down knuckles

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Axl...%20Plates.html

Edit:
I think you ended up doing High steer?

[ericjon262]

Originally Posted by Offroad Design

We commonly will use these to get some Tie rod clearance on the nut down knuckles

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Axl...%20Plates.html

Edit:
I think you ended up doing High steer?

I did,

We (ORD and myself over email) came up with a couple of solutions for my problem.


one was to use different tierod ends, like these for a 73 K5 blazer

https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-45A01.../dp/B000C9MGRE

I didn't really like that as much, because the bend looks weak compared to the strait ends.


the next option, was to shim the axle using ORD offset plates like described above

I wasn't sure these would net enough clearance. it's hard to say without the balljoints in the knuckle tight.


another option, was to tighten things down as it, and see exactly where everything lands, which may end up not being so bad, as mentioned, the spring and axle more or less, move the same amount, so a little clearance is all that's needed anyways.


the last option, was to go with a high steer setup, and like the sucker for shiny parts that I am, I ended up ordering the high steer. it should be here this weekend, along with a few other parts/tools I've needed to get this hulk moving again.


on another note, the rear drums were able to be turned! that saves me a little over $100, which all went to getting new wheel cylinders, and calipers. hopefully, by the end of the weekend, I'll have the front wheels on it and my neighbors can quit giving me "the look" lol!