79 k30 steering rebuild

[Lu Blunt]

Here's my story..... I bought a 79 k30 350/sm465/np205 dana70hd/dana60 crewcab about two years ago. Replaced carb, recored radiator, new straight pipe dual exhaust, adjusted the clutch. Running like a dream, using him to haul fire wood and anything else I can find lol. Started developing a death wobble up front. Brakes n rotors look good, leads me to think kingpins. Just a day or two ago I was delivering two cords of wood reversing down this driveway I ran over a big ass stump with drivers front tire at full turn. Was going downhill n hit it pretty hard. I can see the damage to the steering parts n bushing n tie rod. Steering has more play in it.
So here are my questions...
1. How difficult are the kingpins to remove n replace?
2. The crossover steering kit has all the parts I need to replace as far as the steering parts I broke but would require at least a 4" lift right? So new leafs n problem solved?
3. I don't have any experience rebuilding these parts, am I better of taking to my mechanic or doing it myself?

Anyone out there from southern colorado ?

 

[highdesertrange]

it's hard to see what's mess up on an upside down pic. king pins are easy. moog makes a neat caster/camber adjuster for the lower king pin. get yourself a book and follow the directions. highdesertranger

 

[Lu Blunt]

i had the broken steering parts replaced. my mechanic said all the seals n kingpins were new. replaced output seal on tcase. completely rebuilt front drive shaft. new rear u joints. drives great but 1 out of every 10 stops it still death wobbles real hard left to right. happens around 25-50mph normal driving speeds. doesnt seem to matter how hard or easy i brake or if i down shift or neutral or clutch in or out. just have to ride out death wobble once it starts. im having it aligned on tuesday hopefully that solves some more troubles. i attached a photo and my concerned are the joints inside the red circles at the correct angle. my other k30 has these joints sitting flat not ****-eyed. thanks for the help

 

[highdesertrange]

those tie rod ends sit where they want. are they tight? if there is no play in them they are not your problem. you have another problem something is out of spec or loose somewhere. btw it's almost time for tires that could be part of the problem. highdesertranger

 

[Camar068]

front axle ujoints? Might just need some grease in them. That was my culprit a few months ago. Check to make sure everything else is tight first.

 

[Lu Blunt]

how do i check if the tie rod ends are tight? do i need to jack up the front axle? my mechanic said everything is tight up front, he recommended the alignment and possibly a dual steering stabilizer. from what ive read the dual stabilizer is just masking the problem. could i have bent the new tie rod ends during a violent death wobble? seems like the front tie rod end pictured is bent towards driver side and the rear tie rod bent towards the passenger side. im attaching another pic of my other k30 dana60 to compare. maybe its just a bad pic because the tires are good. i greased everything i could after driving for a week or so. ujoints upfront are all new

 

[Lu Blunt]

Alignment shop called today and they say the front leaf springs bushing are too worn to complete the alignment. Gonna get new leafs, bushings, and grease able shackles from off road design. Anyone ever heard of leaf spring bushings causing death wobble? Maybe it's causing the poor alignment which in turn is the main cause of the death wobble?

 

[theblindchicken]

Alignment shop called today and they say the front leaf springs bushing are too worn to complete the alignment. Gonna get new leafs, bushings, and grease able shackles from off road design. Anyone ever heard of leaf spring bushings causing death wobble? Maybe it's causing the poor alignment which in turn is the main cause of the death wobble?

Play in any parts can cause some funky steering issues such as bump steering and death wobble mainly because the steering isn't in full control of the wheels with the extra play.

Worn spring bushings would allow the axle to possibly twist and shift from side to side enough to cause issues. In turn, it wouldn't be able to guarantee that the alignment would stay true throughout all situations.

 

[Lu Blunt]

Makes sense. Thanks for the reply. I'm Replacing the leaf springs n bushings and upgrade shackles and new sway bar bushings, steering brace... All the good stuff from ORD. Im looking for advice concidering a lift of 2" - 4" since I'm buying new leafs. How much lift till my drive shaft lengths come into play ? Around 4" -6" is what my research is saying. I don't mind new brake lines but would like to leave drive shafts n e brake alone. Leaning more towards 2" lift springs upfront n 2.5" shackle flip in the rear. I don't want to cause more steering problems or vibrations trying to solve the death wobble.

 

[Lu Blunt]

Any of you k30 crewcab guys have advice on suspension lifts ? I need my 4x4 goin strong before it snows, I would really like to order parts by Monday

 

[Lu Blunt]

Some of the new parts came in

 

[Lu Blunt]

Front leafs n shocks

 

[75gmck25]

Since it sounds like you want to do some real work with this truck, I would try to stay with about a 2"-2.5" lift kit. Once you go more than that you need to change more parts to keep steering aligned and tracking normally,. On a work truck I like to keep it simple and reliable.

With a 2" front lift, the rear shackle flip should work, but take a look first to see the condition of your rear springs and whether they should be replaced. You might find they are in bad enough shape that they should also be replaced.

If you are trying to get more overall clearance I would also look at swapping to 35" tires, which should fit with a 2" lift. Sometimes you can find take-off Hummer 8 bolt wheels and tires, which are an OEM solution for upgrading the wheels and tires.

Bruce

 

[Lu Blunt]

Since it sounds like you want to do some real work with this truck, I would try to stay with about a 2"-2.5" lift kit. Once you go more than that you need to change more parts to keep steering aligned and tracking normally,. On a work truck I like to keep it simple and reliable.

With a 2" front lift, the rear shackle flip should work, but take a look first to see the condition of your rear springs and whether they should be replaced. You might find they are in bad enough shape that they should also be replaced.

If you are trying to get more overall clearance I would also look at swapping to 35" tires, which should fit with a 2" lift. Sometimes you can find take-off Hummer 8 bolt wheels and tires, which are an OEM solution for upgrading the wheels and tires.

Bruce

My thoughts exactly on simple n reliable. I had already ordered 2" lift springs up front n 2.5" shackle flip for the rear. Glad u agree on the 2" lift for a work truck. Also got Hd shackles, greaceable bushings, new shocks, steering brace kit, sway bar bushings.
Do the hummer wheels n tires work on a dually ? My first thought is no, but have never researched the topic

 

[75gmck25]

I agree that the Hummer tires/wheels would not work on a dually. I didn't realize that is what you had.

You can probably use 235/85r16's on your dually wheels, and they are about the tallest HD tires I know of that fit stock wheel width/size. However, even those tires are usually only about 32" tall.

Bruce