Front axle off set to passenger side

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iamtherealJayy

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I can retorque lugnuts in morning. What’s torque spec? Another thing I’ve seen 80-140 too much variation to just assume. I’ve only recently gotten a torque wrench so they’re only breaker bar tight
 

bucket

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90-100lbs should be good for a K10 with 7/16" studs. A C10 with 1/2" studs, 100-120lbs should be good. For the 8-luggers, I never bother to torque them. I just run them all snug with the gun and then go around them all with a few good ugga-duggas. Probably around 150lbs.
 

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Mines an 87 3/4 ton I hand threaded then impacted down then twisted with a breaker bar until I thought they were right
 

bucket

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Mines an 87 3/4 ton I hand threaded then impacted down then twisted with a breaker bar until I thought they were right

Probably fine, but there's always the chance of corrosion or something that caused one not to seat fully. Then the wheel ends up a little loose after some drive time.
 

iamtherealJayy

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I’ve put 12 miles on the truck since January.. I usually don’t recheck lug nuts until 50ish miles lol truck is sitting at 95011 miles currently. Hasnt rolled over yet but it’s getting close :(
 

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So out of curiosity, is it possible to put the sway bar on with truck just sitting on level ground? Or do I have to lift frame or truck and loosely install then lower teuck and tighten
 

bucket

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So out of curiosity, is it possible to put the sway bar on with truck just sitting on level ground? Or do I have to lift frame or truck and loosely install then lower teuck and tighten

When on level ground is ideal. But since the bar basically fastens to 4 different hard points and there's aftermarket parts involved, it may be easier to get bolts started by raising or lowering the axle in relation to the frame.
 

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I’ve put around 25 miles on the truck so far all in all, I’m going to wash the truck later and recheck everything and make sure everything is tight. The truck rides fairly well so far although I try to avoid every bump possible and the truck could use some better shocks
 

bucket

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I’ve put around 25 miles on the truck so far all in all, I’m going to wash the truck later and recheck everything and make sure everything is tight. The truck rides fairly well so far although I try to avoid every bump possible and the truck could use some better shocks

It's not the shocks, that's just how the Pro Comp springs handle over bumps. They are some of the roughest riding springs available for our trucks. Honestly, if you went from no shocks at all to even a set of Bilsteins, you might not even notice much difference. That's really not even a joke, unfortunately.
 

iamtherealJayy

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The shocks are for ride quality lol, I dropped the front axle and when I unbolted the shocks neither side extended nor retracted after being unbolted… so they aren’t doing much at all lol. The truck drives down the road fairly straight but there’s still quite a bit of play in steering, like the wheel is straight when going down road but if doing a slight left I have the wheel probably every bit of 60° rotated to left.
 

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^That could be slop in the rag joint on the steering shaft, steering box, or both. Since you have new stuff underneath.
How’s it handle turns with no sway bar? I have some extra stout front lift springs. Good for a snowplow maybe, lol.
Once I get it re-assembled. Planning on trying with no sway bar.

On tightening the wheel lugs, I wouldn’t suspect a loose wheel (don’t hurt to check), if you can rebuild the front end, you probably got the wheels on it just fine.
Maybe I missed it, but if wheels are still toed out, could definitely be your issue.
As to coasting vs accelerating, when accelerating (or braking) you’re putting more or different stresses on components, which can/will push or pull them “straight.”
 

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Make sure the gap from the fender to the end of the bumper is the same on each side.

One of the things that can happen is the cab can be set on the frame rails crooked (this is especially true with the regular cab, since it is so short in comparison to a crew cab or Blazer/Suburban).

That means the hood, which is attached to the cab, is shooting off to one side. In order to get the hood to look right the radiator support and front fenders get pushed off to that side.

The end result is that you have more tire exposed on one side than the other.

Since the bumper attaches to the frame directly it becomes a convenient place to measure from, to see if your front end is square, or skewed.

It might not be the case with yours specifically, but I've seen it enough times it should be checked.
This is a good idea. I have a similar skewed issue on the right side of my 78 k10. No accidents but since every body part and the core support have been removed for various metal work.
I assume the rear bumper is also a good reference point?
How did the factory measure or square during assembly?
 

iamtherealJayy

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The wheels appear straight I made it roughly 3/8” shorter than the previous tie rod to bring the wheels together. The truck goes straight with a slight pull to the right sometime and the steering wheel still has the weird issue of its straight going straight you take an ever so slight turn and when you get back going straight the wheel is still slightly turned
Edit: I don’t think it’s rag joint since it looks fine and minuscule movement of steering shaft shows movement in the pitman arm
 

Ontheboulder

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To my best understanding the wreck was dad pulling a trailer down the road and a lady in a minivan pulled out in front of him, the impact was drivers front corner, trailer swung took out both bedsides. Dad said the axle was “sticking two foot out the passenger side” in 04 I would’ve been 2 so I have no proof on accuracy of that claim. He took a parts truck he had(same year truck just 2wd) and rebuilt this one and straightened the frame apparently. The only original to the truck parts are cab passenger door and passenger fender. I don’t have any photos of the wreck or any memory of the wreck. My ash tray door is twisted and doesn’t open and shut easily. Truck never been smoked in so I took the tray out of it and put in glove box and I have a controller for floor leds stuck in there currently
from that quote I would bet your frame is tweeked.
 

Ontheboulder

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Can someone tell me what I’m doing wrong and why all my expensive ass grease is just dumping out of everywhere?
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Also while adjusting drag link I moved the whole rear drag link, it’s torqued to 60ftlbs plus whatever it took to get cotter pin in so why does the joint move?
the grease coming out means it is full!
 

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