Errol62 wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2024 8:39 pm
Pitman arm worked loose again. I re-tensioned it to 100’lb. See what happens. Could be mum or dad or both are flogged?
Try cross-threading it (red-neck Loctite ). A better option might be safety wire.
Could be worse. When I first bought the FB the steering was sloppy. Bought a pitman arm puller, and bent it trying to separate the two. Pulled the entire assembly and put it in an 8 tonne press. Would not give, even with that load on it. No signs of welding or other skullduggery. Stored it under the house in the naughty corner.
Cheers,
Harv
327 Chev EK wagon, original EK ute for Number 1 Daughter, an FB sedan meth monster project and a BB/MD grey motored FED.
Chasing a rear wheel bearing noise, well that is what it sounds like to me. I tried running in gear with the rear on stands, as well as rotating by hand, but cannot pick it. So I pulled the axles. Neither bearing appears notably notchy. They are both resistant to turn, though smooth, and have equivalent shear movement.
What I did discover is a weeping wheel cylinder. Fortunately not bad enough to contaminate the linings. New ones are cheap. I’m considering just replacing both bearings to see if the noise goes away.
FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie
getting my FB ute on the road
EK van on rotisserie
NOS wheel cylinders
The bleed thread is coarse, where as the after market ones are fine. I’ve got the choice of buying new rubbers and coarse bleed screws but fine will be easier to seal and new after market are plentiful and cheap.
Pretty tidy under the back
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Wheel cylinders only $20 each but bearings more like $60 each. Can’t tell by observation which one it is if either so lucky I have a couple of spare axles. I will keep the originals as spares in case a bearing goes on a trip.
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So what to do on Christmas Eve? Put the rear back together with fresh bearings, hydraulics, seals and gaskets. Reconnecting the handbrake I notice the shaft touching the cable. Wasn’t doing it when I checked it last but I did adjust the cable up a bit recently. The front cable was loose. Could be the source of the noise.
Flushed and bled the brakes all around. Checked the pitman arm. It has shear play on the splines. Checked nut torque 100 ft lb. Next trick is to fit an additional washer and eliminate the possibility of the nut bottoming on something other than the pitman arm.
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That is exactly what is happening. The spring washer is bottoming on the step of the spline land. Either the shaft, arm or both are flogged out. Time to try the HD drag link again.
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EK van on rotisserie
It’s great when things feel better after you give them a birthday. Brakes feel nicer. Handbrake cable isn’t rubbing. Silly me had the rear suspension hanging. No more bearing sounds.
Washed and ready for sleigh duty.
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Thanks for the offer Rob. I’ve got plenty of steering box bits, including a full rebuild kit, pitman shaft and a few complete boxes. I was thinking that if the shaft needs replacing I could do so without removing the column assembly. I’ve not tried removing the assembly with the engine and crossmember in place.
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). A better option might be safety wire.
