SeanB23

Aaaaand the second grease gun is all screwed up. Wont screw back down on a new tube of grease, no matter how hard I push while it's braced...the threads just don't catch.

For hours and hours and hours, with several friends helping.

Screw it. I'm heading to a hock shop or tool place and looking for an old grease gun from like the 50s or 60s. You get what you pay for with modern junk, and everything was built to far, far higher standards back then.

Too bad, what with Powerbuilt tools at Schmucks being half price right now. Guess they are half price for a reason !

Anyway. Even though I only greased less than half of the contact points on the Driver's side, I can tell a difference. Some of those "nipple" grease apertures looked as if they hadn't been greased in years, as they were just covered in frozen caked on dirt and grime.

Maybe I'll spring for some new shocks while I'm down under there. Hopefully, the front end will make it to Texas before I have to pay out the rear end to have it rebuilt, or buy specialty tools and teach myself how to do it.

Thanks for your help again, gentlemen. Are there any other things in particular I should be looking and/or testing for, that indicate front end damage or excessive wear ?

jimbo486

i will say that some of the squeaks you might be hearing are the cowl cracks between the fender and doors. mine squeak every now and then which drives me crazy. some days are better than others and i've over time began to ignore it.

you could check for slop in the ball joints. put a jack under either side of the front end and raise it off the ground. grab the tire at 12 & 6 o'clock and give it a wiggle. if you have any noticeable movement it could be one of 2 things, ball joints or wheel bearings. a way to tell would be to look at either the upper or lower ball joint for movement.

a way to check the steering would be to grab the wheel at 9 & 3 o'clock and wiggle it again. take a look at any of the steering linkage points for excessive movement as well.

SeanB23

I can grab the wheel with the front end jacked up in the air, and turn the entire steering system back and forth...this seems normal. None of the bars down there seem to have excessive play, in fact you can't wiggle or move any of them independently of the others at all.

Not sure what you mean by "any noticeable movement" when wiggling it. Like not even one millimeter, like it shouldn't budge as if it's anchored in cement ?

I've bought my third grease gun that does not work now. This one is the larger size 12004L 8000psi model:

http://www.leestool.com/rrt-12004l.html

Don't know what I'm doing wrong...load the grease cylinder in the correct way, release the tension on the bar coming out the rear end and push it flush against the end, then squeeze handle. No grease comes out, only air. It's full of grease, and the other hole is plugged. Everything is on tight.

No grease.

sigh.

Well, thanks for the help thus far, everyone.

kensmachine

some grease guns have a scerew by the pumping piston that you need to take out to let the air out whene you put a new tube of grease. ken

SeanB23

Tried that.

So I'm going to look at buying some shocks as well, to see if that helps. I could not find any info in the sticky about changing out shocks.

Is it as simple as jacking up the front end, removing the tires, and removing the old shocks ? Or do you need special pullers or compressors to remove the coil springs to get the shocks out ?

Dumb question, but I have never replaced the shocks on one of these trucks before.

Is this in the sticky somewhere, and I missed it ?

thanks again...

jimbo486

shocks are easy! jack up the front end, pull the wheels and tires if you want to. there are 2 bolts in the bottom of the lower control arm and one nut on the stud up top. i've got pictures if you'd like some visuals

SeanB23

Where are these pics ? Can you send them or post them ? Thanks !!!

SeanB23

Well, in the absence of those pics or a FAQ on changing shocks or a mention of it anywhere in the sticky, I will assume it's as simple as raising the truck in the air, and unbolting the shocks and replacing them. Nothing need be done with the coil springs or anything.

So here's a question. For a guy on a budget, which mid-priced shocks give the smoother ride ? The only ones listed at O'Reily's/Schucks, Baxters, and Autozone in my town, that are in stock are the "KYB" brand and "Gabriels". Bilsteins can be delivered in 5 days, but I don't have 5 days.

"Gas Magnum" 34868 ?

"Monro-matics" ?

"Gabriels" can be found at Autozone, but they take a while to get delivered.

"Gabriel Ultra" ?

"Gabriel LTV" ?

"Gabriel Load Carrier" ?

jimbo486

sorry i couldn't get back to you last night sean. the shocks are plain and simple and can be changed just as you described.

passenger side:


driver side:


i've heard some say that KYB shocks are pretty good. i don't have any experience in them however. monroe shocks have been around for quite a while and i have never heard anything about them. then again, i haven't heard any feedback on them whatsoever. the majority here would say bilsteins are the way to go and i have experience with these now. i understand you don't have 5 days to wait though and you're looking for answers ASAP so you can be ready for the road. i hope somebody can answer the questions for you that i haven't been able to answer.

lenuelmp23

Jimbo you rock i love the way you take pictures of everything!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge

SeanB23

I was looking at the Baxter Auto website, according to them it would appear that Monroe shocks like "Monro-Matic" and "Gas Magnums" are made by KYB.

Thanks for all the info !

EDIT: Called Baxter, apparently the KYB is listed next to the Monroe stuff as a comparison/ substitute thing for part numbers.

Gonna head up to Baxter and check out some KYB "Mono Tubes" I think is what he called 'em, for $62 each...these are front shocks. Said they are quite heavy duty, give a stiffer ride with more control and would be a better deal for towing a H-Haul full of heavy stuff up and down mountains like I intend to do...

Crossy's son

Just make sure they're for the diesel front end.

even 1 ton gasser shocks are different than 3/4 ton diesel .....the diesel shocks are special. 4000lb "axle" they call it.

SeanB23

These are identical to the old ones coming out of there. KYB "Gas-A-Just." KG5404.

They were a tad shorter, so I just pulled on the shaft that sticks out the end until they were the same length.

Of course, the instructions are a bunch of tiny pictures...no words...for all these different kinds of shocks. Make no sense at all...no help whatsoever.

I pulled the old ones out, put the new ones in on one side so far. Tightened the two bolts at the bottom, then the one at the top where the shaft sticks through, back and forth. The bolts on bottom are fully tightened now.

How do I know when to stop tightening the one at the top ? I assume this is adjusting the shock or something ? Shaft sticks out about an inch on top of the nut and rubber boot.

thanks...

SeanB23

anyone ?

thrashingcows

I usually tighten the top shock mount until the bushing is just starting to squeeze past the out side of the washer.