'93, W-250 Tie Rod

[Coalsmoke]

Coalsmoke, Aint that the Truth! I sure get stares when I take the white monster into town. I dont know if its the environmentalists or those that really wished I wouldn't bring that noisy thing into town:-laf. And I really try to me nice and not smoke out anyone. GregH

Hahaha, I love it. I think the older machines have more soul to them, of course, I also talk to my machines, so take it for what its worth :-laf



You know, now that I'm truckless, maybe I should give a 1st gen a try. I've tried the 2nd and 3rd gen, they were nice, I need something to keep for a while now though. The Dana 70, injection pump and getrag kind of scare me though.

 

[GHarman]

Coalsmoke, With your skills and abilities, there should be no problems. You know what to look for and what to expect. I'm sure there is a good rig out there with your name on it, that just needs some TLCOo. . Not everybody drag races these things:-laf. The challenge is keeping up with the domino effect of entropy. It really does work:{. Especially after 200,000 miles and 15 years, with magnesium chloride being splashed over and under the truck on a regular basis:{. I have been particularly blessed with this truck. For a spell, I thought I would be truckless, after the wreck.

There is still brake maintainence to do before winter. Those calipers and e-brake cables get alot of road spray and tend to get hung-up. I did an inspection of the calipers, yesterday. They looked like the pads were wearing evenly. The left rear drum brake is hanging up. Hub is warmer on that side than the right. So, I have to pull an axle and peer at it. Unfortunately, I can no longer do a "Break-Dance" under/around the truck like you young fellers can do:-laf. GregH

 

[Coalsmoke]

Thank you for the vote of confidence, if I were at the level of being able to rebuild an injection pump I'd be more at ease. I guess these things add excitement to life. Hey, what about doing a rear disc brake swap on your truck? I wonder if a kit could be found, or if you'd have to put a newer dana 80 axle in. I don't get along well with drum brakes, it seems that something is always out compared to the other side.

 

[GHarman]

Coalsmoke, This is not my area of expertise. I have really had minimal trouble with the drum brakes, over the years. There are some links in TDR that discusses this very issue. Needs a bigger volume master cylinder and e-brake capability, from my light reading. Personally, I would go the 3" shoe, drum brake with oversized wheel cylinders. Chrysler shoes wear excellent. I have had poor results with other shoes (2. 5" wide). The '93 has the 2. 5" shoes. I am going to do a rear brake inspection this Wednesday. PS, Make sure the passthrough hole in the backing plates for the E-Brake cables are completely sealed. I have large gaps on mine that were quite noticeable , upon a preliminary under the truck, breakdance:-laf. These are scoops for road spray and mud.

BTW, this truck also has an open pod. I was thinking about installing a Trac-loc. Driving is mostly mountains, with twisting and winding roads. A Detroit Locker would drive me crazy.

During the alignment procedure. I found that the rear axle has about 0. 4 degrees of offtrack (terminology?). In other words, as I understand it, The rear axle is not allowing the rear wheels to run parallel to the front wheels. That could be a spring alignment pin issue. However, as long as I dont have to buy a set of new tires every year, we may just live with it. GregH



Heres a TDR link for disc conversions; https://www.turbodieselregister.com...-1989-1993/39625-dana-70-disc-conversion.html



Heres a link to TDR search results; https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/search.php?searchid=949821

 

[GHarman]

More Disc Brake links

Coalsmoke, Here is another couple of links. Hope you find a CHERRYOo. 1st Gen! Greg



https://www.turbodieselregister.com...-1993/128867-disc-brake-conversions-93-a.html



A TDR search based on E-Brake cables.

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/search.php?searchid=949898

 

[Coalsmoke]

Thanks Greg for the reading material. I'll check it out. About the alignment, do you think . 4 degrees is significant?

 

[GHarman]

Coalsmoke. Only in the case of accelerated tire wear. The "one wheel drive" that is the present the axle mode, does show significant wear on the drive tire. These tires are very wide. I wonder if I went back to the 235/85 R16's, the wear would be less of an issue? I will be swapping out tires, for the winter. I have 3 good studded BFG, Mud Kings. I need to get a fourth tire and rim setup. GregH

 

[Coalsmoke]

What about going with something like a Toyo M-55 that wears like iron, you can get that in a 255-85-16 or something like that which I had on my 95, great tires, just a bit of road music from them, and they are very tough.

 

[Coalsmoke]

Thanks Greg for the links on the rear disc conversions, that was good reading. i guess by the looks of it a person is better off to save their money, lots of people not all that happy with ti for the $1000 it costs. I guess I better just learn to like drum brakes again

 

[GHarman]

What about going with something like a Toyo M-55 that wears like iron, you can get that in a 255-85-16 or something like that which I had on my 95, great tires, just a bit of road music from them, and they are very tough.

Coalsmoke, That looks like a good tire! However, I have never gotten over 30,000 miles out of any tire on my trucks, over the years. Thats why I stopped buyin' top of the line tires. Not gettin the moneys worth.

I dont mind the music as long as its me makin' it:-laf. Especially in bumper deep snowOo. . GregH



PS. Glad I could help!

 

[Coalsmoke]

When I sold my 95, I had 80,000kms / 50,000miles on a set of those M-55s and 90% of that time the
truck was loaded as a 11,000lb welding rig. I sold the truck with 30 percent tread left. Definitely got my money worth.

 

[GHarman]

Coalsmoke, Thats really good wear for yer money. I looked them up on the internet. The price per tire was in excess of $200. 00. If yer makin' money with 'em, I can see the value. We'll see what the performance is like for a year. I have two useable sets of tires that may last a spell. As I said, just need one to round out the M&S application.

I stopped at 3 different autoparts stores and found only one that understood the 2 1/2" to 3" wide Dana 70 brake conversion. CarQuest has a complete set of 3" shoes for a very reasonable price. It depends on the condition of the existing shoes and finding someone willing and able to turn the drums to specification. GregH

 

[Coalsmoke]

They are not cheap, that is for sure. 4 years ago when I got them it was about 1200 for 4 mounted and balanced. I like that idea of going to the 3" drum brake, good thinking, keep the technology the same, just add braking power.

 

[GHarman]

Coalsmoke, I already have the oversized wheel cylinders. If the 2 1/2" shoes still look good? That may be as far as I take this conversion. I have a limited budget for this truck. I still need to get the vacuum pump resealed. If I could be without the truck fer a few more months. I would consider it. But Winter weather is coming fast. I expect snow in the next 4 weeks. For anything to get done quickly, I have to hire a friend to help out. I let him do the "Break Dancing" under the truck and I supervise:-laf. I also provide tools, abrasive humor (like; "Did ya throw a handful of sand in afore ya buttoned it up"?) and tight QA/QC. GregH

 

[Coalsmoke]

I see how this works, make new friends and then get them to do your drum brakes, well this world is going to the dogs You sure are getting snow early, what is your elevation?

 

[GHarman]

I see how this works, make new friends and then get them to do your drum brakes, well this world is going to the dogs You sure are getting snow early, what is your elevation?

Coalsmoke, Yep:-laf! Its called "DELEGATION"Oo. . I'm good at that! However, today did not work out. It has been really windy today and my friend had to reschedule. We are now on for next Tuesday. Thats where the abrasive humor comes in.

Havent got any snow here. There was snow at 13,000' and above. We are at 9000'. The frost has been really close.

Worked a couple of hours at some hobby projects and took a look at the hood and the possibility of installing a cold air intake near the cowel through the hood and plumb it forward to the air filter. Have to look at some other applications. Presently, its just a mental exercise.

Have some household chores to fill in this afternoon. "Plan B". Makes the Wife happy. GregH

 

[Grey Wolf]

I got a call from a friend of mine in Reno and he informed me that they had some snow on the mountain about a week ago! Maybe everyone is due for a early winter? Have fun directing the brake upgrade...

 

[GHarman]

Grey Wolf, Will Do! I'll probably get greasy and oily, also. Just cant keep my hands in my pockets and watch. Always got questions. Thats why I like my Friend. He puts up with my crap:-laf and doesnt make me take out a mortgage for his extra pair of hands and strong back. Its a cheap way of taking truck specific, automotive maintainence classes. I even taught him a couple of tricksOo. . . GregH

 

[Coalsmoke]

Wow, 9000' is impressive. Fall is setting in now up here, leaves are falling quick, probably be turning color in the next week or two.

 

[GHarman]

Rear brakes

The driverside hub was warmer than the passenger side after a drive. That was the indicator that the brakes needed attention. Finally got aligned with my Friend , today, and we pulled the axles and drums. After pulling the drums we found that the main shoe on the driver side was dragging because of a stuck e-brake cable. The shoe was down to the metal and the passenger side was almost in the same shape. Someone else had already did the 3" shoes on this axle. We replaced the e-brake cables with Bendix units bought at Checker. The shoes were the blue grade from CarQuest. Dave Valentine gave me a set of oversized wheel cylinders when he kindly gave me the truck. These wheel cylinders have the number; EW35326 and are also CarQuest brand. We got the wheel cylinders replaced and the brakes assembled onto the backing plates wit a new spring kit. The drums were turned by CarQuest, in Wheatridge, Colorado. Wont get a chance to work on the brakes again next Wednesday:{. Left to do; clean the drums and shoes, pack the wheel bearings, install the new wheel seals, assembly of the drums, axle installation and bleed the brake lines. I can barely lift a drum:-laf#@$%!

I want to replace the axle and transmission oil's, during the interim.

While waiting for the compressor to pressure up, we also checked the vaccum on the pump with a gage. 24" at idleOo.

I'll include some pictures fer yer amusement, later. GregH