so i got my econ axle from a local junkyard yesterday. we picked it up and dropped it from about 10 feet and it got the knuckles moving. it was under the front of that van buried in leaves for a long long time. so any advice on getting this thing stripped down? its complete tire to tire and even the cute little ford hubcaps. what about getting the kingpins out? the fat guy running the highlift said "them thar kingpins 'ill never wear out" but im not sure. id just like to give it a clean bill of health before i get started on the swap
do the kingpin caps have grease fittings in them? if they do, hook up your grease gun and pump them as full as you can get. if you're lucky, they'll loosen up and be easy to rebuild. if they don't have GF's then it's PB Blaster time.
Watch out for the rebuild kingpins! Some may not be correct! http://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/...g-pins-of-the-under-carriage-world-t10683.htm
wow these drums are really stuck too... ive beat the crap out of em and they wont budge. and i even backed out the wheel studs. what about grinding the head off the shoe retaining pin on the backing plate? do they come in a hardware kit? i think i made some out of nails once. yeah the grease fittings are still there. ill grease the crap out of em tonight before work.
if your drums are rusted to the shoes, there's no point in killing yourself working to save any of the lesser hardware OR the drums, just the hubs. time for the persuader to split those drums. new shoes, hardware kits, and drums are all available from Raybestos or Wagner. a "persuader" is a 4-12lb sledge hammer. Chevy guys have them.... Ford guys say the "magic words" and parts assemble themselves!
No, you DO want to keep the shoes, for the core charge. I soaked some 40s for a few weeks each in kerosine and then had to slowly work each drum off with a couple prybars, the drums even cleaned up and were usable.
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