Spindles Done & Some Shiny Bits

    I was too tired to post an update yesterday so I combined yesterdays with today's. Yesterday the parts box came in from The Filling Station!  The bad news is .. no the idler arm was not in the box. I really did not expect it to be. I called them up and confirmed they did not have a core so they needed mine before they would proceed. I took a trip down to UPS and sent it 3 day saver. They should get it Thursday.
    Once I got back home I wire brushed the lower A arms and connecting rods.

    Today, I finished up those parts and then dissembled the drag link and cleaned up all the internal parts for that. The cups are useable but really should be replaced so I will order the kit to rebuild the drag link.

    For those following along to learn something, If you take your drag link apart or if you are starting with one that does not have internals, this is how it should be put back together.

    First there are 4 parts in each end, 2 cups a spring, and a spring holder, which is basically a shaft or column with a larger diameter base or flat end. Think top hat.Other than these parts, there is a screw in cap and a cotter pin.

    Idler arm end.... put the cups in first then the spring holder with the larger end in first then the spring. It appears the spring is the same, no matter which end you put in first. Once you have all of the parts in screw the cap on and this will be held in place with the cotter pin.

    The Gear End ... (Steering box Arm) The spring goes in first then the spring holder followed by the 2 cups the cap and cotter pin.

The only reason I mention this is once I got mine apart I noticed the difference in order between the two ends and had to research to find out if someone put one side in wrong. Instinct will tell you they should be the same, but you would be wrong!

So, once all the parts where cleaned up and inspected, I cleaned all of the old grease out and put it back together. I left the grease fittings out for paint. BTW, these fittings are a little larger than standard.

Now that that was complete I assembled the spindles.

    The hardest part about this turned out to be putting the shims in. But, using the method Tom Parson used in his writ up on Chevy Talk, It worked out OK. Once you cut the old king pin and have it inserted in the  support/shim/spindle to hold the shim in place, you can then line up your thrush bearing and insert the king pin from the other end. It will more than likely require that you use a soft mallet or gentle hammer to tap the bearing in place. I found that if the bearing is not hard to get in the spindle was too loose on the support. I used one shim on one side which allowed the spindle to move with moderate resistance. On the other side I used two which gave e a very tight movement, but with one it was too loose. I assume tight is better than loose.
    Another thing I ran into was how the dang things where suppose to go back together. After some study of the service manual, my old pictures and the Chevy Talk post I determined the spindles go on with the more defined hump on the bottom. This gives the spindle a downward angle.
    Lastly I did not know if the thrush bearing should go open end down or up so I put mine open end down. Logic tells me dust wont settle in the bearing like it would open end up. I could have this wrong so do your own research. I checked when I took mine apart but did not take notes and forgot!

    All in all I am happy with the results so far.

    Once that was done I wiped all of the cleaned parts down with alcohol to get any grease off for paint.
I shot all of the bare metal parts with the bare metal primer and the flat black parts with the glossy black. Once all of that dried I flipped the parts and got the other side. That dried then I got the first coat of glossy on the primer parts. After dinner I went out and shot  the last side of the primer parts with glossy.

Took the tie rod ends off of this to prepare for the new ones! 8 threads showing on each side and 2 foot long.

Still need to turn this on the other side and shoot glossy one last time.

    I am pretty sure I will leave the drums flat but we will see. I hope to start putting all of the parts back on the crossmember tomorrow. I will probably do some frame cleaning while the cross member dries.