[YOUTUBE]orDBUrmK9vU[/YOUTUBE]
Thats the sound a thread makes when its re-opened after two years. :rofl:
I spent two years knocking my head against the wall, getting frustrated, and loosing faith my ideas would work.
A couple weeks ago, after I bought those rods and head bolts, I got motivated, said "To hell with it", got off my rear, and got my front suspension ideas completely worked out.
To that end, I started back working on the truck. This is what I figured out.
Like I outlined a couple years ago, with swapping to 3/4 ton front suspension and brakes, I had far too much positive camber without any adjustment room due to the height of the 3/4 knuckle. I had to figure out how to get more negative camber without having to go with custom control arms or moving the control arm mounts (with no guarantee of success either way).
Enter Moog 6669 offset control arm bushings and Moog K100108 offset upper ball joints. These parts gave me 4* more negative camber than before. With the upper arms sitting in the OEM alignment spots, the arms are fully in their slots, which gives me full control of camber during the alignment in the future (this also gives me control over caster, where I had none before).
I also flipped the upper arms so they take up the 1-5/16" difference between 1/2 and 3/4 ton knuckles.
To adapt the small 1/2 ton upper ball joint to the larger 3/4 ton knuckle hole, I used the CST Performance ball joint sleeve, part CSS C12. The lower ball joints are exactly the same 3/4 to 1/2 ton, with the only difference the way they mount to the arms.
Also, I was able to reuse the 1/2 ton tie rod ends b/c I used the early 3/4 ton knuckles with the smaller tie rod holes.
Then it was just a simple matter of bolting up the new Timken hubs, and installing the new Powershot brakes. I just cleaned and painted the old backing plates (they were rusty but still whole).
Before anyone asks, the only reason the stock springs and shocks are still there is that I can't measure for the coilovers until the whole truck is back together and I determine weight and ride height (as per James -- and I trust his opinion fully). Since I'll probably drop the lower arms to remove all that and install the coilovers, I plan on installing urethane bushings in the lower arms at the same time.
With everything completed:
and this is what the camber looks like now (the pic really doesnt show it, but the stack of wood is level and straight vertical to give you an idea):
Next is the rear axle. That'll be the next couple week's project. Small steps will end up getting this done.
