Dana 30 steering knuckle re-build ?s

[borg]

Disclaimer: I know most people just move up to a 44 but for my DD/logging road rig the 30 is enough.

The bearings in my knuckles are shot, one side feels like it has gravel in it, the other has a lot of play so I'd like to put new ones in there. I've found limited information on this particular project so I thought I would ask here.

The "dampener cup" comes out by being driven "in" towards where the axle was, right? (I assume there is a lip that it rests against when you drive the new one in) Once the cup is out you can drive the bearing races out with a long drift through the hole left in the knuckle when you have the dampener cup removed...right?

My Chilton's truck Repair manual only has bronco-specific directions for the 44 but it looks like the F100 has the Dana 30 so I'm using that as my reference.

BTW getting old king pins out was a PITA, they are steel on steel so 40 od years of rust had to be dealt with before they came out. I think I'll be following up with a periodic preventative application of anti-seize at tire change intervals.

Steve

 

[nrramse]

The "dampener cup" comes out by being driven "in" towards where the axle was, right?

Actually, its the other direction. Once the axle shaft is removed and the knuckle taken off, the dampener cups come out away from the axle. You have to push the cup and the race out at the same time. I used a small sledge and an old socket drive extension. Profanities help too.

Newell

 

[73stallion]

the early 70's F-100s had a dana 44 with kingpins like the dana 30. i'd imagine the race drives out away from the axle shaft. i'd imagine you'll probably need to set it with shims when you put the pins back in as most of them came that way from the factory.

 

[DirtDonk]

Since you're doing this, you might even consider spending the extra (possibly a lot though) on some king-pin eccentric adjusters. I know they're available for the 60's and I thought the 30's as well.
That'll give you some possible camber/caster adjustability when you're back together. And even on a stock Bronco, adjustability can be a good thing.

Check out Ingalls Alignment Products website and see what they've got.

Paul

 

[nrramse]

Since you're doing this, you might even consider spending the extra (possibly a lot though) on some king-pin eccentric adjusters. I know they're available for the 60's and I thought the 30's as well.
That'll give you some possible camber/caster adjustability when you're back together. And even on a stock Bronco, adjustability can be a good thing.

Check out Ingalls Alignment Products website and see what they've got.

Paul

I checked into those a few weeks ago, but was told they're for "Rod End" type knuckles. Those are on the Dana 44's but the Dana 30's have "King Pin" type knuckles instead.

I did find some spindle shims at a local alignment shop that I used to adjust the camber. They can also be ordered at NAPA.

Newell

 

[DirtDonk]

That should be "ball-joint" knuckles, not rod-end. I presume?
And yes, the ball-joint types have an eccentric collar that's available for up to about 1.5° of adjustment. But there is also an eccentric upper bearing cap for king-pin type knuckles too. I have them on my '79 F350.
Maybe they don't make them for the 30 then? I'll look a little myself and see if I can come up with any kind of reference.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Ok, only thing I see on the Ingalls website is for the Dana 60/70. Guess I was dreaming. Sorry for the tease.

Paul

 

[borg]

Actually, its the other direction. Once the axle shaft is removed and the knuckle taken off, the dampener cups come out away from the axle. You have to push the cup and the race out at the same time. I used a small sledge and an old socket drive extension. Profanities help too.

Newell

That makes more sense, I couldn't quite get my brain wrapped around what I thought I was reading.

Steve

 

[hntr006]

As a matter of fact I just tackled this project last weekend. Needless to say I found that the last person a long time ago did not put all the correct parts back in. I noticed that my driver side tire was toed in. So I jacked the front up and found that I had lots of up and down play in both steering knuckles. Well at this point I thought that the bearings were shot. But whenever I decided to start taking it all apart to get to the knuckles...I pulled the knuckle off and only found a bearing and a race. Well that was why there was so much play, b/c there was no damper kit. Well I finally finished putting in the damper kits and man it made a difference with steering and no more vibrations in the steering. I actually reused 3 of the bearings and all of the races. I just cleaned out the bearings that I reused and then packed them with fresh grease. Now its tight and the cups that came in the damper kits along with the new top seals will keep it sealed.