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Posted by Paul ( in NY) on Sunday, October 05, 2008 at 16:00:22 :
Many times in maintenance, items that are hidden or more difficult inspect, get overlooked or just ignored. Our Power Wagons are now on the road much longer than Dodge ever thought of. During these years, many have had little to no maintenance before we got them. These years of neglect have taken a toll on many wearable parts.
Today, I tore down the steering knuckles on my 1960 Power Giant W300 for rebuild.
After I removed the tie rod and felt gasket seal, then rotating the knuckle, I could feel something was wrong. The left knuckle had serious wear on the bronze top bushing and bushing cup. The knuckle was loose, way out of spec. Doing the same on the right knuckle, rotating the knuckle no play of sloppiness was felt. However once opened up, the picture shows what I found. The bronze bushing had fragmented. Below the piece missing, you can also see a huge crack that runs the length of the bore of the bushing. There are also many hair line cracks in the bushing. On further inspection, I found that the bronze bushing in the spindle was seriously worn, out of round with many cracks in it also. My guess is that the spindle bushing wore over the years thus allowing the axle to wobble as it turned and fractured the axle housing bushing. No serious damage is done, rebuilding the knuckles will solve the problem. I, as many, will replace the top bushing/cup with a 23100 cone bearing and a 23256 cup. This is the same bearing/cup used on the lower trunion on the PG/PW/M37/WC. I find that replacing the bronze bushing with a bearing reduces steering effort. It also eliminates having to deal with cheap, out of spec bronze cone bushings that some vendors are selling these days.
PW/M37/WC, use the same type bushing in the axle housing and spindle. On PW/M37/WC the bushing is deeper in the axle housing.
I consider this fragmented bushing as a 'possible' life safety issue. Though unlikely, its possible that the huge fragments might have lodged in the Tracta Joint when the wheels were turned off center and thus not allowing the wheels to be turned back to straight ? Not a good situation.
Winter is coming on us. Its a great time for preventative maintenance. If your steering knuckles have never been opened and checked and or rebuilt, this winter is a good opportunity to do so. Rebuilding the steering knuckles is easy. Anyone can do it ! Click on the link below to go to my Image Event Album on Rebuilding Knuckles. There are step by step pictures and text. Email me if you need help.
The picture shows a 1960 Power Giant W300 Steering Knuckle. PW/M37/WC is similar but not exactly the same.
Remember, Steering Knuckles are Your Life !!!
Paul
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