OK, I'll take a pic in about half an hour and post it.

 

As far as I can tell, they're pretty much the same...

 

Welp, needed a lot more than just a front end alignment. New front shock for the quad shock setup, alignment, plus all new tie rod ends pretty much everywhere to the tune of $890. They also said my rear diff has a ton of slack and the ring and pinion could go any minute. True or false?

Total: $2833.42, includes alignment. Probably more soon if I decide to have my ring and pinion redone.

 

So you have spent that much in about 10 days? I don't remember what happened to the engine in the other truck but I think it was a head problem or something like that. I find it hard to believe that this was cheaper than repairing that truck.

As far as the ring and pinion is concerned, does it clunk when going from reverse to first? I would drive it until it dies and then swap out the whole rear axle. It's would be a bolt in swap verses paying for someone to set up the replacement gears. Oh yeah, they only replaced one shock? If one was dead I would have replaced them all on that axle.

 

I've never heard a clunk from it.

Yeah, I know.

 

Doesn't clunk from reverse to first. Clunks from first to reverse but no more than literally any other car I've ever driven. My 77 does the same thing.

 

Got outside and gave the driveshaft a twist. There's about a quarter of a turn of play. Is that alot? Is there something in the pumpkin that could cause this besides a worn ring and pinion?

 

You should take some time and learn how to wrench on the truck yourself and save money... you are going to be in to a $10 000 dollar truck pretty quick if you get a shop to fix things that are wrong.

 

Hard to do in an apartment parking lot without property management getting on my ***.

 

What's the deal with post #16? If at all possible, get out of those cookie cutter student type apartments. I was in one for 2 years, but fortunately had a friend with a driveway & small garage. The skillset you'll learn by being able to fix your own truck will help you earn more money plus you'll save by not relying on a shop to bend you over for a simple tie rod replacement. $890 is crazy for that, in my opinion, although I'm out of touch on shop labor--haven't used one except for pressing some bearings several years back.

As for the diff, is there any axial play in the pinion flange? You may need to open it up for a visual inspection and oil change. If it doesn't whine, teeth are not galled/pitted I wouldn't change the gearset. Reuse the factory shims, replace bearings, good to go.

Edit: I'll add, you may be able to use a storage unit to do truck work if you're stuck in the apartment. I know in laramie there are storage unit places that allow this, generally geared toward UW & WyoTech students.

 

Believe me, I am being bent over for a simple tie rod replacement. Though the $890 includes an alignment, doesn't make it much better. I'm probably gonna sign another 6 month lease when this one is done, and then move home (my mom moved to a place out in the country where I'd actually like to live, and I would have a place to live rent free as long as I have a job.

By pinion flange, do you mean the flange on the end of the diff that connects the driveshaft to the pinion (after typing this, I think it's obvious that's what you're talking about... )

By axial play, do you mean it will move in a circle? If so, I'll go out and check tomorrow. I was going to add oil in but should I remove the pumpkin cover, redo the gasket and change the oil entirely? I at least have a place to do that.

Where is the oil plug for a M5OD and what does it take?

 

If you have a place to do it, I'd pull the cover to drain, inspect for chipped teeth or other R&P damage, reseal cover (no gasket, just use grey RTV) and refill with dino 85-140 (thick but it'll make it last) --right around 3qts until it weeps out the fill hole.

As for bearing play, I may have misused the term axial (oops?) But any play is bad news. Yes, you're right about the flange. With truck in neutral and e-brake set, can you move the flange up and down? Any play tells you the pinion bearings are loose and probably shot. If this is the case, you may want to simply skip the above oil change and get a quote for axle rebuild or find a place you can swap in a junkyard axle. Its not impossible to do the bearings yourself, but you need a garage, some time, a few special tools, and patience. It's one of those jobs that are getting a little higher on difficulty level. I've written it up on here a time or two after doing it while I was in college. Torsionial movement is related to backlash of the gearset but also spider gear play, I think my rear axle also has about 1/4 turn play with no problems (just alot of miles).

Not sure on the M5OD drain & full plugs, but being a needle bearing trans it takes ATF (not gear oil like the old 4 speeds). Here's some reading: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/223815-changing-fluid-in-m5od-5-speed-manual-transmission-5.html
But I'd check youtube too, almost always good videos there (from biochemistry to alignmets!).

 

My mechanic friend told me the guys I took it to have the mechanical prowess of a jiffy lube tech.

I'm just gonna do my tie rods myself, they don't seem to difficult.

Tools I'll need? I have a Chilton manual already. Which parts maker should I buy them from?

Can I do it without jacking my truck up? That would be preferred but worst case scenario, I can.

Any tips!

I just can't stomach the $890 bill. Worth it to do ball joints at the same time?

 

If you can get the tie rod separated from the knuckle without remove the wheel, then yes, you can do it with the truck on the ground. When the current alignment is good, this is preferred. You make the new parts fit the truck. For you with a currently no good alignment, this doesn't really matter.

I like Moog problem solver chassis parts. I purchased through Amazon for good pricing & quick shipping. "Inner" doesn't exactly apply to these front ends but here's a shopping list for the task:
Inner right: Moog DS1138T Steering Center Link Tie Rod End
Inner left: Moog DS1017T Steering Center Link Tie Rod End
Outer right: Moog ES2077RT Tie Rod End
Outer left: Moog ES2078LT Tie Rod End
Adjuster sleeves: Moog ES2080S and Moog ES2079S

I recommend new adjuster sleeves instead of trying to reuse the old ones because it makes assembly & alignment about 10x easier. Easy enough, in fact, I bet you can get the alignment as good as that crap shop by using nothing more than a tape measure (I'll bet they were only going to set the toe and send you on your way). Google search & Youtube will give a plethora of info on home alignments (good video here: ). Heck line of sight along the outer edge of the tires gets it about as close as anything. You want a touch of toe-in.

Back to tie rods...The hardest part is removing the old assembly. You'll need a good hammer, a standard socket set (6 point preferred), torque wrench (for reassembly), breaker bar (recommended tool, you'll have it for life), wire snips (to remove cotter pins), penetrating spray like WD-40 or PB-Blaster, grease & grease gun, some anti-sieze...think that's it. First remove cotter pins. Then remove castle nuts (just the ones at the knuckles & pitman arm). May need some PB-Blaster to help the threads break free. To separate the taper fit studs, I typically don't use pickle forks but this would be an OK time to use them. They damage dust boots, but since you're replacing the rod ends (come with new boots) it doesn't matter if you wreck them. Alternatively, for the knuckle, you can smack the knuckle where the tie rod seats into it, but hit perpendicular to the stud. It jars the taper fit loose, has never failed me with adequate persistence and big enough hammer (I don't even own a pickle fork). Here's a good example: and here: . For separating the drag link (inner tie rod end, or whatever you want to call it), its preferable not to beat on the pitman arm because it's bolted to the steering gear, but it does seem many people do this without any issues. I would use two hammers in this case, one as a "backer" and one as the "hitter" to jar the taper fit free. Alternatively, this Jeep forum post shows how to use a tool designed for the job (the tool isn't very expensive): My how to guide to replace the drag link end at the pitman arm - Jeep Wrangler Forum
Side note: when using the hammer method to separate taper fit studs, the nut doesn't need to be fully removed, just loose. Leaving it on by a couple threads will prevent the part from falling suddenly, possibly saving your face.

Once the old parts are out, assemble the new parts in the same way, then install the inner/outers as an assembly. A little grease or better yet anti-sieze on the adjuster sleeve threads will pay dividends in the future if you ever need to align it again. Check your book for torque specs, and don't forget cotter pins. And then just give the joints a few shots of grease each oil change or after each deep water expedition (whichever is more frequent). Following that regiment they ought to last you 200k miles.

You can almost always justify buying the required tools to do a job like this when you'll still be saving over 50% of the job cost at a shop. Plus, now you can fix your buddy's trucks for a little side money. They save on labor and you make some money.

 

I'm going to do this tomorrow after work. Thank you very much for the detailed write up. I'm assuming if I can do this, I can do my shocks myself also, haha. Any recommendations? I'll just do all 4 of the front ones.

Are you sure I shouldn't do a professional alignment? I have an appointment at Les Schwab for Wednesday at 10:00AM. They would have a rack, wouldn't they? Would the cookie sheets work even asphalt?