I would think a bad rag joint would surly be noticed while replacing the steering box since this is where it couples together. Don't know where the ball joints would be having king pins. What type of power steering fluid did you put in the unit?. Should be Type F it foams less then others types, this is why ford says to use it.. Maybe why the pump whines or noisy and drifts.. my 2cent.
orich

 

Thanks guys. I took the truck to alignment shop. Bad news. Truck as original king pins, coild, and shocks. Talltruck you were right bushing on I beams are dried out and bad. My junk yard steering box is leaking. The truck is sitting too high, and it pitches toward the drivers side. (truck originally had a camper on it). Alignment guy told me the rear leaf springs are bad. He said fix the leaf springs first and start working on the front. He said a suspension shop would charge me at least $1500. Well, since I'm a High School teacher, my friend the auto shop teacher can help me out a bit. How do I attack this problem?

 

Thanks didn't know what a rag joint was, and the Lucas power steering stop leak helped. Alignment with toe in for truck with radials is good info. My question is: Since truck is 42 years old, spent first 2 years in Dakota, the rest in California. Original owner did minimal maintenance. Truck has original shocks, king pins, coils, and leaf springs.

What do you guys suggest on getting on the rear suspension repair? What is a good source for the leaf springs? What type of shocks? (this will be a light use weekend truck). On the front suspension do you suggest swapping out the coil springs, or can I get away with just changing the shocks, king pins and bushings?

 

Start checking the local pick-n-pull yards for rear leafs, someone here should know which years are a drop-in fit for your truck. Kingpins can be done at home...I remember doing mine in a 69 F100 back in 78 or 79, under a big pecan tree...had to drive the old ones out, but it went okay after I returned the F600 kingpins the local F dealer sold me and got F100 pins. Sound like a solid start on a good project. You can also do shocks yourself as time allows. The front of my F250 bounces too much, so I know I'll be doing that this spring.

 

Screw the shop and that $1500 price tag. How would leaf springs be bad? Just get under there and look to see what's bad. If something's bad go to the junk yard and get another.

As for shocks, get the cheapos from Autozone. They're $10-15 and work fine for your needs. They make for a smoother ride too.

 

You should see these leafs! I guess the previous owner tried to raise the back end (he had an old school camper on it)the leafs are bent and do not match. The driver side is sagging. Autozone quoted me 399 for a new pair. Thanks for the heads up on autozone shocks. The $1500 quote is due to the condition of the rear and front suspension. It's bad! Can't align the front, cuz the rear is sagging and pitch up. Front has original 1969 king pins (dry and stuck), I beam bushings are shot. Rag joint has play. Shocks all around are originals. Who knows what the tie rods and steering gear look like. I am not a good mechanic like you guys, so my buddy the auto shop teacher is helping me out. I want to replace these parts, since this truck is going to stay in the family. I got too much money in it. It's a real pretty driver. Too much repaired rust damage to be a trailer queen. 69's have that really nice aluminum grille. Thanks for all the help guys, I appreciate your input!

 

leaf springs can be gotten at JUNK YARDS , put new bushings in them !

front end parts can be gotten at AUTOZONE , they will have a lifetime warranty !
with the kingpins make sure you get brass bushings and not the plastic ones !
brake parts can be gotten at AUTOZONE lifetime warranty

 

Thanks qman. Did not know about the brass bushings for king pins. My friend told me that brass gaskets were the way to go on headers too. Will autozone have brass bushings? Does anyone know what leafs will swap on a 1969 F100 custom long bed? (360v8) Thanks qman and FTE guys!

 

Just be sure that you don't even consider spending $1500. If for some dumb reason you do start to think that way, just buy another truck. I'll sell you my entire truck for $1500 and about all it needs these days is the ball joints, king pins, and a tune up.

But don't spend $1500 on it trying to repair some springs. That would be a waste of good money.

 

I would be shy of junkyard springs, too many abused F-100's out there like yours. The yard might "Guarantee" your used springs, but who wants to install 4/5 sets of springs to get a good set? See if you can find a local spring shop to rebuild and/or re-arch your springs. You can just bring your springs in to save labor costs.

I did brakes, kingpins, I-beam, sway bar and radius arm bushings on my '68 F100 in a weekend (Had to, daily driver at the time). It doesn't take a lot of special tools, but it is a tough job, particularly the king pins. After removal, I opted to take the entire Ibeam/spindle assemblies into a machine shop to get the kingpins done. They have the press and the reamer (brass bushings most likely need to be reamed to fit, but are the best solution) to do the job. It can be done with a big hammer and a torch, if you're fit, strong and lucky.

Years ago, one of the original FTE members built his own press do tackle this problem:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...n-removal.html
<http: www.ford-trucks.com="" forums="" 50567-king-pin-removal.html=""><sigh, guess="" can="" t="" post="" links,="" but="" i="" found="" the="" fte="" thread="" 50567-king-pin-removal.html=""> Unfortunately Steve's web page (along with Steve) have disappeared - but there are some other hints in that thread.

Gasket/seal kits are available from most parts stores to seal up your box, they're not expensive or hard to do. Mine was hard to get the kit for because I had a Bendix box, had to go to Ford at the time

A rag joint kit ($15) may require a bit of drilling/grinding, but generally include enough parts to do a decent job. If that scares you buy the assembly ($50). Don't forget the ground strap across the joint or you'll lose your horn . . .

Pat</sigh,></http:>