Not as professional but it worked!
Joel and I loaded the entire front suspension diff and all as one piece into the bed of my truck using his custom A-frame chain hoist. I however did not have such things. But we got the job done

Not as professional but it got the job done

 

I'm sure the moderators is probably hate me at this point for posting about a bunch of unrelated to the thread stuff but I got my new tag lights in and only one of them worked. The one that I didn't redo the wiring for worked fine. I got out of the truck and found out I didn't have good ground going to my wires so I checked my connections and they were fine but the factory harness did not have a good ground. I followed it back to where the tag light wires come out of the main harness and the connector had the ground wire broke off of it and the wire was burnt a bit. The driver side tablet was working because somebody grounded it to the bumper with a ring terminal. Because the factory connector had a broken wire and a broken pin on the male connector I reused this ground point on the bumper. I made a whole new wiring harness and got it fixed. I also put my new running boards on.






Rated for 500 lb. Not bad for $130 on Amazon with all mounting hardware and no drilling.

 

So this is the pitman arm I need. Any 99 model truck made from March 1st and up had a 36 splined pitman arm. Anything before that, that was a super duty, had 32. I'ma shoot Joel a text tomorrow and see if he can find the year on the truck or count the splines for me. If his truck was made before March 1st I can buy just the pitman arm. This is all assuming my truck has 32 teeth. Either way I could buy just the pitman arm really. I just need to know how many splines my gearbox has. Is there any way to tell without pulling the pitman arm off? I will find out either way when I get it apart this weekend.

 

Have you been drinking?

Ford probably still has the updated parts.

Can one escape from CA to HI faster than one can get from MT to CA? I better jump in the water now...


Stability Bar - Front Bracket May Break Off


TSB Article No
00-1-6

01/10/00

SUSPENSION - FRONT STABILITY BAR MAY BREAK OFF - VEHICLES BUILT FROM 1/1/1998

FORD:
1999 SUPER DUTY F SERIES

ISSUE
The front stability bracket on the front axle may break off due to impact with a solid object or from fatigue.

ACTION
Install a revised bracket. On vehicles built before 3/21/1999, install a new stability bar bracket which will raise the bar approximately 25 mm (1"). This will reduce the possibility of breakage. Refer to the Service Procedure for details.

PART NUMBER PART NAME

F81Z-5486-DB Mounting Bracket
N605921-S426 Bolt
N620482-S427 Nut
YC3Z-5A316-AA Cap - Front Spring
F81Z-5486-AA Retainer - Stability Bar
F81Z-5484-EC Insulator
FB1Z-5484-JA Insulator
FB1Z-5482-FA Stability Bar
F81Z-5482-AA Stability Bar
F81Z-5705-BA U-Bolt
N805480-S426 Nut

OTHER APPLICABLE ARTICLES: NONE
WARRANTY STATUS: Eligible Under The Provisions Of Bumper To Bumper Warranty Coverage

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME

000106A Install Revised Stability 1.1 Hr.
Bracket And Stability Bar
(Super Duty F Series 4X4
Built Prior To 3/21/1999)

000106B Install Revised Stability 1.0 Hr.
Bracket And Stability Bar
(Super Duty F Series 4X4
Built On Or After
3/22/1999)

000106C Install Revised Stability 1.6 Hrs.
Bracket And Stability Bar
(F-450/550 4X2)

DEALER CODING
CONDITION
BASIC PART NO. CODE

5486 01

OASIS CODES: 303000, 304000, 702100

 

Who would have thought that when you (Tristan) and Joel ( @runningman777 ) were hanging out at the North GA GTG in October that you two would be breaking down the front end of a truck together in late December.

Good job fellas and I am glad everyone was able to come together in a way that benefits all and provides for great pictures.

 

You’ll be able to order a new steering gear for 4wd and return your 2wd for a core, but you’ll need a pitman arm.

The calipers and pads are the same, but the brake hoses for 4wd are longer.

The tie Rod or drag link does have a bend in it like that, but it’s hard to say if they’re damaged from the accident.

 

Do I really need a different steering gear though? Turn out Joel's truck was made in 98 sometime. It had a 32 spline pitman arm just like my truck currently does. Just a different shaped pitman arm. Could I not just change the pitman arm? It's about 70 bucks at auto store. The diff and steering arms don't even have any paint scratched off and I think the wreck missed everything. The diff and diff locks all work great. The tie rod ends are tight as well. I'm gonna buy sway bar and end link bushings as well as repack / replace bearing and change the diff fluid. Im gonna give the whole unit a good service and once over before putting it on my truck.

​​​​Unless the steering gear itself is different I don't see a need to replace it. They made 32 spline and 36 spline 4x4 pitman arms for different years. Is the steering gear itself different?

 

At the time of the GTG I was under the impression it was literally impossible for the most part to change one of these trucks to four wheel drive. My dad told me a horror story from an old Chevy he had where he had to cut a four wheel drive frame in half and weld it onto his frame. Someone else told me that it just wasn't feasible because of all the fabrication that would have to happen. I had no idea it was a bolt on a fair. Joel also told me that my truck has cruise control. I just don't have the steering wheel or the pressure switch on my master cylinder. It's almost like everything about my truck is the same as everybody else as I just don't have certain things installed.


Meeting all of you guys has quite literally, changed my life! I am so happy that I met all of you kind people and don't know what I'd do without all of you

 

I’ve always had to change the steering gear. Maybe the E99 is different?

Y2K probably knows.

 

Turns out my steering gear is leaking anyway. Will probably just replace it anyhow. Can you even reseal them? My steering is still tight just leaking.

But the e99 had a 32 spline four-wheel drive Pittman arm. They switched to 36 splines in March of 99. That's the only reason I figured I would be fine with the factory steering gear just because you can buy a four-wheel drive pitman arm with 32 splines. O'Reilly's and advance couldn't get one but AutoZone shows it on their website. But if I'm going to replace the steering gear anyway I will get the 36 spline updated version. Maybe Y2K can enlighten us

 

I'm going to take apart the hubs this weekend. What size are the axle nuts on the four wheel drive trucks? Or is there a good link someone can give me to a forum on rebuilding the hubs? By rebuilding I mean bearings and seals. I've done this on the front end and rear end of my current setup but I've heard the four-wheel drive is a different animal. Thanks!

 

Axle nuts? Nope. Snap ring pliers. No rebuilding of the hub bearings either. If they're loose/noisy you get to buy new assemblies.

 

That's right, I did read about that somewhere. I keep forgetting there's a PSD tech folder. I also do remember there being like three washers that have to go in a certain order. The bearings feel tight so depending on how they look when I pull them out I might just pack them. I'm also tempted to buy one of the packer tools so I don't have to get so greasy. Funny hearing that from somebody that works in a mechanic shop 😔

But speaking of greasy hands, that purple power hand cleaner that comes in a small tub for less than $2 is the best hand cleaner I have ever used. Dawn dish soap has nothing on this stuff and it's less than $2 a tub at Walmart. Not a very big tub but it lasts.

Edit* I see you edited your post

You beat me to it! So no replacing the bearings huh? Got to replace the whole hub? Oh well. Luckily it came off of a low mileage truck and they feel solid. Of course there's no tire on it right now so I can't tell 100%. What about the axle seal? Is it pretty easy to change? It's not leaking at the moment so should I even take the hub apart? The manual locks are also very stiff. Are they supposed to be like this or are they supposed to be smooth?

 

The locking hubs are easy to remove and disassemble to clean/lubricate. A pair of pliers is all it takes to remove and then snap ring pliers to take apart.

 

Okay I will work on that this weekend then. That shouldn't take very long I wouldn't think. I have a whole slew of other things on my list to do to get this axle ready to go in. When I get around to it I'm going to run by the bank and throw a few dollars in there so I can order my track bar bushings, sway bar bushing and end link bushing set from energy suspension. Also the rear shocks that came off of that truck that we dismantled, was completely missing a bottom bushing on one side. These shocks are relatively new looking and still seem to work so I will use them until I can get a full set. What I'm going to do for the bottom bushing is use one of the end link bushings off of the sway bar when I put the new ones on. I will use one of the old ones that are in the best shape on the bottom of the shock. We already looked at them and they are the same size from the looks of it with the same bolts going through it. Like I said this is just for now. I want to get this axle in as early as I can so I can drive everything around and make sure everything is free moving and whatnot. Are there any other jobs that I should do in pertaining to taking the hub apart before I put the hub on the truck. I was reading some forums from the PSD tech folder about greasing the needle bearing with a needle.
Also, what type of fluid does this axle need in it? I'm going to go ahead and change it.