Ed,

I actually did order the Parts from Rock Auto. I think its great the way they have it set up to just drill down to the vehicle you have and it lists the parts for you! I need that kind of K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) guidence!

As for the tip about Autozone, Thanks! I love owning my own tools, and between us here on the forum (don't tell my wife), the truck is just another excuse to buy tools ("But Honey, I need this Ultra Mega Welder for the Truck!"), but that would be a great money saver on tools that I will potentially only use once!

Speaking of tools, the wife and I are on our way to Harbor Freight Tools, to "Just take a look around". Hee Hee Hee!! I'm gonna come home with something good, I just don't know what yet! LOL!

Any way, I'll keep you posted!

Thanks!

Cory

 

Are you talking about the Leaf Spring Bolt, Bushing, Shackle or none of the above? I am using Rock Auto as a reference.

Thanks!

 

Yes, but only the shackle if it's worn out too far. Midfifty sells the pin/bushing as a complete kit for front and rear, each about $50. They also sell the shackle itself. But pressing the bushings can be a bear. Grabbing ahold of the spring pack by the shackle and wiggling for movement will tell you how bad they are. You'll hear the clunking noise there, too.

 

So is this a portion that I don't need to fix straight away, or does it need to be included in the rest of the upfront fixes for drive ability/ Safety?

Thanks!

Cory

 

Depends how far gone it is, but I would say address the other issues mentioned first. Do that and then see about the spring pins, as that is what I think Axracer was alluding to.

 

Hi. I have a 51 F1, with all steering parts renewed. However, when crossing railroad tracks, I found the "death wobble" had not disappeared. A generic steering dampener from JC Whitney did the trick, though. Lotsa offroaders with old Jeeps use these, as well--it's mostly a little horizontal shock absorber mounted to truck frame and the steering rod linking the two wheels. My front end guy also put a couple shims under the rear of the front spring mounts. Not sure what they do, exactly, but I have 38K on the tires, and they look new.
Good luck with your new wheels!

 

Welcome to the FTE forum Perry! As you can already tell, there are many knowledgeable folks here who are ready and willing to assist you with your truck. Since you are local, I have a number of resources available to help out if needed...I am in the Fletcher Hills/El Cajon area. Before you get too anxious to replace parts I would wait until you have the truck home and take a close look at what you have and what you need. Looks like a nice truck...

 

You'll need to drop the axle to change the kingpins, so go all the way and drop the springs as well and replace the rubber eye bushings. If the brake wheel cylinders are leaking it would be a mistake to try and rebuild them rather than replacing them entirely IMHO. The cylinders are not expensive, and it's real easy to screw up a rebuild if you don't know/understand what you are doing, and much of the time a leaking cylinder is beyond rebuilding anyhow. Besides it's cheap insurance on such a critical part. If the cylinders have been leaking (backing plate shows leakage below the cylinder, fluid behind dust caps when you peel them back) It's likely the brake shoes have been contaminated as well and should then be replaced. Look for axle seal grease leakage around the rear axle while you have the brake drums off. Clean, inspect, repack front spindle bearings and races and replace the seals. NAPA stores stock and/or can overnight order many of the small mechanical wear parts for your truck (you'd be surprised to know how many of your truck's parts were carried on and used on much newer trucks as well), and the counter people are typically much more knowlegable and helpful when needing "oddball" parts, most know how to look parts up by manufacturer's specs in a catalog not just off a computer screen by application. Give them a try if you get stuck needing a part.

 

Just take the springs to the machine shop when you have the kingpins pressed and reamed and have them press out and press in the new bushings. If you insist on DIY, we would remove the old bushings by setting them on fire with a torch and burning out the rubber (outside and downwind of anyone you want to stay friends with) then knocking out the shell with a punch and BFH. We'd reinstall by using a large vise and a socket that just fit into the spring eye or a hydraulic press.

 

I did order a dampener, but upon review of my parst list, I belived I have made a mistake. I think I just ordered the Dampener, not the rest of the kit to attach it to the truck. I am going to assume that the truck does not come with a dampner as a stock part. Now I have to figure out how to order just the connection pieces.

Oie!

 

Hmm. My eyebrows just went up a little bit. I did not realize I would not be able to do the King Pins on my own. But I guess that they would need to be pressed in order to not have any wobble.

I'll take them to the Auto Hobby shop on base here, and use the press there. I just used it today for a part for my 86 HD Sportster.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

Not only do the bushings need to be pressed in and out, but the new ones need to be precision reamed to fit the new kingpins after they are installed. Unless the AHS has the proper reamer and someone who knows how to use it you'll still be taking the axle to an auto machine shop for reaming. You can buy the reamer but it's more than they typically charge to do it and you're not likely to ever need it again. One more possibility you may be able to find someone who bought a reamer and would let you rent or borrow it when the time comes.

 

AX, when you say machine shop, what are you talking about? Do I take it to the local auto repair place, and they have a place in the back that does is, or is there a specifc place that I should look to, to have this done?

Also, what kind of expense are we talking here? Is this a labor intensive job that is going to cost a lot of money, or a quick in-and-out job?

Thanks!

Cory

 

Look in the phone book under automotive machine shop. No, they usually don't do repair work at a machine shop, they do such things as high precision engine machining: cylinder boring, crankshaft turning, valve grinding/replacement, connecting rod refurbishing, bearing fitting, head surfacing, cylinder sleeving and so forth. They may also offer engine balancing and assembly, axle bearing pressing, brake drum/disk turning, flywheel refacing. Their shop will be filled with large expensive high precision specialized machines. They often also have a parts department specializing in oversized bearings, pistons, rings required after the machining and other engine rebuild parts. Here in the east we have a chain of such shops/parts houses called Motor Bearing and Parts. You might ask your local full service repair shop (not a minor repair place like Pep Boys) or car dealership repair shop who they use/recommend.
It's been a long time since I've had axle bushings pressed/reamed, but I'd expect a charge well under 100.00. Machine shop work jumps up in price when there is a lot of precision setup and jigging to do before machining. Kingpin bushings are a direct and "dirty" operation that doesn't require a lot of highly skilled labor. Once the helper/apprentice presses the bushings out and in, the machinist can ream them in 10 minutes each or less. The key to reducing charges is to bring in clean stripped down parts for him to work on. If he has to clean gunky greasy parts and dissasemble them before working on them it will cost extra.

 

First the important news!

I got E.P. (the name of or newly purchased 54 F-250) home tonight. We drove up to Colton CA, from San Diego with my trailer and brought him home with out incident.

Second:

So, i was a bit stressed about the possibility of the bed not being correct. I did a little hunting around on the net to take a look and see what I could find that looked like mine. Here is what I found.

1. The bed is the same as mine. I have the three stake holders and the same larger rear bumpber. I have noticed that all the F100's have the angled bed rails, so perhaps it is something idigenous to the F250. 1954 Ford F-250 Pickup Truck Classic Car Pictures

2. This 250 has the same looking bed, with the three stake holders, but the rails are angled in this one. It almost looks, from the uneveness of the lines that they may have been bent up to mimic the F100 look. Can't tell what's on the back bumper to see if it is the same as mine. 1954 Ford F-250 Pickup pictures from good times photos on webshots

For all the searching I did on google images, the results for an 54 F-250 were very scarce. Seems everyone want's the F-100. Oh well, I like what I got!

If anyone has any good links to some pictures of 54 F-250 that have good shots of the bed rails, please let me know. Either way, I'm sure I can make it look right, once I figure out which way is "right".

Thanks!

Cory