Dana 60 upper kingpin spring retainer

[JayH]

I'm looking for a way to reduce the height of the upper kingpin grease caps/spring retainer on my 60 outers. I was thinking a shorter cap with a different spring but can't find any info on what the preload need to be, etc.

I also found these on Pirate: http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=682367

Anyone got any help for me on this?

Thanks.

 

[Corey Y]

That looks like it would work, and get rid of the spring.

 

[Cascade_Crawler]

Im curious why you want to remove the spring and reduce the height of the cap?

 

[crash2]

That looks like it would work, and get rid of the spring.

If you get rid of the spring how are you going to keep pressure against the bushing unless you get the clearance absolutely perfect...

 

[Bunk1]

If you get rid of the spring how are you going to keep pressure against the bushing unless you get the clearance absolutely perfect...

And once the bushing wears out yer ass'd out.

 

[CHOP SHOP]

the link on pirate is adjustable. it can be set from out side the arm with a allen head.

thats easier than setting the preload on a toyota axle or rockwell. both those require you to remove the arm and add/remove shims.

I have had severall friends remove the spring and replace with washers for shims. the spring tends to let a 42-44 inch tire do the death wobble even with new bushings. the tires out of balance weight can overpower the spring and act like a worn balljoint.:beer:

 

[Binder]

I ran mine with no spring for years.....Works fine.

 

[JayH]

Im curious why you want to remove the spring and reduce the height of the cap?

Clearance issues with the lower spring retainer on my coilovers.


Binder, what did you do about preloading the bushing? A plate with shims or some such?

 

[Corey Y]

"If you get rid of the spring how are you going to keep pressure against the bushing unless you get the clearance absolutely perfect.."

"A plate with shims", as the bushing wears out, add more shims. The bushing on Pirate is some kind of wear resistant alloy.

And I wouldnt drive this setup at high speeds, because of the higher risk of a wobble. I should work for the trails.

 

[Binder]

Binder, what did you do about preloading the bushing? A plate with shims or some such?

Pinion gear shims......Kind of a PITA to get the preload right initially but after that it's fine for years. The cone won't wear unless there is something wrong to begin with. Drove mine on the road quite a bit with 38" swampers. No problem.

 

[Corey Y]

Alot of axles use shims on the knuckle pivots. Dana 60s are the only axle I have seen with a preload spring. I have some German ZF axles, and bronze knuckle bushings are available from John Deere as a heavy duty replacement, instead of the knuckle bearings.

 

[JayH]

Pinion gear shims......Kind of a PITA to get the preload right initially but after that it's fine for years. The cone won't wear unless there is something wrong to begin with. Drove mine on the road quite a bit with 38" swampers. No problem.

Figures. It wasn't more than two weeks ago I finally cleaned out all that old Dana 30 and 35 setup stuff that I had been carrying around for years.

Well, I'm off to make a cover plate for my knuckles...

Thanks again.

 

[JayH]

Well here is what I came up with. Following are pix of the parts replaced, what they were replaced with and the final product installed. I gained about an inch of clearance and only needed about 3/8".

The first attempt was just the plate (3/16"), bent like it was 18 gauge sheet metal when tightened down. The 1/8 angle did the trick. The washer is a standard grade 8, 3/4" washer. Perfect ID, OD and height to fit in the bore over the nylon bushing and give a similar preload. We'll see how it holds up.