I got on a chat with some chick over there. Could only answer half my questions. Anyway, I'm guessing there is a hole or cavity on the end we can't see. Just wish they could give us the diameter of the ribbed one. I will say the base of those ES bumpers have the correct geometry compared to the old ones I pried out of my truck. I think I will order those bumpers and if they're not right I'll return them. Amazon sells them too and are actually a buck less plus I'll get free shipping and easy return if I have to. Truthfully I have not looked closely at my uppers. Also, I still cannot figure out what that bolt going up in the cup does. That cup is welded on so it can't be for that. I tried unbolting it. It unthreads all the way but wont pull off. Some kind of retainer up inside I can't see.

 

Half of your questions? That's better than a lot of support folks can do ...

I guess the same also BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW!!! Even though it won't fit my truck.

Hell, if it DOES, I can always see if I can find the other end of that retaining bolt and use that design on my next major overhaul (which may be sooner; I'm seriously considering buying a full set of control arms, getting them powder coated, and swapping all the whole front end including front springs when I do the rack - Do It Once And Done. I'm too old to do something every weekend anymore ... )

RwP

 

She answered half of my questions but the least important ones. In terms of pertinence, she answered about 15% of my questions.

Ralph, I can relate to one and done. In fact, I'm slightly disappointed in myself for not pulling my arms off too and re-bushing and cleaning them. But I used the excuse that I was too old to go that far. But if I have to go back I wont be too old?? Makes no sense. But there is something gratifying knowing you went the distance such that you don't have to worry about it again. I know it's easy for me to say, but I vote that you replace the arms and springs. Be done with it and move on.

I ordered those bumpers. I'll report back whenever they get here and I have a chance to check them out. I have a brake job to do next so I'll be bugging you some more.

 

Previous hints:

1) I don't turn rotors and drums; even with the weight of a drum and the hub-and-rotor for my 2WD, it's not that much more than the turning at the local Big Box Parts Stores. And I get all new.

2) ONLY use quality pads! Now, there's a wide and wild batch out there; I'm fond of Wagner Thermoquiets myself, but they're not the only good brand out there by a hella long shot. But. Define what you're buying for first. The best pads for a roundy round racer suck on the street, and the best pads for stop and go may not haul down a fully loaded truck with a trailer efficiently at 75MPH. Just saying.

3) I cheat. It's just me, so I use a pneumatic bleeder and my old Craftsman air compressor (small, non-canister oilless).

4) If it's never been done, consider just doing master cylinder and booster; the trucks actually stop pretty nice when everything's new.

5) Triplecheck your proportioning valve; if it's questionable, the generic GM PV-2 fits and works as long as you change to the GM thread fittings on it.

6) DO replace the brake hoses at the current age; even if previously done, see "Done and done".

7) I do new hardware and new wheel cylinders when I do rear brakes; DO new hardware even if you're confident in your ability to rebuild the old WCs. I'm lazy, and they're not that much money anymore.

8) I'd also consider "new" calipers up front.

9) On the 2WD, you'll be doing wheel bearings and seals. I cheat there also; I use a pressure loader ( they're fairly cheap, under $10 on Amazon for the plastic ones and $20 for the all metal ones) and with that, I can make DAMN sure the rollers are all loaded.

10) Use good wheel bearings; cheap crap is quite often cheap crap. I'm partial to Timken, which can be found USA and Mexican quite often.

11) Use a GOOD grease. Again, I'm partial to the moly based ones, but that's because back in the 70's they were quite noticeably smoother and slicker than the others. Today, lubrication technology has pretty much removed that advantage; but I still use moly Because I'm Olde Skool

12) Consider new studs on the rear axles while the drums are off and the brakes apart. I took an angle grinder, cut most of the stud off, cross cut with the angle grinder to put a X on the end, and put my stepson's hammer drill on HAMMER only and used a pointed chisel on the stud; they came right out. Putting the new ones on, a 3/4" nut, a 1/2" grade 8 flat washer, and a 1/2-20 grade 8 nut pulled it right in with my battery impact wrench. Easy peasy once I thought to cross cut (damn hammer drill kept bouncing off the stud until I did!)

That's my hints. You can print this out and use it for toilet paper if you wish since most of this is my opinion. But a GOOD opinion in any case, I think.

RwP

 

Ralph, I don’t know if your 88 is like my 93 but if you’re gonna put a new rack n pinion on without removing the sway bar I would attach the inner tie rods to the new rack before mounting the R&P to the truck. I was able to avoid interference by retracting the rack on the right side but that didn’t work on the left side (pinion side). I had to get the jack under the end of the sway bar and flex it up a little to make some room. Wasn’t thrilled about having to do that but you gotta do what you gotta do. I’m thinking because you’ve done front suspension work on your 88 before you didn’t have this same problem otherwise you would have remembered (maybe).

 

When I was doing the wrench turnin' thing for a living, I routinely turned even the new drums/rotors, as they invariably had more runout than I liked. And I hated doing jobs twice. I might only shave off a couple thousandths, but, if the pedal wasn't bouncing around under my foot when I stepped on it, it left me with a smile.

 

Some (not necessarily me) would consider that ****.

 

Well, the RackDoctor.NET units come with inner tie rods already installed, and with new bellows.

As to the turning - if I had the turner, or if I could find someone who could do it reasonably, I would. But I've also found buying good brake drums and rotors - I don't get much if any runout.

RwP

 

True, but, after the SECOND time you have to re-do a brake job for a pedal pulsation, that tends to happen to ya. An as we had the brake lathe RIGHT THERE in the shop...... it only takes a couple minutes, and ensures you don't have to re-do an hours worth of work.

 

One other thing about the rack. With the left tie rod removed and the rack completely retracted in the left side (pinion end) the fluid leaks out. Steady stream. Turn the steering wheel even a little bit to extend the rack and the leaking stops immediately. I don’t know why that happens. Pressure on a seal? Finds a way around a rack tooth? Beats me. But I lost about 8 oz of fluid before I noticed it. Filled the reservoir back up and haven’t lost a drop since. Of course I wouldn’t know that by looking because the leakage would be inside the sealed bellow. I’m going by the fluid level in the reservoir. No loss. And I’m guessing with the tie rods installed it keeps that rack from extending/retracting all the way in/out. This leakage did not occur on the right side when I had the rack completely retracted.