(Ongoing) '83 SWB Project

[MohterTrucker]

First installment of the hot-rodding of my truck.
Just finished swapping a 3.73 posi rear in place of the stock 3.08 open. Its a whole new truck, and I loves it!
Nothing special about the swap or pics but... I needed to express my jubilation before getting arrested or ruining a pair of shorts.

Next step: steering column replacement/upgrade.

[team39763]

You gonna do anything special with the steering column?  I was thinking about installing one of those competition engineering universal steering column kits.
  Do you already have a shiftkit in your transmission?  That'd probably be a cool upgrade for you that you could feel when you drive it.

[MohterTrucker]

One issue: the new rearend whines on deceleration in gear. The posi works fine and it makes no unusual noises under power or while cruising. Should I be worried?

New column is nothing special, just an update (from wiper/high-beam switches on the dash/floorboard, to on the column)/ replacement. I think my truck was broken into and possibly stolen sometime in its life as the tilt section wobbles around a lot (enough that the shift lever will get stuck sometimes when shifting out of park). I know I could fix it, but I'd rather have all the switches on the column, and as it is the left turn signal doesn't auto-cancel, so I'd be fixing all that stuff as well.
I would like a smaller diameter, sportier steering wheel eventually.

More progress: I installed a factory front swaybar. It really stabilized the front end in turns and improved turn-in response. There is no longer a measurable delay between turning the steering wheel and the truck actually changing direction. Its hard to believe this wasn't standard equipment on all trucks.

Next up is the steering column. I'm probably gonna make sure I have a day to tinker w/ it. I want to ensure that I have wiring diagrams for both years so that everything gets wired properly. I'm also going to install a separate relay for the high-beams. I'll probably take pics of that and might do a write-up if anyone is interested.

[SUX2BU99]

Nice work. I wouldn't worry too much about the whine on decel. I had a truck that did that when new and it never got louder or was a problem. It was noticeable but not really loud.

[three8six]

could be pinion angle, that caused a whine in my truck on deceleration?

[MohterTrucker]

Well, it turned out to be a problem . But luckily, I caught it in time. I noticed it getting louder/worse, especially after a short highway jaunt.
The culprit turned out to be a loose pinion nut. I didn't think to check it before installing the axle, but it was definitely loose. Enough that the pinion seal puked the majority of the oil in the diff. But a couple qts. of gear oil and a new seal later, all is well.

Next up is the steering column, like I keep saying...
Anyone have any experience w/ a steering quickener? I'd like my steering ratio to be faster. Especially w/ the posi .

[xup1]

good thing to replace your steering colum, that loose thing is cuased by three bolts way down deep and there hard to get to lol.  Also could cause some major problems if left unattend i would imagine.