Dana 60 kingpin replacement. Is a 600 ft pound torque wrench really needed?

[fitz]

  I have an M1028 (basically an 84 k30) that has the death wobble in the Dana 60.
  Ever since I bought the truck last year it had a little shimmy to the front end going over potholes/railroad tracks.
  I just installed Tough Country 2" HD front springs. Now the shimmy has become the dreaded D60 death wobble
  I installed new Spicer springs & plastic bushings but that didn't solve it. I rotated the tires and tried another set of tires I had laying around but that didn't help.
  I've been reading a bunch of threads about rebuilding the whole unit with new kingpins and bearings. I still have more research to do but I am concerned with the kingpins 600 foot pound torque requirement on the 7/8" allen head.  Most of the threads just say to use a 4' pipe on the allen head to tighten the kingpin. I've found some torque wrenches rated up to 600 foot pounds for about $300.
So should I spend the $300 or just use a 4' pipe and crank it down hard?

[Irish_Alley]

do you already have a tq wrench? if so i would waist money on one already maybe find someone who has one that big. if no then i would buy one cause you might need it again.

[fitz]

I have a craftsman 3/8" (75 ft pounds) and a craftsman 1/2" (200 ft pounds). A 600 ft pound one might be next.

[Irish_Alley]

a home made deal would be something like this
WHAT YOU NEED---600
How much you weight ---250 (IDK)
N/W=X * 12(inches)= you pipe length
so you need 600/250=2.4*12=28.8
now take a pipe or something and make a mark from the center of the alen key to 28.8.
now once you snug the bolt up you put all you weight on that 28.8" mark and that will give you 600lbs if you weight 250lbs

if you dont understand just tell me your weight and ill tell you where to put the mark ;-)

[Irish_Alley]

must add make sure your pipe is perpendicular to the bolt and dont jump on it

[fitz]

  Thanks Irish.
  As far as the 250lbs, your right on the money (mom says I'm just big boned).
   I'm thinking I might have to take the axle out of the truck and rotate it 90° to get the pipe perpendicular to the kingpin.
  I'm not against spending money on tools, I just can't see myself using a 600 ft pound torque wrench that often.

[bake74]

     Is there no place around you that you could rent one for a day ?  I would be hesitant on not torquing it properly, the last thing you would ever want is for it to come apart when you are driving it.

[ehjorten]

You could probably have an extension made with a receiver for your torque wrench!  A torque wrench is no magical mysterious device!  torque is simply a force applied at a distance.  200 lb-ft is 200 lb applied at a distance of 1 ft from the fulcrum...or 100 lb applied at a 2 ft. distance.

You said that you have a 200 lb-ft torque wrench.  In order to apply 600 lb-ft of torque you need a longer lever arm.

The formula to determine that is: wrench setting = desired torque x wrench length / (wrench length + extension length)

So...if you have say an 18", 200 lb torque wrench and you need to apply 600 lb-ft of torque you would need to have at least a 36" extension with your torque wrench set to 200 lb-ft.

200 lb-ft = 600 lb-ft x 18"/(18" + 36")

[fitz]

  I'm leaning towards just spending the $300 on the torque wrench.  I plan on keeping this truck so I might as well bite the bullet.  This project is gonna be few weeks away. I'm sure I'll have more questions when I start.
  Thanks again guys.

[pholliday1]

First off how much wear is actually on the king pin itself? You may be barking up the wrong tree. Of the 60's I've rebuilt I have used a tourqe multiplier tool. It's a gear to gear torque increase tool. Example 75ftlbs in 750 lbs out. Concerning the wobble, your on the right track with the springs. My guess is the new springs were about 1/2 inch or taller than the wore out springs. Next culprit is tie rod ends ,drag link, bottom bearing and then last the kingpin. There's actually a fix for adjusting spring tension on theses 60's, low tech is shimming the spring. High tech they make a replacement top for the springs with a set nut and bolt that screws down force on the spring kinda like a set screw.

[Engineer]

On the two Dana60s I rebuilt I used the bubba method......Haha!

Here is how I did it:

I used my SnapOn 1" drive 7/8 Allen driver ($$$$$), and standard 3/4" drive breaker bar, with my SnapOn 3/4"~1" adapter. (more $$$$$$)

Then I used a 6' cheater pipe. Using a standard bathroom scale I pushed against the bathroom scale which was pushing against the 6' end of the cheater pipe. When the bathroom scale read, and would hold 100# I stopped. Voila, 600 ft/lbs.

After many miles none have came loose. Red loctite doesn't hurt either....

[Engineer]

As pholliday said, I shimmed the springs on the bushings.

There is also a company that makes a bronze bushing that replaces the nylon Spicer OE piece.

[Irish_Alley]

You could probably have an extension made with a receiver for your torque wrench!  A torque wrench is no magical mysterious device!  torque is simply a force applied at a distance.  200 lb-ft is 200 lb applied at a distance of 1 ft from the fulcrum...or 100 lb applied at a 2 ft. distance.

You said that you have a 200 lb-ft torque wrench.  In order to apply 600 lb-ft of torque you need a longer lever arm.

The formula to determine that is: wrench setting = desired torque x wrench length / (wrench length + extension length)

So...if you have say an 18", 200 lb torque wrench and you need to apply 600 lb-ft of torque you would need to have at least a 36" extension with your torque wrench set to 200 lb-ft.

200 lb-ft = 600 lb-ft x 18"/(18" + 36")

idk if this is true or not in my mine the tq wrench will still trip at 200 ft lbs. it would just take less weight to make it trip

but on the side note i did see one of those tq multiplier the other day on the snap on truck

[fitz]

  The new springs were about 1/2 longer than the old ones. The old bushings didn't look worn (I was hoping  they would be shot so that would fix it). I took the truck down for the state safety inspection today (no emissions needed) and it passed. The inspector said everything in the front end looked good. He said the drag link had a tiny amount of play but that it was within spec. I just went to Napa and ordered 2 drag link ends and the adjuster sleave.
  As far as the bronze sleeves go, l looked into them but they are only recommended for off road use. I'm gonna try shimming the springs with washers to see if that helps, but not sure if that's just masking other problems.

[Irish_Alley]

what about shocks? i know my impala has bad struts and shes all over the place with even the slightest bump