no clue

[no-red 6 0]

hey guys-
truck is up on a buddies lift about 20 miles from home...

yesterday 8:30 a.m. we tore into it, by 12:30 the new ball joints were pressed in....here in lies the fun part (not). my buddy had to go to his job (diesel tractor mechanic).... upon re-install the lower ball joint thread length was too long & was hitting the u-joint knuckle (out comes the sawzall) - problem solved...go to install new rotors - i put the dust shield on backwards... (out comes the sawzall) - problem solved

upon attempting to put in the new pads (what sh__-head) thought of that design - what a pain in the rear....the new pad combo will not fit over the new d/s rotor....it is off by 1/4"... i can not compress the caliper any more...

so at 9:15 last nite i had to call the wife to come pick me up cuz we called it a day... i have contacted the guy whom i bought the rotors/pads from to see if i got the wrong items, he says NO (that's good and bad) - there-in lies the problem: ANY CLUE AS TO WHAT I MAY BE DOING WRONG OR CAN DO? when my buddy gets off work today at 4ish, he is gonna go out and look at the situation - maybe i grabbed the wrong set of pads, maybe the caliper goes back in more, maybe i was sleep deprived and cold

so her i sit, truckless w/ no clue!

any thoughts.... much appreciated

 

[elkyss81]

Is it possible the rotor is not sitting flat against the hub? From my experience, sometimes installing new rotors/pads, the rotor has to sit flat against the hub to the pads are sitting straight in there grooves or you will never get the caliper over them. Take a couple of lugnuts and thread on and make the rotor sit in it's normal position...

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Brief Superduty brakes history lesson:

Back when the Superdutys first came out, they only had rear axle anti-lock brakes. Those models year were the early 99's and early 99.5's.

Sometime around the 03/99 timeframe, trucks started being built with front ABS. When they did that, an ABS exciter ring had to be added to the front bearing hub. That made the front bearing hubs just a tad wider. To compensate and to get the rotor to still line up with the caliper, the offset or the rotor had to be changed. If you compare the pre 03/99 rotors to the 03/99 and on rotors, you will see one is just a bit taller than the other. The difference is in the ballpark of 1/8" to 1/4".

The rotors and bearing hubs are different for before & after that 03/99 date.

As far as the brakes are concerned, my bet is you got the wrong rotors. The pads didn't change, but the rotors did. Get the other rotors, and I'd be very surprised if they don't line right up with the calipers.

As far as ball joints go:

I did mine just about 2 months ago and it it went very well. I bought a 12 ton press from Harbor Freight for about $130. I'm guessing labor for some shop to do the job would have been $300+.

But since you're having problems with both ball joints & brakes, it sounds to me like it might be a "parts person" issue. I may be off base, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck------------

 

[ponyexpress94]

I'll defer to Kent for the brake information because he has the experience with his early 99, and I haven't done brakes on my truck yet so I have only reinstalled parts that I previously removed.

I just completed ball joints by myself on my truck last week and the lower ball joints (MOOG'S) were a perfect fit. I would double check the installation of the the lower ball joints and make sure that the tapered spindle is correctly fitted into the taper of the axles lower mounting hole. If that ball joint spindle is too small a diameter that would cause the spindle to stick up farther than designed creating your interference with the universals.

Did you really just cut the dust shields off instead of flipping them around?

Hope this helps and good luck...

 

[Tail_Gunner]

I would double check the installation of the the lower ball joints and make sure that the tapered spindle is correctly fitted into the taper of the axles lower mounting hole. If that ball joint spindle is too small a diameter that would cause the spindle to stick up farther than designed creating your interference with the universals.

I've been thinking about that ball joint and it bothers me too. If the stud taper isn't right and it sticks too far thru where it interferes with the axle shaft, it could be causing problems some place else. It might be putting a force on one of the ball joints that will cause it to pull out of the steering knuckle or maybe cause a steering binding on that side. To coin an old phrase "something's just don't smell right".

 

[no-red 6 0]

yes, i did just cut off the dust shield...was not about to unbolt and pull the hub off....
yes, i did just cut the top beveled edge off the lower ball joint....

as for the 'wrong parts guy' - the ball joints are oem spec out of world suspension - moogs... and the brakes from brake motive in chitown...of which he said they were the correct ones per my trucks year and spec...

as for the rotor being 'off' from previous...the previous was NOT the factories as those were toast aroun 35k....and i am not sure where the guy got the rotors that i just took off.

the ball joints were seated properly and all c-clips installed, they bottomed out and could go no further...no idea as to why they 'were too tall"....

did not work on truck today - too much family crap going on - too tired - too pissy....
it should all have gone simply and smoothly....unbolt and re-bolt....it is just my luck..

my friend who was helping me took a look at it when he got home tonight and said that the caliper looked as tho it could compress 1/4" more (prolly pushed out today w/ no pressure on it - as i had it squished in all the way last nite)...so tomorrow i should be able to get it solved...

i watched a video tonight on brake job and saw just how easy it is to re-do the pads...and YES in the video it showed bolting up the rotor to prevent movement...leaving the caliper assembly in place, pulling off the pad 'outer' sleeve remove pads, put in new pads, install those funky springs and rebolt cover...simple....it was not so simple the other nite....

prolly gonna chalk it up to cold, tired and fatigued...

i will keep you all informed. thanks for the info. and insight and suggestions.

p.s. sorry for the long windedness


an after thought on the ball joint after re-reading those responses.....
would it stick up too far if it was tightened down TOO FAR...buddy did not have adapter for 3/4 in to 1/2 in for the torque wrench and he just cranked them down....which made turning the knuckle almost impossible?

 

[atk]

which made turning the knuckle almost impossible?

the knuckle should turn freely with a little bit of drag. if it is that tight, may affect the way it steers going down the road....they need to be tightened(torqued) properly and in the right sequence, so that the ball joints doesn`t put to much force on the other....

how much did you cut off of the ball joint????


hey Dan, is the sawzall your favourite tool........

 

[JLDickmon]

Dan..
you've got parts for an early truck,
but you've got a late production truck.

(or maybe the other way around)

99's had actually two production splits..
one in January for the engine upgrade, the other in March for brake & front end parts.

00's had a split, too. Dennis had issues with his brakes being different heights.

 

[JLDickmon]

To coin an old phrase "something's just don't smell right".

I agree.

there is something "all outta cattywampus"

 

[no-red 6 0]

Dan..
you've got parts for an early truck,
but you've got a late production truck.

(or maybe the other way around)

99's had actually two production splits..
one in January for the engine upgrade, the other in March for brake & front end parts.

00's had a split, too. Dennis had issues with his brakes being different heights.

what is late production....truck is 399 off the line....

i know iirc that march? is a switch date??? in production - don't remember what mine states (or remember where to find that info at this point in time)

as the way the ball joints were cut: 1 is flush w/ the nut and the other is 1 thread above it

i've read somewhere that if it is too tight it may (may) have wandering issues...at this point i am gonna take my chances - i don't have the time nor the money to buy all NEW parts again to rip it off and re-do...