Post by 61 Shasta on Jan 19, 2013 0:17:56 GMT -5
I am now working on the running gear while I wait for the new skin to be fabricated. I removed and repacked the wheel bearings then started cleaning off the spring shackle support bolts. Once I found the zirc fittings and cleaned them sufficient to get a grease gun on them, they wouldn't take any grease! Plugged solid. Now, this would seem to be something everyone would consider doing but since I am here I will mention it anyway. I ended up pulling all six of the shackle support bolts (one at a time so I didn't have to drop the axle) to clean them. They are a bit difficult to remove but once I had the nuts off, I used a brass drift and hammer to drive them out. Once they moved just a bit, they came the rest of the way easily. I then removed the zirk fitting and using a drill bit(by hand) simply eased it down the channel using the bit flukes to gather the old muck and pulled it out. Once I did this a few times, they were as clean as I needed them. There is a little lube hole on the bolt shaft about half way down and I simply poked a smaller drill into it to loosen the gunk up. Then by blowing compressed air where the zirc threads in I finished the cleaning. Once this was all done, I pumped new grease in until it showed clear grease. For the bushings on the trailer, I used my 12 gauge shotgun cleaning brush with some solvent to clean them. That worked great. I now have clean and lubed spring shackle support bolts. This is an important step in the restoration process and if anyone would like more info please feel free to ask. Since Chucks Waggin is a 61 compact, it only has one axle so my experience is limited to that model and others may differ.
