Huntin720

So even after I broke those nuts free it wouldn't come off. I popped the ball joints off and took the whole knuckles to my mechanic. Turns out the 1980 4x4 is different. The hubs have to be pressed on and off of the knuckle because the hub actually extends back through the bearings. He wants a stupid amount of money for it. So fuck it. I'm throwing some pads and ball joints on it and I'll just wear out pads faster. Maybe someday I'll swap in knuckles from a later model. Maybe manual locking D20 knuckles will fit?

Yeah that's it. I finally got them loose. All I needed was a bigger breaker bar.

I tried both ways. Because thats the kind of mistake I would make.

GRR ARRGH. Still not moving. I'm pretty sure they arent even supposed to be torqued on. I'd put it back together and take it to a shop but I already pulled of the calipers off to work on them.

No it's not the same. It's a spindle nut with 8 slots around the outside and a ring underneath with tabs that bend up. I'm going to throw some heavy duty penetrant at it next. Then more fire.

I'm trying to do the brake pads and rotors on my 1980 4x4 and I cant get the bearing lock nut to budge. I have the right spindle nut socket, ive heated it up but is just wont move. Is there a trick? I bent back the tabs on the retainer so that isnt it. Also I noticed that on the drivers side the axle moves freely independent of the hub assembly. But on the passenger side they spin together. Is that normal and I'm being a noob? Or is something else likely broken?

2x100watt bars will draw 16amps total. Your battery fully charged is probably worth 40-55 Amp Hours. Which means that over a 20hr test it could drive 2amps for 20 hrs before dropping below the nominal voltage (usually around 10.5v). If the dropoff was linear then you could say that the battery would drive your lamp bars for 3 hours. It isn't linear though, capacity drops with increased rate of draw. So if we want to play it safe we cut the number in half (your battery manufacturer may have a chart that better predicts this) so you should be safe driving these LED's for an hour at least. That is of course if the only draw on the battery is the LED's. But the math also ingores the charge from your alternator. Someone else will have to chime in and let us know how many amps your alternator should provide and how many your motor is using. If two 35watt lights drain your batt quickly then I'd check out wiring. 2x35w=5.8A So you should be able to drive them for hours. You may have a short somewhere. Or you may need a new battery.

All important wires and hoses are new (and flexible) and I made sure to keep things clear of any pinching. I recognize that it wasn't ideal by any stretch. For the re-install I am bringing in a friend with more experience. I figured since I'm doing a bunch of repairs at the same time I could handle it if I broke something taking it apart, but for assembly I plan on being more careful. I may even pull the clutch so the trans has room to slide back into position then replace it just before I push the two together.

Oh I'm sure it will be. I can't wait to try to get it to line up and bolt back on under there. But now I'm on a mission.

Do you mean 6.95" sidewall? 235/75R15 should be 9.25" wide.

VICTORY IS MINE. I'll post pics when I get a chance but I just came inside to let y'all know that you can take the 31" transmission off the 1980 720 4x4 from underneath without pulling the motor. You shouldn't, of course, because it's ridiculous... But you can. Once the drive shafts, the suspension cross member, the front differetial, the rock guard, the exhaust, the starter, the clutch slave, and like 100 bolts are off and neatly categorized in ziplock bags, then you have to turn the transmission 90deg on its side (to clear the shifter striking guide from the body) and rock the motor back and forth as you slide the bell housing down past it at an angle. It might have been easier if I took the pressure plate off before trying to rock the trans past it. There was some rubbing. I'm also pretty sure that it wont come off if you have the motor properly supported because I had to tilt it forward and back to get past it.

Work has finally slowed down to a point where I can get back to this project. I now know why everybody says to just pull the engine and trans together rather than try to do it from below on a 4x4. I'm pulling the front diff so that I can get it out of the way to drop the trans. The question I have is how to remove the suspension crossmember. I haven't had a torsion bar truck before so I don't know what is and isn't under tension. Right now I have the front end lifted on ramps. Do I need to lift it by the frame to pull the crossmember? Can I just undo these four bolts and pull it out? Im really hoping that I don't need to deal with the torsion bars to get this done.

230gr at a time?

Wayno I know I'm probably overdoing it. I'll pull mine off and then let you know about when I can come by and take advantage of your generosity. Best case scenario I end up with two working transmissions and either have a spare or can sell one. Everything about this truck is short except for the trans.,