knuckle stud repair

well, i kept grinding the stud heads down at the 9 and 3 oclock positions. but it was going to take way too much off the head.

i decided to remove those two studs and tap the 3/8" hole they used. since a 7/16 bolt was the next size i tried tapping the 3/8 hole instead of drilling the 25/64" hole that the tap was supposed to use.

used a lot of cutting oil and went just a very little at a time and backed up, etc. it looks like it will work well. there is about the same amount of metal left between the edge and the hole so it looks strong enough.

the grade 8 7/16x20 bolt will fit fine so far. the whole piece certainly looks more sturdy than the old set up.

needed to grind just a very little bit from the bottom of the ball to clear the stud heads in the 7 and 5 oclock spot.

with the old shims in place and the caps tight the setting is for about 14 to 15 lbs with the bearings packed with grease. should i measure the old shim thickness with my caliper and replace them with the new or can i just leave the old ones in (as if i didn't know the answer....)

 

thanks steve.

i replaced em since i needed to change the preset load anyway.