Just bought '86 K10...need advice on steering and motor

[MudIslandK10]

Hey every, new to the forum. Just bought a '86 K10 long bed 4x4 4spd from a buddy I went to high school with. It's a little rough but I love the way it looks, but wanting to make it more reliable. It has had a late 70's corvette l48 350 engine put in it, but it leaks a lot of oil (been sitting a while before installed). I plan on replacing oil pan, intake manifold, valve cover, and timing cover gaskets next week. I'll probably go with felpro unless you all have any other suggestions.

The next two things I need to address are the steering and carb. Everything looks original and I plan on keeping this truck for a while so I plan on replacing just about all the steering components as it has a ton of play: tie rods, adjusting rod, drag links, ball joints, pitman arm, and steering box. I want to put reliable stuff on there but I didn't pay a lot for this truck and hate dropping $2k in it already. It seems like moog would be the way to go, but I can't find a replacement part for the adjusting rod. I also am not sure whether I should buy a new steering box or a reman one. I hate to spend $400 on a new one but hear the remans can be crap. Anybody have any suggestion on the moog adjust rod or the steering box? I'll call moog monday and see what they say also.

My other thing is the carb. Looks like the original quadrajet. I may need to ask this in a corvette forum but we'll see. I've read good and bad things about holley and eddy quadrajet replacements, around $400-$450. Jet also has rebuilt ones that have great reviews for about $300. The motor has plenty of power for driving this truck around tow so not needing maximum horsepower, just looking for the most reliable option possible. Thank you everybody for your help!!

 

[PrairieDrifter]

Felpro is a good option for gaskets, as is moog for steering components. I couldn't tell you where a good place is for that adjustment rod, and as for the steering box I'm the type of guy that likes brand new parts but they aren't fail proof either. That being said its just really what you want to do in the end, it can be a hit and miss on reman stuff, just need to find a decent brand.

As for carbs I would stay away from edelbrocks, and hollys are decent but quadrajets really are a pretty good carb.

 

[Stepside Billy]

LMC has the front end parts you need. I got my adjusting rod from Autozone. I go to Autozone because my Son-in-Law is the commercial manager I get a great discount!.

 

[Stepside Billy]

Oh, and welcome! Nice truck. Good luck with it! You came to the right place. Lots of helpful people here!

 

[crazy4offroad]

Remanned steering boxes aren't bad, at least the 2WD one I bought for crossover steering isn't but I guess it's like anything, luck of the draw. If there's slop in the box you can tighten it up a little using the allen screw/jamb nut on the top. You have to be careful not to over tighten it though. Make adjustments and test. If it leaks you can put seals in it too. It's work but may be worth it to keep your original Saginaw.

You might want to also inspect the frame. They've been known to crack at the steering box and cause slop. With the truck running reach through the fenderwell and turn the steering shaft and see if it looks like the box is moving independent of the frame any. If so they make repair/strengthening kits that you weld in.

As far as tie rod ends I just look for lifetime warranty. Doesn't necessarily mean they'll last a lifetime, just that you'll be replacing them for a lifetime lol. At least it wont cost you to replace. I would check the toe-in before you start on tie rod ends though. Just use a tape measure to measure inside the front tires at the front side and back side. Your front side measurement should be 1/8 to 1/4 inch smaller than the rear measurement. If you have to adjust, remember a little goes a long way. It might only take a single turn of the adjuster sleeve to make 1/4 inch.

As far as the carb there's a guy on here I think his handle is qjet power, he can rebuild it for you and tune it to your specs. I've been wanting to send mine off to him but Christmas has tapped the funds for that. An even more reliable mod to consider would be swapping it over to a TBI setup. I'm not sure all that's involved but have heard great things.

EDIT: by the way it looks like the truck may have a little bit of a lift under it. Go over everything and make sure it was done right. See if he installed a raised steering arm or what he did to correct the steering geometry.

 

[MudIslandK10]

LMC has the front end parts you need. I got my adjusting rod from Autozone. I go to Autozone because my Son-in-Law is the commercial manager I get a great discount!.

Yeah I saw everything on LMC. Would run me about $360 for everything except the steering box. I saw some moog parts a little cheaper and some a little higher so it was kind of a wash to just get moog. Just can't find a moog adjustment rod. Hopefully they can help me when I call tomorrow.

Remanned steering boxes aren't bad, at least the 2WD one I bought for crossover steering isn't but I guess it's like anything, luck of the draw. If there's slop in the box you can tighten it up a little using the allen screw/jamb nut on the top. You have to be careful not to over tighten it though. Make adjustments and test. If it leaks you can put seals in it too. It's work but may be worth it to keep your original Saginaw.

You might want to also inspect the frame. They've been known to crack at the steering box and cause slop. With the truck running reach through the fenderwell and turn the steering shaft and see if it looks like the box is moving independent of the frame any. If so they make repair/strengthening kits that you weld in.

As far as tie rod ends I just look for lifetime warranty. Doesn't necessarily mean they'll last a lifetime, just that you'll be replacing them for a lifetime lol. At least it wont cost you to replace. I would check the toe-in before you start on tie rod ends though. Just use a tape measure to measure inside the front tires at the front side and back side. Your front side measurement should be 1/8 to 1/4 inch smaller than the rear measurement. If you have to adjust, remember a little goes a long way. It might only take a single turn of the adjuster sleeve to make 1/4 inch.

As far as the carb there's a guy on here I think his handle is qjet power, he can rebuild it for you and tune it to your specs. I've been wanting to send mine off to him but Christmas has tapped the funds for that. An even more reliable mod to consider would be swapping it over to a TBI setup. I'm not sure all that's involved but have heard great things.

EDIT: by the way it looks like the truck may have a little bit of a lift under it. Go over everything and make sure it was done right. See if he installed a raised steering arm or what he did to correct the steering geometry.

Yeah I plan on doing the brace kit too when I swap all this out. I was going to measure the width between the wheels before swapping but a guy a couple miles down the road will align it for me for $40. No way he could though right now with these old parts.

I would like to send off my carb but I am kind of on a time constraint. I am from East TN but go to school is West TN and would like to take the truck back with me after this break. I have a huge garage to work on it now at home but live in a strict HOA type neighborhood at school so doubt I could really work on it much there lol. I've read good things about the Jet rebuilt carbs as far as dropping them in and going. I've also read about SMI Carburetors and sending it to him and telling him the engine and mods and he can pretty much have it dialed in from the get go. Not sure if anyone here has experience with them.

 

[MudIslandK10]

EDIT: by the way it looks like the truck may have a little bit of a lift under it. Go over everything and make sure it was done right. See if he installed a raised steering arm or what he did to correct the steering geometry.

It looks like it has a raised steering arm but I'm not sure how it would compare to the stock one to verify. Pitman arm looks stock though. It has had this lift on it for 10+ years, maybe 20, who knows. The drag links are perfectly parallel with the ground though so would I need to worry about that as long as it is parallel?

 

[crazy4offroad]

No that should be fine. Usually people lift them and don't do the steering arm and the added leverage causes the frame to crack. As long as yours is horizontal it should be GTG.