Dodger

I've never worked on rear axles. Can I just change a gear in the rear to make the axle a 3.7 or 3.5? If so, where would I find the gears?

I would but ... i don't have a shop manual yet. It's on my list. I have a 53 B-3-C.

Has anyone determined what a 41F is? I'd like to know what the ratio on my 53' truck might be.

I haven't inspected the shackle bolts. Would they have an affect on the steering?

Can i simply suck this old oil out and put new "00 Grease" in ?

I decided to narrow my focus to one issue at a time. So I chose the front end (steering) that jerked hard while turning. I replaced the tie rod ends and the steering cross bar hoping this would smooth out while turning the drums left to right. It's still clunky at points. i really didn't want to do the king pins yet as I planned to convert to disk on the front later and that requires 16" with the kit from DCM. Could any of the issue be in the steering box? How would I test that without taking it out? I opened the plug and the oil was milky brown (see pic). It doesn't seem to be leaking ... yet.

Appreciate all the feedback on my my new "52" Dodge Truck. I found a lot of play and clunky feeling while turning the rotors left to right by hand. I plan to replace the tie rod ends and drag link cross bar before digging into the kingpins as I might replace them later with a disk break conversion. I hope that tightens up the front end for now. The kingpins only had slight play. Since the gearbox is not leaking, I'm hoping to hold off on that as well unless it's not smooth while turning. I did also notice that all of my break fluid has drained out of my MC while driving. With the disk break conversion coming in the future, could I get by with buying the dual output MC that DCM sells and plug one of the ports for now?

Would this leak have an effect on the performance? If so, how do I fix this? I didn't see anything in the carb rebuild kit to address this leak.

JB - Do I have to pull the steering gear box to replace oil with corn head grease? I'd like to leave it in the truck if I can.

So ... your thinking 52

My insurance company told me that the vin was coming up as a 52. But the individual I bought it from told me 53. Can you shed any light? What else should I look at?

The fuel tank and fuel are OK. I've had the top of the carb off several times trying to tweak the float, as it still seeps out from the gasket. Trying to get the needle to set and stop fuel to the carb just a little lower in the bowl. Yes, the truck is all original and using the mechanical fuel pump. I also think it's a carb issue but didn't know if it would be air or fuel fixture that's off. I bought this truck 4 months ago and it was my first road trip for a total of about 30 miles. It had been in storage for about 30 years. I'll try to attach an after market temp gauge for now as I too like to know engine temp.

More info ... 1. I did replace the condenser. If the truck runs fine in the shop but acts up after 20 miles, should it be a carb issue? 2. I'll take the wheels off and check the kingpin and bearings. What is cornhead grease? where does it go? wouldn't the steering box contain an oil ? ** I did install a new radiator (old one leaked), water pump and distribution sleeve that goes into the engine block while I was going over the cooling system.

1. I did repair a wire inside the distributor as the insulation was gone. The truck runs great at idle in the garage but seemed to fail after heating up from the drive and trying to stop. 2. The wheels seemed to turn fine when I put the new tires on. I guess I need to take the tire off and look at the kingpins. -- is the steering adjustable? my old VW van used to have a screw to tighten/loosen the steering. 3. Right

Appreciate the feedback. I failed to mention a few details .. sorry. 1. I did rebuild the carb, but I don't mind running sea foam as I'm a fan of that product as well. 2. The tires are new. 3. I did pull the temp tub from the engine and the tubing was soldered shut. There was no bulb as I would have expected.