Dodger

Appreciate the input, but just haven't had time to get back under the truck and it may be a couple of weeks before I can make time to work on it again. Yes, I was referring to the spindle nut. I also suspect the brake adjustment is whats hold me up as I already ground down the break pedal shaft to the "new" after market master cylinder. I'll provide feedback on adjusting the brakes shortly. Thanks again ...

Good Day, My 53 Dodge Truck only rolls backwards. I changed a lot with my front end. I replaced the master cylinder and with a dual port and split the front brakes and rear breaks. I replaced the wheel cylinders as well but while replacing the drums they were very hard to turn in both directions. Turning the drum toward the rear was fine but it would not turn forward. I loosened the wheel nut until the drum turned but I feel that it really should be tighter. This issue was on both front wheels. After putting the truck on the ground and bleeding the breaks, the truck would not budge forward. No problem going in reverse. Could I have an issue with the wheel bearings? I greased them and they seemed fine. I didn't remove the inner bearing. The bearings are the only thing I haven't replaced. The shoes had already been replaced when I bought the truck 5 months ago.

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.

I’m finally ready take my 53 Dodge on the road for it’s first drive after 30 years in storage. It started out as a fun ride but I began to notice that I have issues. I little background first so you know what I’m driving. It’s an all-original flat head 6, single barrel carb (rebuilt), 3 on the tree, minus the wire insulation that I blew off while pressure washing (blunder). Here are my issues. 1. Carb – The engine idled great in the garage but after about 20 miles the engine died when pulling up to a light. It did seem to stay running more when I pulled the choke out about a 1/4 inch on the dash. At times it also idled very high when stopping so I would tap the gas pedal and it would drop down then die. 2. Steering – While taking a turn the truck seemed to jerk into a harder turn. Good thing I had a good grip on the steering wheel. What might be shifting in the front end? 3. Temp Gauge – I still don’t have a temp gauge working. I pulled the tubing out of the engine block and the tubing looked soldered up. I needle on the gauge doesn’t move at all. Well, that’s it for now. I appreciate your feedback on these issues.

Appreciate all feedback. I noticed that the insulation on a 3" wire coming from the distributor feed to the points had most all insulation warn off. I put a piece of heat shrink in it and replaced it. I shot WD all over as well as replaced the condenser. Truck started after a few minutes of cranking.

So ... I cleaned the cable (+) to the trans and pumped the starter. After about 15 hits it started to turn over. It turns over just fine, but still no joy with actually firing up. I'm not getting any fire to the plugs. I'm getting 6 volts on each side of the coil. The dist cap looks good and there's no water in the distributor. Any advise on what to look at to get the spark flowing again? The truck ran before I pressure washed it. Thank you for the advise.

I'll check that connection on the transmission, but if my lights are working shouldn't i have a good connection?

Could I have soaked the starter and caused it not to work now? Is there a way to for the starter to turn over?

I only put the positive lead on while I'm present. Plenty of fire extinguishers. The battery is grounded (+) factory on transmission and (-) on starter.

So I decided to pressure wash 70 years of oil buildup on my 53 Dodge truck. That was a mistake !! I was successful in cleaning up the engine, firewall, and cloth insulation from some of the wires. I've allowed the truck time to dry and taped up a lot of the wires, but the truck still won't respond. My running and headlights work fine, but I get nothing from the starter. It used to turn over and run fine. Any ideas on why the starter won't turn over? The instrument also oil, battery ..ect don't move either. I'm getting 6 volts to the starter. Also getting 6 volts to the coil when I turn the key. I do plan on replacing the wire harness as it's so brittle, but I just want to get it running again before I start that project. I known good first.

BKahler, quick question on the new MC. Did you have to modify the brake plunger do to the adapter plate offset?