The Bare Knuckle???

[Big T]

So my wife gets rear ended by a big rig that totals her '02 Mercedes SLK 230. She's fine. Meanwhile, I'm basically rebuilding the front end of my '99 Burb. Wife calls and she's driving home with an '07 SLK 6 spd manual with 20k miles. She's all excited.

Meanwhile, I hook up with FastJohnny from DTR in Chicago and I get the bare steering knuckles for my '99:

I'm all excited. WTF is wrong with this picture?

Big thanks to FastJohnny (all posted by iPhone).

 

[ak diesel driver]

6.5s are an addiction lol

 

[fastjohnny]

Hope they work out for you, Steve. Nice to meet you.

 

[OregonHorseTug]

After I got all the bugs worked out of my 6.5 I hardly had anything to do. So I bought a '97 Jag, they're cheap like a 6.5 and now I have plenty to do...
..just a suggestion for when you get "finished" with your rig.

 

[bison]

So my wife gets rear ended by a big rig that totals her '02 Mercedes SLK 230. She's fine. Meanwhile, I'm basically rebuilding the front end of my '99 Burb. Wife calls and she's driving home with an '07 SLK 6 spd manual with 20k miles. She's all excited.

Meanwhile, I hook up with FastJohnny from DTR in Chicago and I get the bare steering knuckles for my '99:

I'm all excited. WTF is wrong with this picture?
Big thanks to FastJohnny (all posted by iPhone).

Look likes you got a broke caliper bolt in there that needs removing

 

[Big T]

Look likes you got a broke caliper bolt in there that needs removing

That must be dirt on the iPhone camera lens as there's nothing in the caliper holes. Like the bearing hub holes, the caliper holes are not threaded. So once the calipers are removed, nothing stays in the holes. Furthermore, the caliper bolts I removed were stainless. So there is minimal chance of the caliper bolts rusting in place like the stupid bearing hub bolts.

FastJohnny pointed out that on the driver's side knuckle someone had used a torch to cut through two of the bearing hub bolts, breaching the thinnest part of the wall created by the recess. It's a lot less than what I did trying to drill the bolt heads out. The driver's side knuckle is still good to go. Hoping that there's no problems checking the bag containing the knuckles on Southwest.

So got the parts in a very seamless transaction in the parking lot of Republic Bank, formerly Citizens Bank & Trust. I've been running the FDIC receivership of the failed Citizens Bank since the end of April, plus the former Broadway Bank that Alexi Gianoulias screwed up. We're wrapping up the field work on both this month and getting out of Chicago before winter really sets in. Met and spoke briefly with FastJohnny, my first in person meet with a fellow DTR member. FastJohnny had a two tone blue Suburban 2500 4x4 with 6.5TD, but had that snow plow thing I'd never see in SoCal. It was like seeing and hearing and old friend when that baby fired up.

 

[fastjohnny]

I guess I need some pics in my avatar!

 

[btfarm]

I guess I need some pics in my avatar!

And a location. I would have let you know about last spring's GTG if I had known you were from the area Johnny.

 

[Truckerup!]

So my wife gets rear ended by a big rig that totals her '02 Mercedes SLK 230. She's fine. Meanwhile, I'm basically rebuilding the front end of my '99 Burb. Wife calls and she's driving home with an '07 SLK 6 spd manual with 20k miles. She's all excited.

Meanwhile, I hook up with FastJohnny from DTR in Chicago and I get the bare steering knuckles for my '99:

I'm all excited. WTF is wrong with this picture?

Big thanks to FastJohnny (all posted by iPhone).

That is a tough call, Keith.
I am new to this forum, but I hope to learn some of your guy-s's trix for fixing my truck.
Your part looks a bit rusty, so perhaps if you spray a little WD 40 you can get it to work?
My buddy Dr. Jeff Dowder is pretty handy when it comes to working on vehicles, so I plan to print out your photo, and show him. Could you please take a better picture--your iphone camera blows chimpanzees.

 

[Big T]

That is a tough call, Keith.
I am new to this forum, but I hope to learn some of your guy-s's trix for fixing my truck.
Your part looks a bit rusty, so perhaps if you spray a little WD 40 you can get it to work?
My buddy Dr. Jeff Dowder is pretty handy when it comes to working on vehicles, so I plan to print out your photo, and show him. Could you please take a better picture--your iphone camera blows chimpanzees.

LOL! Probably not too many Suburban 2500 4wd with 6.5 Turbo Diesels over there in Japan!

Here's some more photos to complete the story:

Rear end damage to the old SLK 230:

I had just put in a $300 set of LED tail lights to address the flawed/recalled OEM lights :-(

Shot indicative of frame buckled forward:

She got pushed into the car ahead of her and the hood and doors were not shutting right. Mercedes was the only shop with the correct frame straightener. The repair estimate came to $14,035. KBB was about $10,525 and they settled at $13,000. I told her to take it and run.

Two weeks of searching and looking at cars and she settles on one. An '07 SLK 280 AMG Sport package with 6 speed manual (yes the girl has to have a manual trans):

She bought it as a Certified Pre-Owned, so it comes with a warranty til 2012. I drove it around last night when I took her out to dinner. She's happy. It is a fun car to drive. More refined than the old SLK 230. More power and quicker, but different without the superchager, which pasted you into the seat. I am thankful she is ok and that we have the wherewithal to simply write a check for the new car, but that comes from discipline, frugalness, hard work and wise investing.

Now back to work on the '99.

Here's my LH axle problem:

Notice the disstended upper boot. Axle came this way and the grease cover on the inner flange was punched out. I tapped it back in, but can't get the CV joint back together. Neither Cardone, nor RockAuto would advise how to push it back in. Instead, RockAuto is sending me another, but it did not arrive yet.

For comparision, here's the RH axle with non-disstended upper CV joint:

I can get at least the RH side back together along with upper A-arms and ball joint on the LH side today.

 

[bison]

prob a dislocated ball in the joint,can be corrected if you cut the bootclamps and slide the boot back,i think there,s a circlip holding the shaft in the flange.
But in your stuation i would've done the same,send i back.

 

[Truckerup!]

It is not politically correct to say "my wife got rear ended"...
Just say'n...


I am just hoping that you can get that vehicle fixed well enough to tow a Blackman to the T-Shark Grounds.
If you still can not get it to behave, you may want to consider replacing the vibralifters.

 

[Big T]

Rear ending the wife went out with that thing called marriage. The leash was then pulled many notches tighter.

Good news, the other axle arrived which means I must get to work.

 

[Truckerup!]

Very well.
Just so you know, I audited Napa Auto Parts in my former life as CPA.
Good luck with the fix, I won't be able to follow your progress as we are all diamond plated up and headed for the Flemish Cap, where there is no internet access.

Rear ending the wife went out with that thing called marriage. The leash was then pulled many notches tighter.

Good news, the other axle arrived which means I must get to work.

Bad news, opened the replacement (for incorrect ones sent the first time) bearing hubs and they're the wrong ones AGAIN. I specifically told them the hubs needed to be 8-point star to fit into the rotors. Once again, they sent me round hubs. So I now have $642 in charges on PayPal from MIBearings LLC, plus $66 of my own return shipping charges and no bearing hubs for the second weekend in a row! I cannot recommend MIBearings at all.

http://mibearings.com/

They suck and they owe me a lot of money. I'm just going to buy the parts locally at NAPA, Chinese or not. At least I'll get the right parts and I won't be out a truck load of shipping costs.

 

[Big T]

Went to NAPA and brought the rotor they sold me. None of the hubs they pulled out worked. Could not find it in their manual. They gave up and said it was a dealer part. Guess I'm stuck with MIBearing. Sent the 2nd set back USPS in the $10.70 medium boxes. Beats the $44 that UPS charged for the last set.

Opened the box with the new axle. It too had punched out the inside cap, though the joint is not disstended like the other. I hit the cap back into place. Can't send the return back USPS due to it's size. The UPS cost is ridiculous, so I think I'm just going to keep the other and give the old cores to whomever will take them. Shipping costs are ruining the parts industry and may eventually force production to come back to the U.S.

 

[Truckerup!]

Looks like your have it nailed.

Still, I am sending girlfriend "Kat" over.
Just in case.

Went to NAPA and brought the rotor they sold me. None of the hubs they pulled out worked. Could not find it in their manual. They gave up and said it was a dealer part. Guess I'm stuck with MIBearing. Sent the 2nd set back USPS in the $10.70 medium boxes. Beats the $44 that UPS charged for the last set.

Opened the box with the new axle. It too had punched out the inside cap, though the joint is not disstended like the other. I hit the cap back into place. Can't send the return back USPS due to it's size. The UPS cost is ridiculous, so I think I'm just going to keep the other and give the old cores to whomever will take them. Shipping costs are ruining the parts industry and may eventually force production to come back to the U.S.

 

[Matt Bachand]

:rof:

It is not politically correct to say "my wife got rear ended"...
Just say'n...


I am just hoping that you can get that vehicle fixed well enough to tow a Blackman to the T-Shark Grounds.
If you still can not get it to behave, you may want to consider replacing the vibralifters.

Even worse... rear ended by a big rig.....:rof:

You may want to double it up in the future.

I'm glad she's alright, and that your bank account is lined well.