2m 53s | 782 view | 10 rating

12,000 lb steer axle swap on a 78 GMC 9500 single axle dump truck. When I bought the truck the steering was completely worn out, had multiple broken leaf springs on both sides, needed bearings, bushings, and kingpins, and had a decent sized crack in the axle beam. The truck had originally been a single axle tractor and the front end was way to light for dump truck work and had been abused by the previous owners hauling creek rock in Kentucky. I found a cutoff 12k steer complete with everything needed hub to hub and springs still on a frame that would've went under an IH 4400 extremely cheap. Ended up welding custom hanger brackets to use the existing bolt holes in the frame which incorporated the hood pivot mount and the steering gear box into them. Also rebuilt the steering gear box and cylinder and replaced all power steering hoses and the drag link. Stuck some 22.5 Continentals on polished aluminum Alcoas to finish it off. Overall the truck rides and handles much better and the hub piloted aluminum wheels are a lot better to look at than the old Daytons. Turned out cheaper than replacing and fixing everything that was original to the truck but was extremely time consuming. Hopefully the body and engine will end up on a Peterbilt chassis someday with a new dump bed behind it. Truck has a 6-71 2 stroke (238hp) Detroit.