As of today, 202 views for a thread started a week ago...I'd say plenty of people are following your thread. And I have no doubt you're inspiring others along the way.Im just glad to know someone is following my progress.
Making good use of time, doing it right and going the full distance. Sounds like A+ to me!
The greatest gift you have to give to the world is that of your own self~transformation.
JP if you want bucket seats you can get another set of tracks from another bench at the wreckers. If you look beside the white plug there is a bolt. that's the rear mount hole for the inboard track and the hole on the front cross member closest to the trans tunnel on the front side is for the front bolt.
Yes indeedy. And if you get another bench seat, I assure you it is a piece o' work getting the slide separated from the track-mount. But they give you exact mounting from which to build up.
There are three ball bearings in the track. They were placed in there then the track was hydrolically pressed to push in the retaining bend of the unit. If you do get a j.y. seat, be sure to pocket two of the bolts: two are already in place, you'll need the other two from the front mounts.
The greatest gift you have to give to the world is that of your own self~transformation.
Thread Checked for member visits, Roy, Roy, Roy, Roy...202 times? Wha?
We all are watching everyone's threads...consider us like the NSA, but in forum terms. Actually were just a bunch of old guys with our trucks and forum trolling is fun to do when it comes to helping people that are just starting to get hooked on their truck..
Yeah I am hooked, financially at least. I just hope i dont get the brakes and suspension back to pristine condition and then the motor quits!Originally Posted by BradMph
Thread Checked for member visits, Roy, Roy, Roy, Roy...202 times? Wha?
We all are watching everyone's threads...consider us like the NSA, but in forum terms. Actually were just a bunch of old guys with our trucks and forum trolling is fun to do when it comes to helping people that are just starting to get hooked on their truck..
As far as updates go, I got the rest of the hub back together. I had to go and get some silicone gasket to redo the locking hub gaskets. Also, I painted the wheel as it was semi rusted and looked rough. Obviously I will paint the others as I go around the truck.
Reassembled hub and brake assembly
Now onto the rust. I ordered some body plugs to replace the missing ones in the cab. There are just 3 large open holes in it. There is one rust hole near one of these open plug holes. I only found one rust out on the body, and its on the drivers side rocker panel right behind the front wheel. I am going to bondo patch it and see how that goes. I am having trouble getting at it well enough to sand off the bad paint and rust down to bare metal. The door is in the way. Is taking a door off easy to do?
I forgot to mention I got my headlight switch working. The glue held its shape, but it separated from the surface when we flicked the lights off and on a bit.
What I ended up doing was buying a 1/16th inch drill bit, and some #2 brass screws at 1/2 inch in length. I drilled into the plastic and metal where the knob had broken off, and then screwed the brass screw in to serve as a new knob. It works great!
Couple of bolts and pull the pin out of the wind strap thing.Is taking a door off easy to do?
Kudos on some great work, the re-assemble looks terrific.
Nice avatar, too. Have you created a photo album, yet, in the Gallery?
RE: Light switch - the resourcefulness of the members here never ceases to amaze me. One of the good points of these vehicles is that they ARE "user-serviceable" and aren't picky about home-made repairs. We put a lot of ourselves into them, that's for sure.
Continued applause, JP!~
The greatest gift you have to give to the world is that of your own self~transformation.
JP a little trick for the rust is cut out as much as possible then get some panel bonding glue (or metal epoxy) from you local parts store and slip a new piece of metal into the hole where the rust was. Using a few magnets you hold the panel to the body till the glue cures. After the glue has cured you can then "Bondo" over it and it won't fall through the rust holes. You can get 1/16" sheet metal from the parts store as well.
I like to have an old hood, trunk or door laying around to hack some metal off and the tack weld it in good (thats if you have access to a welder). If not epoxy will take care of it just fine ( and you wont even warp it)... Just wanting to say great job on doing it right the first time... Although sometimes funds are not available to do it right and you may have to do just enuff to get by.. But doing it right the first time just leads for less things that SHOULD not go wrong..
Brief update tonight. I didnt get to do any of the bondo stuff yet. Instead, I jacked up the back end and took the wheels off for cleaning and painting. Then, I installed new shocks in the back. It was crazy, the nuts came off without a fight and the whole swap took 20 minutes. I then put on the NRG steering wheel hub adapter for my wheel that is on the way, and I fixed my wobbly bumper due to a broken screw on one side. I drilled it through and replaced the screw. The paint is drying and ill put the back wheels on again tomorrow.
Can you spot the new parts?
Did some work Friday but didnt get any photos done. I spent most of the time working on the front left wheel doing everything I did to the front right side. Unfortunately, I ended up having to drill out two totally stripped allen screws on the out locking hub assembly. I hope I can find replacements.
My dad was working on the stereo that was wired up all wrong. You could only turn it on when the headlights were on. He rewired everything correctly, and ran me some wires for rear speakers. The dash speakers sounded terrible. When we took them out to examine them, the cones basically turned to dust in our hands. I have a new set on the way.
He had a soldering iron in the cab working on the wiring. I leaned in to take a look at something and I put my elbow down on the hot soldering iron. OW OW OW. It took me a few seconds to even understand what had happened. I burned the top layer of skin clean off, so thats a bit tender now. This truck is haivngs its way with me. I only have a few more days to get it done and driveable before the camping trip.
Last night I finished getting all of the old parts off of the front left steering and suspension setup. I pressed in the new upper ball joint, and attached the new lower ball joint. I drilled out the broken shock screws and put in new screws and lock nuts with threadlock. The shock is also in place. The New tie rod ends have been put onto the tie rod adjuster sleeve.
The next step will be to put on the new axle seal on the steering knuckle and get it attached. Then I will put the new rotor onto the hub, and get the new bearings packed.
I was looking at the locking hub that I had to drill out, and it looks like I might have drilled out too much material from the cap for the new screws to grip it and make a seal. I found something on amazon that I think will work as a replacement locking hub, so I decided to order that just in case I needed it.
I just learned in the brake forums that my weak brakes could be a vacuum issue, or a load sensing proportioning valve issue. I doubt that I will get to the bottom of that issue this week. Too much else to do.
More work done - still lazy with taking pictures.
I got my new front speakers installed. The ones that came out literally crumbled to dust in my hands. I also got my NRG steering wheel installed. On my front left wheel I have the bearings in and the hub reassembled. I now need to get the caliper and pads back on and the wheel on.
I took a look at my brake issue. The vacuum line going to the booster appears to be in good shape. I will have to get the caliper back on so I can follow the booster tests as written in the service manual.
I also took my first shot at applying bondo and a metal mesh patch. Its about as ugly as you can get. The path didnt want to stick to the metal very well. Good thing I am not trying to win a beauty contest.
Back from a successful camping trip!
On the downside, I did not get it aligned after finishing the front end, because it looks like one of the inner tie rod ends I ordered is either not to spec or the wrong part in the box. It rubs the castle nut on the pitman arm because the arch is not where it needs to be. They told me I need to replace it before they can align it. I drove it to camp anyway. 4x4 works great. I loaded up my kayak, tackle, backpack, rifle, chainsaw, gas, cooler, camp stove, etc. The ride on the highway was so much nicer with new shocks.
Also on the downside, my blower motor must be dead. I cant get anything to come out of the vents except a warm draft. I still havent figured out my brake issue, and it sounds like my power steering pump is on its way out. It wails in agony any time you need to make a sharp turn.
Here is a few pics of the truck after I got back from my trip. My sister is still working on the seat cover.
[very large letters] YAY!
Another member on the forum reported a heater switch that simply needed cleaning to spiff up the contacts. On heater issues: You might check behind the dash and make sure the duct work is all tight. Perhaps see if you can vacuum out the heater air intake, and if you can get to it, the heater core. Also check in the engine compartment for any kinks in the heater hoses. Another possiblitiy is that the thermostat has been removed (horrible shudder remembering just such a discovery in winter, E-150 van).
Check and be sure the power steering belt is tight and in good condition.
One more "YAY!" for your outting!
The greatest gift you have to give to the world is that of your own self~transformation.
Well I finally got around to replacing that one inner tie rod end. I bought a Moog part, as I didnt want to get burned again by another cheap chinese part. Looking at the two parts side by side you can see how the arch was insufficient in the cheap product. Also, the rubber boot was already beginning to fail. On the plus side it only took me about 15 minutes to change it out. I didnt even need to jack up the truck. It drives SO much better.
Amazing how much of a joy a vehicle is to drive when you can steer it and stop it!!
The greatest gift you have to give to the world is that of your own self~transformation.
Wow so its been almost a year! I have not done much on the truck until recently. I decided to see what I could do to get it looking a bit better this past weekend. It stays parked outside under a bunch of trees so it typically has sap and pine needles sticking out of all of the trim. The previous owner had some cheap paint job done and that paint was coming off as seen in the other photos. When I went to wash it this weekend a lot of paint came off just from the hose pressure.
I power washed all the loose paint off that I could, then I went over the whole truck with my random orbital and some polishing compound. I also put on a coat of wax since there is basically no clear coat on it. I also put the gallon of bed liner I bought to use. I did the bed and then did the quarter panels and fender flares. I think it turned out pretty well!
Truck bed cleaned up before liner:
Liner applied!
The rest of the truck with the painted quarter panels and polished old paint:
New seat upholstery!
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