truck talk

[Bluethunder3320]

Very simple 30min task with 2wd, unfortunately a bit more complicated with 4wd, requiring some special tools. You have a Haynes or a Chilton's for this truck, right? It should explain what you need to do and what tools you'll need to borrow. If you don't have a manual, go buy one now.

i have a chiltons manual. ill look that up later

my dad told me that people have used roofing tar for undercoating the frame and body. the only thing is you want to wear the worst clothing you have when painting the tar on because the tar seems to get everywhere and is hard to remove.

hmm not sure if i wanna do that lol, painting sounds less mess and neater and i could probably get tighter spots better


well i worked ALL DAY and finally got the bed detached from the frame.

it was an adventure for sure, i first tried to remove the (front) fuel tank so i could get to the bed bolt, but it only spun. i couldnt put a wrench on the other size because i needed both hands to wrench on the ratchet (with vice grip attached )

so i had to cut both straps with my grinder. i didnt want to have to do that because duh, its a fuel tank... but i did it and the fuel tank was loose.

then i had to remove the fuel lines which pissed out fuel on me, that was not too hard... the wiring came off easy, but i had to cut the venting tube. not a big deal, ill replace it along with another section that is in bad shape. the filling tube took some time to pry off but no big deal either.

then i put a 4 foot cheater bar on about a 8" ratchet, and tried to break the bed bolts free. they made some ear bleeding squealing sounds then just turned and turned.....

i couldnt figure out where the head of the bolt was so i had to go online and figured out that i needed to remove the bed liner

then i welded large nuts on the dish shaped bolt heads and put a adjustable wrench on them. they would hit the front of the bed and stop, while loosening, which is what i want

the first bolt came out clean, then i went to weld the nut on the second. i ran into major welder problems....

i have the 90 amp flux from harbor freight and a home made metal stand which allows me to use a 10 pound reel of wire. the bed of the truck was grounded, so was the metal stand, so was the welder, so was the hole in the welder that the wire passes through. it made a lot of sparks and melted all the plastic tubes on the feed motor and screwed up the liner. took a while to fix it but i got it working again and got that nut welded on.

so the second nut broke the bolt. doesnt matter. but i smashed my hand

i disconnected the wiring for the tail lights and license plate lights then the bed was completely loose!!!!

the front bolts were the only still in tact, the middle were rusted through the bed, and the rear...... well there is no rear frame anymore hahaha

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Very simple 30min task with 2wd, unfortunately a bit more complicated with 4wd, requiring some special tools. You have a Haynes or a Chilton's for this truck, right? It should explain what you need to do and what tools you'll need to borrow. If you don't have a manual, go buy one now.

If your frontend is set up the way I think it is, you'll need a special 4wd spindle nut socket (4-pin) and a torque wrench. There are two large specialty nuts over the spindle, one jams the other on. The first nut preloads the bearings, and is set (IIRC) to 15 lbs/ft. I am unsure of this number, it's been a few years. Refer to the appropriate service manual. Once the preload is set, you crank the outer nut on to 150lbs/ft. That number I am sure of.

Do be aware that the bearing preload is critical. Too loose introduces slop, and the bearings will rattle themselves to an early death. Too tight, and the friction will cook the grease off, and the bearings will roast to an early death.

Repacking the bearings is a standard procedure. You can get tools for this, but I still hand pack bearings the same way I learned as a kid.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i was told that theres a grease nipple on it and i just have to attach a grease gun but i cant find it. ill look up in the manual or watch a youtube vid

anyways heres the pics of the bed... only had 2 people to take it off me and my dad.. it would have been better with 4 people because we could barely do it and scraped the plastic on the bumper and broke the tail gate latch

 

[Bluethunder3320]

every thing ive read says that the front 4x4 wheel bearings are sealed for the vehicles life. and you cant re pack them.

doesnt sound right to me

 

[newrider3]

I wouldn't think so on something of this age. Negative on the grease zerk as well, you have to pack wheel bearings by hand. Even if it does have unit bearings, there's always a way to get into sealed bearings. The standard rubber seals can often just be lifted out with a knife, then pushed back into place.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i will get some grease and read up some more then take them apart.

right now i cant decide to do a 3" body lift or not. i already have the bed off...


but i heard it can mess up 100 things.. i just dont have the money for a suspension lift and i would like to lift it and have at least 33's

or maybe when i find a job i can save up and do a suspension lift but i really cant decide. i also dont want to spend thousands on this when i could have gotten an already lifted diesel truck.....

 

[fowler]

Just worry about makeing it safe

 

[newrider3]

A body lift is just going to put more stress on the rotted body, plus they do tend to screw up any linkage, cable, or wire that leads from the chassis to the cab. Don't worry about a lift or fancy tires on this truck, save it for next time.

 

[r97]

Personally I don't like the way lifted trucks look, of course that is my opinion. I agree with fowler, focus on removing some of the death trap factor before going about screwing with the handling and adding upgrades.

Good luck! I can't wait until I can drive.

 

[B.M.800]

I wouldnt try to do any sort of lift on the truck... Yes, it is pretty rough...
I would wait till I got a good job and have the moolah to buy a nicer truck...

 

[Bluethunder3320]

Just worry about makeing it safe

i think thats good advice. lol, so many kids in school talked about how i was going to die someday in my **** truck. like it was going to break in half and burst into flames

now that i have the frame apart i cant believe how thinned out the frame is, im actually surprised my teacher even let me put the new suspension onto that.

i spent some time today cutting more bolts off for the bumper and leaf spring mounts (i have brand new ones to go on)

also i am getting the materials to build the new frame section tomorrow!

A body lift is just going to put more stress on the rotted body, plus they do tend to screw up any linkage, cable, or wire that leads from the chassis to the cab. Don't worry about a lift or fancy tires on this truck, save it for next time.

thats what i was told, even from the guy who i bought the truck from. im looking for some aluminum rims now, gonna find some half used matching tires and put them on (of course get them balanced)

Personally I don't like the way lifted trucks look, of course that is my opinion. I agree with fowler, focus on removing some of the death trap factor before going about screwing with the handling and adding upgrades.

Good luck! I can't wait until I can drive.

how long till you get your permit?
lol yeah definitely has to not be a death trap... the reason why i thought about a body lift at this moment is because i already have the bed off it saves some work and i wouldnt have to buy new bolts for the stock set up. i know some people with lifted trucks and they ride like monster trucks its pretty cool to me lol

I wouldnt try to do any sort of lift on the truck... Yes, it is pretty rough...
I would wait till I got a good job and have the moolah to buy a nicer truck...

yeah i think youre right.. also there is so many complications with a body lift it could turn into a nightmare trying to get the cab bolts out and stuff

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i just bought new rims, they supposedly came off a bronco and fit the ford 5 lug pattern. NOPE! waste of 4 hours. im reselling them. im pissed

http://hartford.craigslist.org/pts/3098614715.html

 

[crazzywolfie]

i think those look like the jeep rims i use to hold my trucks up when i am working on them. should have a 5x4.5" bolt pattern which should fit a ranger but not a full size ford. your truck should have a 5x5.5" bolt pattern.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i think those look like the jeep rims i use to hold my trucks up when i am working on them. should have a 5x4.5" bolt pattern which should fit a ranger but not a full size ford. your truck should have a 5x5.5" bolt pattern.

yup i just figured that out

how do you measure a bolt pattern?

 

[crazzywolfie]

you measure from center of bolt hole to center of bolt hole across the hub. the 5x just means 5 bolts. if you had 6 it would be 6x5.5".

 

[Bluethunder3320]

you measure from center of bolt hole to center of bolt hole across the hub. the 5x just means 5 bolts. if you had 6 it would be 6x5.5".

i got it now, thanks. i thought it wasnt across because when you have 5 points you cant go directly across.

so i already got someone wanting to buy them. i think the reason the other guy couldnt sell them is because he said the bolt pattern was 5" then stupid me comes along and thinks they will fit my truck

 

[crazzywolfie]

some people have not clue what there selling. i usually will avoid people like that unless i know 100% what it is and that i can get a good deal on it.

from the looks of the rims you have they might have been machined so that they will fit on vehicles with larger hubs.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

maybe i should have upped the price to like $200.

the inside surface of the hub hole does look cleaned out like it was machined... still wouldnt even fit over my locking hub

 

[crazzywolfie]

you still could. some people don't know what they have. you just have to advertise stuff like the machine work and bolt pattern and they might sell quick. just have to find someone that is looking for them.

 

[Rustydog2010]

i got it now, thanks. i thought it wasnt across because when you have 5 points you cant go directly across.

You cant, not for 5 stud.

4 and 6 stud just measure the distance between the centre of two opposite studs/holes.

5 stud gets tricky you need to measure the from the centre of one stud/hole to the backside of the another stud/hole. This will give you a rough estimate.