Trying to make Junky perhaps just a little bit Funky...

[crakarjax]

Wow, what shop is that? Can't believe someone repros that!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by crakarjax

Wow, what shop is that? Can't believe someone repros that!

Bill's Truck Shop in Canada. http://www.billstruckshop.com/home1.html

The parts are manufactured in Canada.

The pricing isn't bad either. I got the spring mounts on sale for $18... Canadian! He said they are going back to the normal price of $34.95 soon.

Even at $34.95, when you convert it to US dollars it's not that bad. With shipping at $40 CDN, it cost me $119 USD after the conversion for all 3 parts shipped.

[DD1]

Did NOT have a good day working on the truck. First, I wasted half the day working on my regular car.

Then I attempted to work on the brakes for the truck:

- Drum Brakes: Royal PITA; eventually gave up. I'll get my friend to help me.
- Parking Brake: I bought the wrong intermediate line - got one for a SWB. It's not worth the cost of shipping to return it.
- Front Brake Hose: The hose that goes from the caliper to the right front wheel did not fit in the mounting hole. I had to grind the connector of the hose to make it fit. This is the first part from Rock Auto I have had a problem with.
- Front Brake Lines: Having a hard time manuevering the front brake line through the frame to meet the caliper hose.

Ugh! Finally called it a night.

If anyone wants a SWB intermediate parking brake line, let me know and I'll send it to you.

[swamp rat]

Hang in there! Tomorrow is another day.

[DD1]

Today went a little better.

I got the front brake lines routed; had to grind down the Rock Auto part for the caliper brake line as I did the other side. Had a really hard time getting the clamp to mount inside the... right below the motor mount. It's a tight spot to get to and I can't quite get the brake line in the position to line up with the hole for the bolt. After wasting a lot of time, I finally walked away from it.

I installed the front parking brake cable in the cab. Had to use a step drill to make the hole in the connector on the cable a little bit larger. The rod that holds it in place was a bit too large for the cable.

I have to say that modifying parts is something I got comfortable with from being on this forum. I was never comfortable modifying parts before, and there was a time where I would have wasted time being frustrated and looking for a part that fits.

Later on I decided to try removing the spring mounting plate. I tried some of the methods I had read on the forum to get the rivets out. Ended up using a Sawzall to carefully cut them once I got the part bent down enough. I still had to remove the top of the rivet which was a PITA and required A LOT of banging, but I got 3 out of 4. The 4th one I got the rivet off on both ends, but the hole is still filled with metal. I tried drilling it out, but that has not gone so well either.

Here is the plate when I first got it to move. You can see that the rusty metal from the hole is stuck to the frame.


I am glad I decided to replace this part and did not entertain any ideas of repairing it.



These 3 that came out nice and clean.


Here is the 4th one. It's where there is reinforcement piece inside the frame, which is why I think it's giving problems. I am going to remove the reinforcement piece because I noticed some loose rust between it and the frame, and that a few rivets are missing.

This is the reinforcement piece. You can see the shiny spot where the rivet did not come out completely. I am hoping to reuse this piece, BUT I wonder if Bob's Truck Shop in Canada has this piece.



You can see the loose rust/metal inside the large hole which I assume is an access hole for the wire mount on the other side. The two small holes above and below the large hole is where the rivets are missing.

[swamp rat]

Ya know I forget what year I started reading this forum, bit it took me 5 years reading about rust repair to finally decide I had to give it a try, it was a big decision being as I had no shop, no experience in body work, only my mechanical experience which I left behind in the 80's and now experience as a machinist. every time I step outside its a learning experience, Lots of bad days and lots of 3 steps back just to take a step forward, Guess I'm just saying your not alone dealing with the frustration so just keep at it!


As for that front brake line I seem to recall I needed to become a contortionist to get my lines attached, If I recall my headers (now removed) were blocking the access so I had to reach my arm into the frame rail from the back and also in front of the headers. PITA!

As for the rivets, what works for me is to grind the head off, then center punch first, then drill a small hole, like a 1/8" then follow that up with one about the correct size but a bit smaller than the rivet, just use good cobalt drill bits, if you have a torch a little heat might help getting the plates separated.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Ya know I forget what year I started reading this forum, bit it took me 5 years reading about rust repair to finally decide I had to give it a try, it was a big decision being as I had no shop, no experience in body work, only my mechanical experience which I left behind in the 80's and now experience as a machinist. every time I step outside its a learning experience, Lots of bad days and lots of 3 steps back just to take a step forward, Guess I'm just saying your not alone dealing with the frustration so just keep at it!


As for that front brake line I seem to recall I needed to become a contortionist to get my lines attached, If I recall my headers (now removed) were blocking the access so I had to reach my arm into the frame rail from the back and also in front of the headers. PITA!

As for the rivets, what works for me is to grind the head off, then center punch first, then drill a small hole, like a 1/8" then follow that up with one about the correct size but a bit smaller than the rivet, just use good cobalt drill bits, if you have a torch a little heat might help getting the plates separated.

Thanks for the encouragement and the helpful tips. I need to get a small sledge hammer from Home Depot tomorrow to pound out those rivets with the center punch. I will try your suggestion and see what happens.

While I still get frustrated, my response/reaction to it has improved. I have probably made more progress this year than anytime in the past. There was a time when I would have walked away from stupid things, like the brake hose not fitting in the mount, and stayed away from it for far too long.

One thing I wish I had done before I started the brake line replacement is power wash the front of the truck. But I can't roll it outside with no wheels in the back, so it will have to wait.

[DD1]

Ugh. I checked the tracking for the package from the shop in Canada. The Canadian Post Office "delivered" it to some random address in "BOWMANVILLE, ON," wherever that is. The customer service rep at the Canada PO was even confused. They are investigating it and will get back to me. I emailed the shop in the meantime.

Hopefully I will get the package sometime soon.

[DD1]

My parts from Canada arrived. I made a quick test fit of the shock plate and it fits well. Removed the crossmember in the back and test fitted the new one. Want to clean up the frame and paint the part with Chassis Saver before I install.



The rivets for the crossmember came out pretty easily. I grinded the head off the top and bottom rivet, then I used the old star wheel from the drum brakes and knocked it out.



Speaking of brakes, my friend came over and we got the drum brakes done!



Next, I removed the inner frame support above the spring plate. Most of those rivets were really hard to remove. I still have one hole to drill out where I grinded off the head and removed the plate, but the rivet is still attached at the bottom.

I am glad I removed it as you can see all the rust and damage between the support plate and the frame. The right side does not appear to be as bad; trying to decide if I should remove it and clean it up or leave it alone.

The rivets that are left on the plate have become fused to the metal.


Took the plate to the bench grinder and grinded down as much as I could.


Next I sandblasted it, put it on the bench vise and use the angle grinder. I still have to drill out some holes to reinstall it. This pic is probably before I used the grinder on the vise.

[DD1]

I only had a couple hours in the garage today before we have to go somewhere. I cleaned up my tools from the floor and swept up some of the rust debris.

Next, I installed the parking brake cable. Then I removed the differential cover. Part of the cover was dented in - I had to bang it out to get the socket on one of the bolts. The differential looks pretty clean. Going to pull the axle shaft and change the seals.

Should I bother with the axle bearing?

[DD1]

Went back into the garage for a little while this evening. I wanted to see how hard it would be to remove the bolt for the trailing arm bushings. On the left side of the truck it turns out not too hard. I DID NOT use PB Blaster or WD-40. A socket wrench on the bolt and an open end wrench on the nut, add a long pipe and it came right out.

It might have been good if I had remember to support the axle with the jack, but that would have been way too easy.

My questions if anyone has thoughts on this involve how far do I want to go with the trailing arm:

1. Can I replace the bushings without removing the arm from the axle?

2. Do I want to replace the axle U-Bolt and lower Shock Mount?

3. If I can replace the bushings without removing the Axle U-bolt and the trailing arm, should I replace the Axle bolt anyway?

Front end of trailing arm


U-Bolt and axle seat looks like crap where they meet.

[Xeen]

I would disassemble the entire assembly and refurbish it, not just for reliability reasons but because I will feel better knowing there are no hidden issues being covered up by all the rust and also for the simple fact that I always feel better knowing I did my best on something but that's just me.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Xeen

I would disassemble the entire assembly and refurbish it, not just for reliability reasons but because I will feel better knowing there are no hidden issues being covered up by all the rust and also for the simple fact that I always feel better knowing I did my best on something but that's just me.

^^^^ What Xeen said..

[DD1]

Originally Posted by Xeen

I would disassemble the entire assembly and refurbish it, not just for reliability reasons but because I will feel better knowing there are no hidden issues being covered up by all the rust and also for the simple fact that I always feel better knowing I did my best on something but that's just me.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

^^^^ What Xeen said..

FINE! If you go and put it that way, I guess I have to do it now. I was quite happy not knowing if I did my best until reading your responses.

Seriously, I know you are right, and it should be done properly. I had resigned myself to not doing it before, but since I have to remove the trailing arm anyway, I might as well go all the way.

Stupid question: The axle seat (that the U-Bolt goes into) is described as a "weld on" seat. I assume that means it is welded onto the axle and not on the trailing arm?

Mike, reading about your hood was really helpful. I did not know there could be issues with it "oil canning" (not sure what that means, but I assume bending?) if it is sandblasted. I will have to decide at some point what to do with mine. I bought it used, and it is covered in primer; it seems decent, but you never know what's hidden under the paint.

[Xeen]

Originally Posted by DD1

FINE! If you go and put it that way, I guess I have to do it now. I was quite happy not knowing if I did my best until reading your responses.

LOL!

Originally Posted by DD1

Stupid question: The axle seat (that the U-Bolt goes into) is described as a "weld on" seat. I assume that means it is welded onto the axle and not on the trailing arm?

Yep it welds on to the axle tube.

[crakarjax]

I've sandblasted some small sections of sheet metal with no ill effects so far, and the metal didn't seem to heat up much. I think that if you do a small section at a time to prevent heating it should be ok, but I haven't tried it yet. Anyway, can't you heat metal to shrink it with a torch in order to solve oil-canning (like how old oil cans had a bottom that would pop up and down to squirt oil)?

[DD1]

Originally Posted by crakarjax

I've sandblasted some small sections of sheet metal with no ill effects so far, and the metal didn't seem to heat up much. I think that if you do a small section at a time to prevent heating it should be ok, but I haven't tried it yet. Anyway, can't you heat metal to shrink it with a torch in order to solve oil-canning (like how old oil cans had a bottom that would pop up and down to squirt oil)?

I think Mike is concerned with taking it somewhere and not knowing what they are going to do. I think he is doing the right thing by playing it safe. It would be one more problem to deal with if the hood oil-canned.

And... OH! That's what "oil-canning" is!

[DD1]

Okay, so I listened to Brian and Mike and removed the trailing arms, and I don't entirely regret it. Made progress today with a couple of funny mishaps along the way.

On the drivers side I probably could have gotten the U-bolt off with my impact wrench. When i first started to mess with the rear of the truck, a friend that was helping me convinced me to buy the 1" Impact Driver from HF which has about 1500 lbs of torque. It was not working on the driver side so I cut the U-bolt.

On the passenger side I could not get the wrench to work, but then I figured out why. The wrench was set to "F" instead of "R." The way it looks I thought it was in reverse and I guess I never hit the trigger when it was not on a bolt. When it was on the bolt, it rocked back and forth so I could not tell it was moving the wrong way.

Tell me this does not look like it is set to "Forward" in this pic? It's actually set to "Reverse." They could have put an arrow or a line instead of part numbers at the top (or I could have read the directions I suppose).


On the right side, I wish I had just cut the U-Bolt. I did get it out, but it took a ton of banging, and the U-Bolt needs to be replaced anyway. Would have been easier to just cut it off.

I'll post pics of the trailing arms tomorrow in the daylight if it's not raining. I did not see any real problems with the left side arm. On the left side it's mostly in good shape, but there is a tiny hole in it which I think I will just tack weld unless someone thinks I should replace the trailing arm.

I took the arms to a friends house who has a press. The first one we did, we managed to get the inner metal tube out, then get the press stuck in the rubber. After messing with it for a while, we finally got the press out of the bushing and used a socket with the press to remove the rest of the bushing. We learned from our mistake and the other bushing came out nice and easy.

Next I drilled out the rest of the holes in the frame for the upper shock mount plate and the support brace. I test fitted it to make sure the holes I made lined up properly. I plan to remove everything and paint with Chassis Saver, but I want to do it all at the same time.

Started to work on removing the right side shock plate and decided to call it a day after a while.


Here is the end of the R/S arm with the hole in it.


and the bushings.


Here is the shock plate temporarily installed.


And here is the shock plate and support brace.


Before I mounted everything, I cleaned up inside the frame as best as I could with a wire wheel I forgot I had.


Found this wheel in my toolbox. Forgot I had it - it fits well inside the frame.


I noticed the end of my frame is slightly bent, but it's not a big deal. I got it straightened out a little already. It's just getting annoying as I notice one more thing that's wrong every time I am in the garage.

[swamp rat]

Ever seen this? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ9IKbRu91o

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Ever seen this? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ9IKbRu91o

I have not seen that video. Whenever I have tried that, and I tried it again after reading your comment, my drill bit broke. I was able to use a hole saw on the Track Bar bushing and it worked out pretty well.

As it turns out though, I did not need to do that. With the center sleeve out of the bushing, the rubber came out quick and easy with a screwdriver. Took a minute for each bushing.

[DD1]

In addition to removing the bushings for the trailing arms, I actually completed everything I wanted to get done today.

My primary goal was to finish removing the upper shock mount plate and the reinforcement plate inside the frame. I tried both the grind the rivets, and cut an X in the rivet methods, and this time the X method worked out better for me. The reinforcement plate was tough to get out, but I was able to remove it with only having to drill out one hole. I made a mistake on the crossmember - should have grinded the rivet on the bottom of the shock plate, but not a major deal.

I have to decide if I want to take the trailing arms out to be sandblasted or if I want to do it myself. I am contemplating getting this from HF to blast the small areas of the frame that I need to clean up like above the shock mount plate.


I am glad I decided to replace both shock plates. The right side looked okay when it was on the frame, but after removing it that appears to not be the case.


I was able to properly X out the rivets and knock the heads off. Then I banged out the other side on the reinforcement plate; worked on all but one rivet which I grinded down on both sides and drilled through.

It was much harder to remove the piece on the R/S, but at least I had less to do after it was removed.




This is after I got all but one of the rivets out.


Here are pics of the trailing arms.

[crakarjax]

Heads up, you may find that your trailing arm bushings require re-use of the outer shells!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by crakarjax

Heads up, you may find that your trailing arm bushings require re-use of the outer shells!

I appreciate the info, but yep, I know that. That's why I took the rubber out instead of just throwing them away.

Decided to take the trailing arms to the sandblaster today. It will be much faster and easier than me doing it myself.

[DD1]

Took the trailing arms to the sandblaster today. It will be much faster and easier (but costlier) than me doing it myself. Should get them back tomorrow.

I ordered the differential cover from Advance Auto which should be here tomorrow. Also ordered the arm bushings from Rock Auto, and the U-Bolts from SD Springs (or something). Hoping all gets here before the weekend.

This is a bit of an aggressive goal especially for me, but it would be awesome if I could get all the parts painted with chassis saver - trailing arms, shock plate, reinforcement plate, figure out the best way to blast small sections of the frame where the plates sit (trying to decide between HF Gravity Feed Blaster Gun With 20 Oz. Hopper, or their Portable Abrasive Blaster Kit) and paint them also. It would be even better if I could get the arms reinstalled and the truck rolling again, but that's probably pushing my luck.

I realize that doing the blasting in my garage is going to make a mess, but it's only small areas I want to blast and I can't think of a better way to clean up the metal. The wire wheel only does so much good.

[crakarjax]

Why not just blast outside? I laid down tarps and it made collecting the media relatively easy. I used the HF 100lb blaster and it works ok, but I taped the nozzle open because holding it open for so long is a huge pain! I also followed up by spraying the frame with phosphoric acid (concrete/metal etch) to convert any surface rust to inert oxide.