The MONEY PIT

[Dadsredwagon]

excellent thread... i'm inspired to get to work on mine.. and its finnlay cooler outside ... curious thing on all these trucks they rust on the floor board at the same location where is the source for the water leak/rust. the engine sounds great...

[drogers]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Welcome back (to posting)!!

CPP will not get my business again at least not directly. I read last week here on a review post that someone recommended to use a vendor that sells CPP stuff. Maybe the vendor will have better customer service. Just my .02.

Thanks Alan for the reply. I'm still looking but I think this is the best price I've seen. Great progess on your build, or should I say a build and an assist?

Originally Posted by jack SF

my brother installed another kit from CPP.. i did not hear him complaining.
i bought a compete alluminium fuel tank from them and some steering stuff.
the tank was on back order when i ordered it. it came in 3 weeks as they said. than i lost the install instructions and they mailed me a new set. overall not bad. and their stuff looks good.

Yes, they have some nice stuff and I think at good prices.

Originally Posted by Dadsredwagon

excellent thread... i'm inspired to get to work on mine.. and its finnlay cooler outside ... curious thing on all these trucks they rust on the floor board at the same location where is the source for the water leak/rust. the engine sounds great...

I think it comes from the vent window and the poor seals around the windows. Thanks about the engine, took a while to figure out where the exhaust leak was coming from, won't make that mistake again.

[Alan's Classic]

CPP will have the best prices for most items since they make them, from what I have heard. I would go thru another vendor and spend a few extra bucks if it eliminated the headache most of us have suffered dealing with CPP. I had good luck at first with them and then it went down hill from there. My biggest problem was missing/incorrect hardware. What was worse was getting them to fix the problem. Good luck!

BTW thanks

[ruffrida2005]

I bought my break kit from Performance online. The price was a little more then that, but your going to pay $100 in shipping from either. It's heavy stuff. 3 days after ordering it, it was at my door. I didn't have any problems with it at all. I've heard a lot of bad reviews about CPP they are really hit or big time miss. And their supports sucks. this is the kit I bought http://www.performanceonline.com/sto...at=1074&page=1

[drogers]

Does anyone else have a love hate thing going on with these trucks? Seems every time I go to do something on it, it takes 3 times longer than it should, and cost twice as much as planned...

I'm upgrading to disc brakes on the front, installing a PPO Stage 2 Suspension kit, and rebuilding the entire front end. The spindles/calipers/rotors I'm using came off a '79 (5/8 ton or HD) with 1 1/4” rotors. I'll provide a complete write up with everything I used once I'm done. Some of these threads are confusing as heck and I don't want to add info that may not be correct.

Any suggestions on getting the lower ball joint to release? I think I've read every post on here about removing it and none of them worked. I hit it so many times with a 3 pound hammer yesterday, that I couldn't use my hands last night. I tried using the jack under the spindle to apply additional pressure, heat, and broke 2 ball joint tools, no luck. I went ahead and removed it from the truck and tried a scissor jack between the bolt head and the top of the spindle, still no luck.

I've been spraying the heck out of it with WD-40 since yesterday and will try again today.

Here are a few pictures and as always, thanks for any help provided.

I also add a picture of the old coils, I think it was time for them to go....

[scotts62]

I know you said you have been hitting it, but where? Hit the spindle where the ball joint goes through. Try some PB blaster instead of WD, seems to work a bit better.
Warm up slightly with a torch?

[lakeroadster]

[QUOTE=drogers;3621058]Does anyone else have a love hate thing going on with these trucks? QUOTE]

I hear ya! Sometimes I have to keep in mind it's a hobby and walk away for a while.. it always sucks me back in though, it's in our blood.

And I love the title you picked for the thread.. "Money Pit". And my wife understands, too. I know I shouldn't but I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of every penny I spend and what I spent it on and where I bought each part.

But the only way to get a truck built excatly the way you want it is to build it yourself.

Consider it therapy... and you have tangible evidence that you can drive around showing how your therapy sessions are going.

Thanks for the thread...

[198plus]

When I changed mine, I left the nut right at top of the lower ball joint with jack down and knocked the crap out of it.......Popped right out, then I jacked back up on lower control arm and removed the nut and set her down.

I think having the extra pressure from the springs pushing on it helps ???????

At this point why not just take a torch and cut it off, Your using new spindles anyway.

[ruffrida2005]

did you try a pickle fork. And you might need to get a bigger hammer!

[drogers]

As always, thanks for the suggestion to resolve an issue. Seems sometimes just walking away and venting about it on this site resolves the problem

[QUOTE=lakeroadster;3621075][QUOTE=drogers;3621058]I know I shouldn't but I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of every penny I spend and what I spent it on and where I bought each part. QUOTE]

LOL John, I have a 8x10" baggie that I've got all my receipts in. I don't think I want to know what the total cost is so far..

We'll I got it off.. I had to get a bigger scissor jack as the other one broke under pressure. Below is a picture of the jack being used. I also heated the crap out of hit and it still took another 20-30 wackes of the hammer. I had the fork wedge in there so tight that it would not come back out until the spindle came off....

I hope I never have to replace another one...

[drogers]

I removed the lower and upper a arms to media blast and replace the seals. It appears that on one side the lower a arm is stripped. The threads are about 60% gone. Is there a way to fix this? Does this mean I need to replace the entire lower a arm?

Now I'm going to go find some icy-hot for my arms and hands and watch a little football.

Thanks again for all the help

[ruffrida2005]

I'm not sure if theres anyways that you can fix it. If you need another one let me know I have mine that I'm not using.

[hd74]

i think it would have been easier if you left it attached to the truck

[drogers]

Originally Posted by ruffrida2005

I'm not sure if theres anyways that you can fix it. If you need another one let me know I have mine that I'm not using.

Thanks Paul and I might take you up on it. I'm first going to see if it will thread back in there and tighten up. I also need to make sure the '79 ball joints fit ok. Everything I've read says it should with no problem..If not, I'll need to replace the lower A-arm any way.

Thanks again.

[scotts62]

you getting the kit installed ok? done yet? pics? just messing with ya

[drogers]

Originally Posted by scotts62

you getting the kit installed ok? done yet? pics? just messing with ya

LOL, I'm getting there.. Tons of prep work, don't think anything has ever been changed or cleaned/painted under there. Got a buddy with a media blaster and he's cleaning the a-arms and other misc parts for me. Hope to have it cleaned and painted this weekend and then put it back together over the long weekend.

I'll get some pictures posted this evening. I keep forgetting the rules.. LOL

[scotts62]

Cool progress!

[drogers]

Thanks Scott,

Well, made some progress on the truck today. The dirt dobbers had a field day in the cross memeber. Also got the a-arm shafts and caps cleaned up and ready for paint.

[drogers]

And also got the cross member cleaned and painted..

[Bazooka]

looking good..

[ruffrida2005]

Looking good, were you able to get the end nut to tighen down on the control arm?

[drogers]

Originally Posted by ruffrida2005

Looking good, were you able to get the end nut to tighen down on the control arm?

A-Arms are still at a friends house getting blasted. I think I might get it as tight as a can and maybe put a very small tack weld on it to keep it in place?

[ruffrida2005]

sounds good. Just let me know if you want it later down the road if you have any problem with the one you have now.

What did you use to paint everything.

[drogers]

Will do and thanks. I use Zero Rust in some areas and then hit the whole thing with Hammer Finish Rustoleum. I did part of the frame and the entire engine compartment with it last year and it's holding up real well.

[drogers]

Has anyone tried the VHT High Temp spray paint? I'm going to spray my calipers and the inner portion of my rotors to start with. It says to bake it at 200 degrees for an hour to cure. Does it give off a lot of fumes or???

Basically, is my wife going to kill me if I try it?