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1990 K5 Build ( Ol' Blue ) : Rocker rust...
- Thread starter bix
- Start date
Dang...you're getting old now. 30 is coming for you. Just imagine, being 30 something...the first gray hairs creeping in. Waking up in the middle of the night thinking "OMG I still haven't got my shit together!!!"
I think we both know ive been waking up like that since you've known me, fml haha.
I was 10 when you joined this site according to your tag.. makes me feel young again
Yeah, it's no secret I'm old enough to be your Dad...
squarebody daddy?
Nah...just older, uglier wrenching buddy!
Today i bit the bullet even when i probably shouldnt have...
and got some 3/16ths wall rectangle tube for the rockers after work. Also came home to my LMC package, i ordered it monday and showed up today so thats pretty decent. After seeing how beefy these cab supports are supposed to be, im a little worried about my fronts but if i remember correctly they seem decent to wire wheel and keep. I have a bit of free time tomorrow morning to play with the mock up a little, now that i have physical pieces in my hands. Ill try and tackle one side next weekend ( weather permitting ), the girlfriend will be in hawaii and ill have all the free time in a single mans world to work on the truck.
The tubes alot heavier than i imagined... almost like everything isnt made of wood...
. I would definitely like to tie these into the frame later on when both sides are done and the time crunch isnt as severe.
and got some 3/16ths wall rectangle tube for the rockers after work. Also came home to my LMC package, i ordered it monday and showed up today so thats pretty decent. After seeing how beefy these cab supports are supposed to be, im a little worried about my fronts but if i remember correctly they seem decent to wire wheel and keep. I have a bit of free time tomorrow morning to play with the mock up a little, now that i have physical pieces in my hands. Ill try and tackle one side next weekend ( weather permitting ), the girlfriend will be in hawaii and ill have all the free time in a single mans world to work on the truck.The tubes alot heavier than i imagined... almost like everything isnt made of wood...
. I would definitely like to tie these into the frame later on when both sides are done and the time crunch isnt as severe.
I am planning on welding these fully to the cab, ill leave the front undone because of tearing, i heard about that in some other threads. I love these fenders too much to do unnecessary damage. Things that are acceptable are things that make memories, like trees and rocks
after talking to rene we came up with a plan.
one: Cut access holes in the floor, to access the tops of the two rear cab support/body bolts.
two: Set off grenade of penetrating oil
three: Remove both rear body mount bolts ( save the square capture nut by all hopes of god )
four: Replace rear cab supports with new ones.
Might end up replacing the body mount bushings depending on how much polyurathane ones cost... maw... right?
I noticed that these rear cab supports are one solid piece that runs across the rear floor as well. The new ones look like they will end just after the frame on the inside. im planning on slipping it over the existing floor support and welding it to the support thats still there. I also think i will need to remove my body mount brackets ( thank god they have all been replaced with bolts by a previous owner
) Still not sure how easily they will come out but its better than grinding out rivets. I caught a bad case of the Maws and the local parts store can order in the front cab supports for 80 bucks tax included... thinking it might be worth it to redo the front ones as well but we'll see.
Itll also be nice when i go to do the tailpan, and two of the four body bolts will be a breeze.
ill be soaking the rears in oil for the week and on the weekend ill start tackling the two rear cab supports. Once those are done ill tackle the sliders. But for now im going to work my way from the inside out.
one: Cut access holes in the floor, to access the tops of the two rear cab support/body bolts.
two: Set off grenade of penetrating oil
three: Remove both rear body mount bolts ( save the square capture nut by all hopes of god )
four: Replace rear cab supports with new ones.
Might end up replacing the body mount bushings depending on how much polyurathane ones cost... maw... right?
I noticed that these rear cab supports are one solid piece that runs across the rear floor as well. The new ones look like they will end just after the frame on the inside. im planning on slipping it over the existing floor support and welding it to the support thats still there. I also think i will need to remove my body mount brackets ( thank god they have all been replaced with bolts by a previous owner
) Still not sure how easily they will come out but its better than grinding out rivets. I caught a bad case of the Maws and the local parts store can order in the front cab supports for 80 bucks tax included... thinking it might be worth it to redo the front ones as well but we'll see.Itll also be nice when i go to do the tailpan, and two of the four body bolts will be a breeze.
ill be soaking the rears in oil for the week and on the weekend ill start tackling the two rear cab supports. Once those are done ill tackle the sliders. But for now im going to work my way from the inside out.
So I had all these excited bones in my body to start prepping the truck this weekend... It snowed a little and I figured it'd be gone in a day or two .. then in the last 24 hours we got dumped with over 8 inches.. handy as the city doesn't really own any residential plows.. even the highways up island were shut down.. got the day off so I might just go play around in it... Although keeping the underside dry right now might be the more "mature" thing to do..
I did make minor adjustments to my 241 linkage and also topped up the TC as it was a bit low. Would like to see if it still wants to pop out of 4 hi or not..
The photos are of the last 12 hours. I brushed 3-4 inches off the truck yesterday around 4-5.
Snow beers it is I guess.
I did make minor adjustments to my 241 linkage and also topped up the TC as it was a bit low. Would like to see if it still wants to pop out of 4 hi or not..
The photos are of the last 12 hours. I brushed 3-4 inches off the truck yesterday around 4-5.
Snow beers it is I guess.
I feel so bad for you guys out there...have the stores run out of food yet?
haha no, its quite hilarious to think people on the internet who live here are acting as if its a state of emergency.. This was a very often occurrence most of my life, only difference is the city had plows. Keeps idiots off the roads though so its probably a good thing. Also.. all the greenpeace neighbors who scoff at my lifted truck burning more fuel to start, than their priases do all week, get to watch me come and go, and run errands while they are stuck in their driveway...
Good news is it kinda pops out of 4hi still but not as bad so some progress is being made!
Good news is it kinda pops out of 4hi still but not as bad so some progress is being made!
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Adjust it a little more the direction that you did...you might find a sweet spot.
I recall the "bark eaters" and their snooty attitudes.
I recall the "bark eaters" and their snooty attitudes.
So I'm sort of at a stand still until I figure this out. I removed the body bolt but to get the new piece in I have to remove the old outrigger past the body mount bolt hole. To get access I have to remove the mount at the frame. I started to do this with a jack under and still saw some stored energy in the second last bolt so I put them all back in. Where is a good spot to support to truck from as I do this so the truck doesnt sink down when I removed this bracket? Under the floor seemed good but not good enough?
Maybe I should just cut the outrigger where i can get access to it and weld the new one on from there and not touch the body mount bolt area?
Also realizing there's no real way to get this new full outrigger in with the sub frame in place.. so I guess I will have to just cut the old one where I can and cut the new one to match. Which will cause some problems on the other side since it's cracked ( outrigger ) at the body mount bolt location.
I pulled the plug on today, 6 hours in the snow was enough for me, i didnt get a whole lot done but a bunch of prep work. Took the seat out, drilled the spot welds out, cut the access hole for the bolt and soaked it before wire wheeling it. Took some real patience but i got it out, cleaned it up and ready to go back in. The capture nut and the housing it sits in held up fine. I did notice blue thread locker on the bolt, im assuming its been out before.
I basically spent the rest of the day wire wheeling the bottom of the floors, as much of the sub frame as i could reach. I need to pick up a cupped wire wheel to access some other spots. Cut some of the rocker out so i could access up in there with the wire wheel. Basically its rotted right to the spot where im going to weld to tube to. The previous owner thought the best way to seal the top of the inner rocker in was using bondo.. must be a solid 1/4 inch caked to the sheet metal... to the point i needed a mask while grinding it off...FFS. Cant weld worth shit, but atleast i try haha.
I threw some paint on it all just so it doesnt rust until next time i get to it. Also uncovered some previous repair welds in the rocker area. Basically the entire rocker had a skim coat of bondo on it. Its nice to see some of it off
I basically spent the rest of the day wire wheeling the bottom of the floors, as much of the sub frame as i could reach. I need to pick up a cupped wire wheel to access some other spots. Cut some of the rocker out so i could access up in there with the wire wheel. Basically its rotted right to the spot where im going to weld to tube to. The previous owner thought the best way to seal the top of the inner rocker in was using bondo.. must be a solid 1/4 inch caked to the sheet metal... to the point i needed a mask while grinding it off...FFS. Cant weld worth shit, but atleast i try haha.
I threw some paint on it all just so it doesnt rust until next time i get to it. Also uncovered some previous repair welds in the rocker area. Basically the entire rocker had a skim coat of bondo on it. Its nice to see some of it off
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Worked yesterday but Turns out today is our family day stat holiday... Even though i dont have a solid game plan for the outriggers just yet, i figured id work on the drivers side some, as i knew the whole rocker area was worse. Turns out i was right... There was so much bondo in this corner, and found more signs of previous panel repair. Metal supermarkets is closed today because of the holiday, and i have no scrap sheet metal laying around, so i need to buy some before i can continue. I think theres enough good steel to warrant not buying another rocker panel. I might go see how much one would cost at the parts store, since im still on the fence about ordering new front outriggers also... anyway this is where i got to today, not much further but anythings better than nothing.
On a good note the drivers side body bolt came out much easier and i got to see exactly where the outrigger box is cracked... still not sure how to replace besides cutting big holes in the floor..
Sorta mocked up a line on the passenger side but the drivers side will have to be cut a little bit higher up to the door line , so ill redo the mark to match most likely.
The girlfriend brought up a good point that i should try and find a garage to rent for a month or two, and just tackle the rest of the rust repair so its over with as its not very expensive just time consuming. So the plan is to get done as much as possible before hawaii and then when i get back, start looking for a garage to rent.
also found 27 bucks.... a french fry, and a machete lost in the depths of the seat crevasse. That paid for the new wire wheel i needed and lunch, so that was a win also.
( The bottom line was my proposed cut )
On a good note the drivers side body bolt came out much easier and i got to see exactly where the outrigger box is cracked... still not sure how to replace besides cutting big holes in the floor..
Sorta mocked up a line on the passenger side but the drivers side will have to be cut a little bit higher up to the door line , so ill redo the mark to match most likely.
The girlfriend brought up a good point that i should try and find a garage to rent for a month or two, and just tackle the rest of the rust repair so its over with as its not very expensive just time consuming. So the plan is to get done as much as possible before hawaii and then when i get back, start looking for a garage to rent.
also found 27 bucks.... a french fry, and a machete lost in the depths of the seat crevasse. That paid for the new wire wheel i needed and lunch, so that was a win also.
( The bottom line was my proposed cut )
As far as new body mounts, I would recommend the rubber LMC mounts. They cost more, but they include ALL of the hardware. Ask Dueling. With your rust issues, it seems like the way to go to me.
Also, if you ever fancied a 1” body lift, now would he the time.
Martin
Also, if you ever fancied a 1” body lift, now would he the time.
Martin
i wanted to replace these ones but they seem good enough to keep for a year or so, moneys really tight and i dont have much time to wait for shipping, as i am potentially leaving on march 7th now, due to a lay off at work. Figured ill replace these ones when i take the rears out for tailpan replacement. For now its get what rust i can get fixed fixed, and park it until im back in june.
Ill definitely take note of the LMC mounts with hardware though, these two bolts came out in good shape, but i dont think the rears will be so nice.. Its uhhh quite rusty back there.
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