I drove 3 hours down the freeway yesterday evening and I'm more and more aware of the slop in the steering. I know the frame is good and the steering components are also tight. I figure it's just slop in the rag joint.
Aside from the tires, how is the noise in your cab? I have 33" A/Ts, but i'm finding its all the loose bolts and squeeks and rattles that bother me
Not bad...but then again it's been eons since I had a quiet vehicle. My Tracker with no interior or sound deadening, a 2" Cherry Bomb exhaust, and 31" muds and Big Ugly have been what I drove for the past 3 years. Loud with a side of resonance please.
Even with the carpet and insulation out it's not terrible. I'm hoping after getting the interior Rhino Lined it will quiet down a bit more. It's a diesel...you hear it clanking and rumbling. You get used to it. Mine also has dual Turbo Mufflers of unknown origin and it's not bad. Nice rumble at idle and it roars a bit when you hammer on it without the Flowmaster obscenely loud noise.
However I must put a * next to that as I got this truck after I started getting divorced. A number of my car guy buddies have ridden in it but no one of the feminine sort so
to myself and my car guy buddies it seems not disagreeably loud.
It is looking good... you must have got most of the moss/mildew/mold off of the exterior. How is the interior going?
I pulled the carpet and insulation out because the carpet is nasty and the insulation was moldy. Thankfully it was just nasty and the floors are fine save the cracks on the passenger side floor seat mounts. We'll be fixing those soon and then it's getting gutted and the interior Rhino Lined.
I have a rubber bed mat out of a shortbed pickup I'm going to put in the rear for added protection and sound deadening and the front I'm debating. Either put the cleaned carpet back in on the Rhino Liner for a bit more civil look, run just the Rhino Liner and my moulded floor mats from LMC, or also get a rubber/vinyl front floor mat and run that on top. It all sorta depends on how civil I end up deciding to make it and how much noise the Rhino Liner cancels out.
The moss/mold...yeah...about that...been busy and Michigan has been doing it's impersonation of Seattle lately...I think I've washed it 3 times since I bought it including once on the drive home. Too busy fixing the big things. Need to get that surface rust on the cab done soon though. Some time next year it's getting painted. Not sure who though. Buddy in MI who does excellent work but I will actually have to pay him something to do it or my buddy and his dad in KY who will probably do it for free except the cost of paint and beer but who won't give me a super wonderful paint job. Dunno yet.