Because of the madmen of BOM and my own lunacy, when my truck got wrecked, I had to rebuild. What started as a work truck ended up as a fun go anywhere, do anything land beast. Happily driving along, I had a wee little thing jump in my way and physics being what it is, I took it for a ride which put a nice bend in my frame. Not having near as many toys as the builders of Binky yet, I had to buy another truck to pull parts from rather than attempting to fix the afflicted bent bits. Now that I've got things mostly apart, things are starting to snowball, bigger engine, put shiny new bits in the diffs, little welding here, bit of grinding there, learning that Blackhurst is really good at both of those, making it look much easier than it is and I need more practice and an electric kettle may be needed and making it more of a monster on the road than it already was.
Before and after the toyota, more to come as it gets done.
So, as promised, more was done, progress being put here, the donor frame has been sandblasted (done before the first post... shhh). The frame has been painted, the cab has been shifted over, woo!
As of now, the front suspension on the donor is ready to be hauled off for scrap, rusted pile of parts that had to be VERY forcibly removed, the lift has been shifted over with much frustration over a minor misalignment with the mounting points. I mean really, 1/8 inch out on ALL points? I did have the sense to wash the road grime off the parts that were to be installed. Try as I might to keep it clean, there's just some areas that don't allow much room for a good scrubbing and this seemed a cherry time to do so. The new hubs need to be bolted on, much shiny, but after the suspension adventures.... Let's just say it was time to walk away for the day. New hubs as mentioned only a moment before were acquired since there was doubt of the condition of the old ones and they can be slipped on and secured without difficulty after work tomorrow and for the first time in months it will start to come together in a visible way and there will be abounding giddiness amongst my neighbors. I will have pictures and a brief synopsis of my adventures with the lift and the front diff come the next posting.
Ayrin said
Jan 11, 2019
A pile of pictures, not the best but mostly in order I think. From getting the donor home to where it stands today, from fighting to scrap the scrap body to fighting the front diff and the lift kit. Many frustrations happened the day of the front suspension, including the failure of fire and the breaking of my favorite 10 lb sledge to remove the hub assemblies that decided to retaliate the neglect they had suffered by rusting themselves whole to the spindles that I had wanted to save (Did get them apart, but my poor hammer.) all the way to raising and lowering the entire front suspension and lowering it again about a half a baker's dozen times before figuring out that one of the mounting points on the front diff had to visit the saw and may still be where I threw it. The fuel lines and brake lines were especially fun being hard line that had to be finagled just so around the engine, transmission, quit hitting the transfer case, no, stop it, quit trying to take that with you. Was supposed to get the shift cable run and the driveshafts up, but I think it's time for a nap.
-- Edited by Ayrin on Friday 11th of January 2019 08:59:09 PM
Hoo boy... it's getting ever closer. Just this morning the grille and really heavy bumper went on, fenders are on, actually on finally. Passenger side was removable for entirely too long for easy access to odds and ends. Learning far more about electrical systems than I really wanted to but there's not many surprises that beast has for me now. The front lights were an especially fun project since all reference photos were long gone so it was trial and error as we fought to figure out what went which where how and why and only had to run the same run of wires about uncounted times in uncounted configurations until it all laid out just so (taking far too long to do for as simple a job as it should have been). So very, very many trips to the junkyard for reference material and the odd bolt or screw only to have them found five minutes after we get back. Neat little note, the donor truck had a trans cooler separate from the radiator, where my wrecked truck's trans line ran into the rad, so I'm driving myself absolutely up the wall and back down again trying to figure out how to run the lines before I figured it out. But now it's bedtime, so have pictures and feel free to laugh at my troubles and shake your head when I say that hooking up the battery today, I crossed the positive and negative wires on the battery.
Sooo... I'm going to warn you here and now, the light is getting brighter still, the tunnel nearly traversed, and [insert dramatic music here] - it moves under it's own power now! doesn't much like to stop as there's a minor hiccup in the brakes that I should have anticipated, but it's fixable.
One problem being this is a torsion bar vehicle and the brake line I braved the junkyard for has none, so the line was about 6 inches too short and my line extender is out getting those exhaust samples. So I goes goes I to the handy dandy dealership 4 towns over because the one a mile and a half away told me that under no circumstances were they willing to help me unless I brought the truck to them for the complete repair. I'll get right with you on that, thanks. They order me the brake line by the vin, how fancy, and tell me it will be in presently. Presently comes and off I go to get my line and it's needing straightening then unstraightening and ends. None of this I can do with any accuracy, so to the graveyard we brave.
So, that brake line, not accounting for the minor bends in it, is about 10 feet long, you should be familiar with that measurement, and I managed to find one, in the junkyard, already disconnected, but still in the correct unstraightened shape, without holes, tears, cuts or other orifices not intended by the spiffy folk over at AC Delco. Car guy karma being what it is, I made sure not to cut the offending wiring harness that was in my way and managed to get it out in one piece.
(the brake line, not the wiring harness, I mean, it's still in one piece, but I didn't get it out)
Highwayed myself all the way home and managed to get the line on, in and installed on the truck with far more disagreeableness from the brake line that I was replacing than the one going in it's place, brake fluid topped off, blinker fluid checked and even managed to bleed the brakes all in one afternoon. Why on earth would I want to bend my own when I could have such adventures as this?
That brake problem I should have anticipated? Air in the ABS module. I could get myself a fancy GM Tech II or equivalent piece of shiny, I'll have that one done for me, it's cheaper, easier and quite frankly, I don't want to buy it right now. Just have to get the solenoids to fire off which should move the air down the line enough to bleed out. At least, that's what Google tells me.
Ayrin said
Jun 1, 2019
First off, I've been lazy, started a new job and while it has been ENORMOUSLY helpful in paying for new bits of shiny, some fixing my troubles from crossing the battery cables and some just buying parts that have been on the list since even before the wreck, namely the new shock absorbers and bowtie for my grille, it does eat into my motivation in working on this during my weekday evenings. Secondly, the beast is currently at the shop who kindly moved the cab for me since they have the tools needed and I'm giving them a few hundred reasons to do it for me. Yay new job! They are bleeding the brakes, diagnosing the random multiple misfire that just came about and I thought I had resolved and an intermittent short in the left front wheel speed sensor. Now I'm almost certain it's something simple and easily fixed, electrical is trying it's level best to be the bane of my existence right now and I just don't want to do it, but the tags are out so it must be done. This leaves me two choices, fix it or have it fixed and I've chosen the latter. There is also the issue of the lock in the steering wheel sticking so it makes it difficult to turn. Not so much an issue if it were to be living a straight line sort of life, but this is supposed to be my daily and haul things and quite frankly, if I've got a vehicle on the trailer behind me, I'd really like to turn with the roads rather than blaze new ones and forge on straight ahead. Anyhoo. Once it is returned to me it will be time to head down to the local steel supply house and get some 1/4 ID steel tubing and start adding some small, yet surprisingly strong and flexible reinforcements to the frame in certain key points. Between the truck's cab and bed there is a gap and if you're unfamiliar with it, it's the weakest point in the frame, so the plan is to take 8 sections of the tubing, measured out to 2 inches, or about 51 millimeters if you put milk in your tea, past the mounting bolts for the bed and the cab, bent to a shape matching the frame in each of the four corners on either side, welded to and painted to match. I've had several ask my why I would go through the effort of that when boxing in the frame would be easier and depending on my mood and the time of day, the answer is either it's my truck, because reasons, or actually tell them that talking with folk that have already boxed theirs in like that have told me that the ride quality is affected in a serious way after. I'm planning on driving this truck a long time yet, until it kills me is the current forecast and while boxing could be undone, it would be something resembling work and that seems less than fun. So adding tubing would add strength in not only the steel itself, but the tubing is lighter than bar and if my teachers weren't lying to me, also stronger while having some flex to it that hopefully won't completely ruin the ride. As for all the weight that's being added to the truck, it's going to be about 300lbs or 136 kilos more than I started with, seeing as I removed the steel bumper and brush guard and swapped it with a full front replacement bumper on the front which shipping scales showed at just over 220 lbs. Unfortunately I don't know what the steel bumper and brush guard weighed aside from they weren't exactly light and the steel tubing isn't too bad, but there's also a compressor and tanks to be added under the truck at some point so that it will have constant air and a sizeable power inverter as well. Part of the job has me going to places with no power and needing to work with air, so we're adding in purpose to the truck so it's less i have to lug around, see above, I'm lazy and don't wanna.
ALSO! The last rusty bolt came free of the monster when the shocks came out, the rears on the original frame were ventilated in the wreck, don't ask me how, and the rears on the donor truck were original, installed early in 1999 and just not good enough for me.
Those bolts holding in the shocks for the rear had rusted shut to the point where trying to loosen them broke one of my favorite 13/16 sockets and stripped the gears in one of my favorite rachets, so it was assaulted with a shiny new reciprocating saw that had to be tested out. Works beautifully if you were wondering. New bolts and the shocks are in and at this point, every bolt on the truck, inside and out except removing the front seats and actually disassembling the engine has been turned in the last year and a half. Those will be done in due course, but until then, I think this is a good time to quit putting run-on sentences and bad grammar on the internet.
Ayrin said
Aug 15, 2019
I am soundly and thoroughly stumped. I have go, I have left, I have right, I have go in the other direction, but I do not have stop.
i have new calipers, rotors, pads, parking brake shoes, ABS module, brake booster and master cylinder, I even have new stop juice, but it's not working. I'm in the process of learning how to diagnose issues, but everything I read says this symptom could be this or this or this or that. I'm frustrated and aggravated and I haven't figured it out yet.
GrayRaceCat said
Aug 21, 2019
Ayrin, Many new vehicles require the factory scan tool or equivalent bi-directional scanner to completely bleed the brake system. If you can tell me more about the truck the brakes & module came in (the VIN would be best if you still have access) I might be able to help find more info for you regarding the process. Regards, GRC
Ayrin said
Aug 21, 2019
I have the truck at a shop now, they're trying to help me diagnose the troubles. But we are using a Snap-On Solus unit (I think, it's not mine) for the autobleed and have done so 3 times. Have gone through a gallon of brake fluid bleeding the brakes, always getting a solid stream out of the calipers and it still takes me about 20 feet to stop from about 5mph.
Ayrin said
Oct 4, 2019
Well, it turns out that I'm a bit of an idiot, all my components were probably in perfect working order, but not functioning as intended because I made a mistake, dumb enough that it made me want to bang my head off the steering wheel a few times. as it turns out, as I was hooking up the brake lines originally, I was fitting the lines as they fit, not remembering one was stretched, (it got caught on the booster as the cab was coming off) so I thought my diagram hookup was correct, but I had actually crossed the primary and secondary feed lines, sending high pressure to the rear and low to the front. which explains perfectly why I had excellent rear brakes but no fronts, swapped the lines at the master cylinder and bled the brakes again and they're working much better. Still have a little air in them, but I got tired of laying in DOT4, so I'll finish this weekend and send it off for alignment when I get paid.
So I did a dumb, a dumb-dumb level dumb. However, I have learned an edjamacation in fixing the braked brake system that I never knew I didn't want to need, so that's handy. Go me. Huzzah. Also, the driver side seat had to come out as the impact sensor was located underneath it so to mend a statement from a previous post, the only bolts that haven't been turned in the last year and a half are the ones to remove the front passenger sear and to disassemble the engine. Also also, the front diff that came with the donor truck needs some love and attention that I don't want to give it right now, so it's coming off and the diff from the original frame is going up in its place, yay for not selling it. Ever since selling the ECBM from the donor (which I ended up needing) all parts from the donor have been stuck in one pile or another until the truck is back on the road, just in case. Just in case I happen to need a front diff in 3.73, oh lookit, there's one now!
Ayrin said
Nov 6, 2019
Or rather, wait a few checks as I managed to break the power steering pump mounting bracket on the other truck. Having need to find the parts on an engine discontinued and no parts made for it in over a decade made this less than fun but managed while causing an inordinate and I would say disproportionate mess of my time and finances. So it seems I can't do just one at a time as I'm a glutton for punishment. Had I the time and not been already knee-deep in a project at work, I'd have replaced the factory cast aluminum part with a nice steel replacement since it should be harder for me to break. Tomorrow morning the big beast goes off for an alignment and hopefully they don't find any issues while fixing what I broke.
I use a program to help with my posts, not for spelling, but rather I have an issue with grammar and it helps. I think this program needs some repair as it wants to put an extra "i" in aluminum for some odd reason even though that's not what it's called. Very odd.
Anyway, broken truck #2 is back on the road after being discombobulated not quite as far as broken truck #1 and recombobulated even faster. Next up is finding a bodyman and putting music back in.
Forsh said
Nov 6, 2019
Ayrin wrote:
I use a program to help with my posts, not for spelling, but rather I have an issue with grammar and it helps. I think this program needs some repair as it wants to put an extra "i" in aluminum for some odd reason even though that's not what it's called. Very odd.
That will be because the software is referring to the element of Aluminium as used in the ENGLISH language not the bastadiZed version people across the pond use
No need for any repair!
Good luck with the truck!
Ayrin said
Jan 18, 2020
The big beast is back on the road, mostly. It's got a slight misfire issue I'm hoping to resolve with some new ignition parts and then tweaking the small things like ride height, steering and then light adjustments. I had forgotten how nice it was to drive, smooth and relaxed if not exactly quiet with that exhaust.
Music is back in and sounds great, but not quite good enough and maybe a set of wheel to wheel running boards to make getting in and getting to the toolbox less painful. Been getting quotes from body shops and only one shop so far has made me happy with the words they word. One shop says "put bondo on and paint it, it's fine" another says "we can bang out some of the dents and then bondo the rest" to which I replied with various flavors of "get bent". A few other shops say it can't be fixed and that sounds like they're giving up and don't want to even try and finally, just this week I found a shop that says to me, he says "yeah, I can fix that, we'll just cut out these panels by drilling out the spot welds, lining up new sheetmetal and welding it back in, easy, just need some seam sealer and bondo only for final blocking for that perfect show finish.
Originally, the body damage wasn't bad, it was all in the fenders and hood with some minor dings from before, new fenders and hood fixed most of it and I called a guy claiming to be mobile paintless dent repair and asked him to take a look. Told me it was a simple, straightforward set of minor dings and could be done in a day. Made a deal to fix some mechanical problems on his truck to fix some cosmetics on mine. By the time I finished his and put the tools away I got a look at the horrors he did to my truck - took the emergency tire iron from his vehicle and used it to pry the dents out using the C pillar support as a fulcrum for one and the trim panel support for the others leaving dozens of small ridges on my cab and left a small tear in the steel. What an actual bodyman could fix fairly simply for a few hundred bucks is now going to cost thousands with four panels being replaced. I could make the attempt to fix it myself, but on this truck I don't trust my lack of experience.
"Mobile PDR Guy" promised me no filler would be needed in the beginning, at the end told me to just use the filler and be happy and he has not set food near my vehicle again.
GrayRaceCat said
May 9, 2021
Hey Ayrin, Any update on your progress, photos, etc.?
Thanks GRC
Ayrin said
Mar 17, 2024
unfortunately nothing major, had some more life happen and it was running and driving. my oh my was it nice, just a little rumble to go with the nice stereo and it was all good for about a month until the trans cooler in the radiator went and I got coolant in the transmission, I should have my new transmission soon, now that life is starting to settle down and I'll be back with an update or few when we get moving again. thanks for reading, and thanks for your patience.
Because of the madmen of BOM and my own lunacy, when my truck got wrecked, I had to rebuild. What started as a work truck ended up as a fun go anywhere, do anything land beast. Happily driving along, I had a wee little thing jump in my way and physics being what it is, I took it for a ride which put a nice bend in my frame. Not having near as many toys as the builders of Binky yet, I had to buy another truck to pull parts from rather than attempting to fix the afflicted bent bits. Now that I've got things mostly apart, things are starting to snowball, bigger engine, put shiny new bits in the diffs, little welding here, bit of grinding there, learning that Blackhurst is really good at both of those, making it look much easier than it is and I need more practice and an electric kettle may be needed and making it more of a monster on the road than it already was.
Before and after the toyota, more to come as it gets done.
As of now, the front suspension on the donor is ready to be hauled off for scrap, rusted pile of parts that had to be VERY forcibly removed, the lift has been shifted over with much frustration over a minor misalignment with the mounting points. I mean really, 1/8 inch out on ALL points? I did have the sense to wash the road grime off the parts that were to be installed. Try as I might to keep it clean, there's just some areas that don't allow much room for a good scrubbing and this seemed a cherry time to do so. The new hubs need to be bolted on, much shiny, but after the suspension adventures.... Let's just say it was time to walk away for the day. New hubs as mentioned only a moment before were acquired since there was doubt of the condition of the old ones and they can be slipped on and secured without difficulty after work tomorrow and for the first time in months it will start to come together in a visible way and there will be abounding giddiness amongst my neighbors. I will have pictures and a brief synopsis of my adventures with the lift and the front diff come the next posting.
A pile of pictures, not the best but mostly in order I think. From getting the donor home to where it stands today, from fighting to scrap the scrap body to fighting the front diff and the lift kit. Many frustrations happened the day of the front suspension, including the failure of fire and the breaking of my favorite 10 lb sledge to remove the hub assemblies that decided to retaliate the neglect they had suffered by rusting themselves whole to the spindles that I had wanted to save (Did get them apart, but my poor hammer.) all the way to raising and lowering the entire front suspension and lowering it again about a half a baker's dozen times before figuring out that one of the mounting points on the front diff had to visit the saw and may still be where I threw it. The fuel lines and brake lines were especially fun being hard line that had to be finagled just so around the engine, transmission, quit hitting the transfer case, no, stop it, quit trying to take that with you. Was supposed to get the shift cable run and the driveshafts up, but I think it's time for a nap.
-- Edited by Ayrin on Friday 11th of January 2019 08:59:09 PM
Hoo boy... it's getting ever closer. Just this morning the grille and really heavy bumper went on, fenders are on, actually on finally. Passenger side was removable for entirely too long for easy access to odds and ends. Learning far more about electrical systems than I really wanted to but there's not many surprises that beast has for me now. The front lights were an especially fun project since all reference photos were long gone so it was trial and error as we fought to figure out what went which where how and why and only had to run the same run of wires about uncounted times in uncounted configurations until it all laid out just so (taking far too long to do for as simple a job as it should have been). So very, very many trips to the junkyard for reference material and the odd bolt or screw only to have them found five minutes after we get back. Neat little note, the donor truck had a trans cooler separate from the radiator, where my wrecked truck's trans line ran into the rad, so I'm driving myself absolutely up the wall and back down again trying to figure out how to run the lines before I figured it out. But now it's bedtime, so have pictures and feel free to laugh at my troubles and shake your head when I say that hooking up the battery today, I crossed the positive and negative wires on the battery.
Should also note that IT LIVES!!!!!!!
One problem being this is a torsion bar vehicle and the brake line I braved the junkyard for has none, so the line was about 6 inches too short and my line extender is out getting those exhaust samples. So I goes goes I to the handy dandy dealership 4 towns over because the one a mile and a half away told me that under no circumstances were they willing to help me unless I brought the truck to them for the complete repair. I'll get right with you on that, thanks. They order me the brake line by the vin, how fancy, and tell me it will be in presently. Presently comes and off I go to get my line and it's needing straightening then unstraightening and ends. None of this I can do with any accuracy, so to the graveyard we brave.
So, that brake line, not accounting for the minor bends in it, is about 10 feet long, you should be familiar with that measurement, and I managed to find one, in the junkyard, already disconnected, but still in the correct unstraightened shape, without holes, tears, cuts or other orifices not intended by the spiffy folk over at AC Delco. Car guy karma being what it is, I made sure not to cut the offending wiring harness that was in my way and managed to get it out in one piece.
(the brake line, not the wiring harness, I mean, it's still in one piece, but I didn't get it out)
Highwayed myself all the way home and managed to get the line on, in and installed on the truck with far more disagreeableness from the brake line that I was replacing than the one going in it's place, brake fluid topped off, blinker fluid checked and even managed to bleed the brakes all in one afternoon. Why on earth would I want to bend my own when I could have such adventures as this?
That brake problem I should have anticipated? Air in the ABS module. I could get myself a fancy GM Tech II or equivalent piece of shiny, I'll have that one done for me, it's cheaper, easier and quite frankly, I don't want to buy it right now. Just have to get the solenoids to fire off which should move the air down the line enough to bleed out. At least, that's what Google tells me.
ALSO! The last rusty bolt came free of the monster when the shocks came out, the rears on the original frame were ventilated in the wreck, don't ask me how, and the rears on the donor truck were original, installed early in 1999 and just not good enough for me.
Those bolts holding in the shocks for the rear had rusted shut to the point where trying to loosen them broke one of my favorite 13/16 sockets and stripped the gears in one of my favorite rachets, so it was assaulted with a shiny new reciprocating saw that had to be tested out. Works beautifully if you were wondering. New bolts and the shocks are in and at this point, every bolt on the truck, inside and out except removing the front seats and actually disassembling the engine has been turned in the last year and a half. Those will be done in due course, but until then, I think this is a good time to quit putting run-on sentences and bad grammar on the internet.
i have new calipers, rotors, pads, parking brake shoes, ABS module, brake booster and master cylinder, I even have new stop juice, but it's not working. I'm in the process of learning how to diagnose issues, but everything I read says this symptom could be this or this or this or that. I'm frustrated and aggravated and I haven't figured it out yet.
Ayrin, Many new vehicles require the factory scan tool or equivalent bi-directional scanner to completely bleed the brake system. If you can tell me more about the truck the brakes & module came in (the VIN would be best if you still have access) I might be able to help find more info for you regarding the process. Regards, GRC
So I did a dumb, a dumb-dumb level dumb. However, I have learned an edjamacation in fixing the braked brake system that I never knew I didn't want to need, so that's handy. Go me. Huzzah. Also, the driver side seat had to come out as the impact sensor was located underneath it so to mend a statement from a previous post, the only bolts that haven't been turned in the last year and a half are the ones to remove the front passenger sear and to disassemble the engine. Also also, the front diff that came with the donor truck needs some love and attention that I don't want to give it right now, so it's coming off and the diff from the original frame is going up in its place, yay for not selling it. Ever since selling the ECBM from the donor (which I ended up needing) all parts from the donor have been stuck in one pile or another until the truck is back on the road, just in case. Just in case I happen to need a front diff in 3.73, oh lookit, there's one now!
I use a program to help with my posts, not for spelling, but rather I have an issue with grammar and it helps. I think this program needs some repair as it wants to put an extra "i" in aluminum for some odd reason even though that's not what it's called. Very odd.
Anyway, broken truck #2 is back on the road after being discombobulated not quite as far as broken truck #1 and recombobulated even faster. Next up is finding a bodyman and putting music back in.
That will be because the software is referring to the element of Aluminium as used in the ENGLISH language not the bastadiZed version people across the pond use
No need for any repair!
Good luck with the truck!
Music is back in and sounds great, but not quite good enough and maybe a set of wheel to wheel running boards to make getting in and getting to the toolbox less painful. Been getting quotes from body shops and only one shop so far has made me happy with the words they word. One shop says "put bondo on and paint it, it's fine" another says "we can bang out some of the dents and then bondo the rest" to which I replied with various flavors of "get bent". A few other shops say it can't be fixed and that sounds like they're giving up and don't want to even try and finally, just this week I found a shop that says to me, he says "yeah, I can fix that, we'll just cut out these panels by drilling out the spot welds, lining up new sheetmetal and welding it back in, easy, just need some seam sealer and bondo only for final blocking for that perfect show finish.
Originally, the body damage wasn't bad, it was all in the fenders and hood with some minor dings from before, new fenders and hood fixed most of it and I called a guy claiming to be mobile paintless dent repair and asked him to take a look. Told me it was a simple, straightforward set of minor dings and could be done in a day. Made a deal to fix some mechanical problems on his truck to fix some cosmetics on mine. By the time I finished his and put the tools away I got a look at the horrors he did to my truck - took the emergency tire iron from his vehicle and used it to pry the dents out using the C pillar support as a fulcrum for one and the trim panel support for the others leaving dozens of small ridges on my cab and left a small tear in the steel. What an actual bodyman could fix fairly simply for a few hundred bucks is now going to cost thousands with four panels being replaced. I could make the attempt to fix it myself, but on this truck I don't trust my lack of experience.
"Mobile PDR Guy" promised me no filler would be needed in the beginning, at the end told me to just use the filler and be happy and he has not set food near my vehicle again.
Thanks GRC
Looking forward to it!