bikeguy18974

What do you mean by new roof? The removable rear cap or the actual cab?

If you just need the removable cap you should look on pirate. There's usually someone giving one away.

alanbobalan

deathrunner- i will gladly take those rear flares off your hands if you won't be using them. what do you mean by they have some wear on them? just little dings and scratches here and there? regardless, if you're willing to just give them up, i'll take them! woo!!! also, just curious, what is it you plan on doing to the rear of your truck? i remember you talking about it, but i thought you were talking about your suspension. are you putting on prerunner bedsides? that would be flippen sweet.

bikeguy- i'm talking about the actual cab. a few years ago i rolled my truck over and my cab is pretty much destroyed. i'm in love with my truck and i really don't want to just give it up. i've put way too much time and energy into that motor. the top end is rebuilt and my brakes are just about rebuilt and i just got a brand new clutch and clutch assembly not too long ago. it's running like a champ and i'd rather spend the money i would use on buying a new truck into fixing this truck. it will look brand new again once it's done.

deathrunner

Alan-

The flares have met my tires many times at full compression. They hafe some scuffs on the underside. They are structurally sound and the exterior is in great shape. I'll let you know when thye come off.

As for the rear (Here Goes):

-62" Deaver Springs under Axle
-Big ass shackle
-Probably some big old sway away res shocks
-massive fender trimming (Will still be sealed)
-Attaching Ivan glass over existing sheet metal to hide trimming and cover tires
-1.5" wheel spacers
-All Pro disc brake Parking brake
-All Pro sliders
-Cuatom bumper with swing-out tire carrier
-New paint

And whatever else it takes to complete.

alanbobalan

ok, i will take those flares off your hands whenever they come off. thanks for the offer.

so you're attaching a prerunner bedside over the existing sheetmetal? tell me more... i need new quarterpanels and putting prerunner bedsides on is one of the options i'm considering. weee!

deathrunner

You need to have your stock skins in tact and I think they will fasten over the sheetmetal. Not too sure on the details. Protrux is going to do it, it was thier idea.

alanbobalan

hmm i see. well my skins are somewhat intact... i guess. i don't know. some parts are more beat up than others. oh well. i'll figure out what i'm going to do with the quarter panels when i get there.

in other news, i dropped off my truck at the shop today to get my lift on. should be done by the end of the day tomorrow.

alanbobalan

my truck is the shop getting the lift on. the front is all done and just waiting to get the rear on tomorrow morning. however, they told me my idler arm is bad and they can't align it until it's replaced. i just had my idler arm and my pitman arm replaced 7 months ago back in september. i'm pretty sure it's still covered under warranty. this is just a pain. i read about an aftermarket idler arm that total chaos makes that's designed to be stronger, more durable and impact resistant. but it costs like 300 bucks. ahhhhhhhhhhh! i just had to vent. any comments or suggestions???

deathrunner

Downey makes and Idler arm truss that fits over the stock idler to make it stronger. Worth a thought. What do you do to bend that thing? Mine is still good. I just had to rebuild the bushing once.

alanbobalan

i don't think i bent it. they just told me it was worn out. this blows. however, when i had my last alignment done, they replaced the idler arm and the pitman arm. i looked at the invoice today and i think it's under a 10,000 miles/10 month warranty. i'm not sure if it's just the alignment that was covered under warranty or if it included the idler and the pitman arm. but it's worth a try. i'm assuming the warranty on the alignment would now be voided due to the installation of the lift kit. but hopefully if i'm lucky i can get a replacement idler arm because it failed prematurely. i used to beat my truck real hard, but i don't think i ever beat it that hard after i got my alignment. there was a stage when i was reckless and now i'm at a stage where i'm paranoid about keeping my truck running and in one piece. i think when i got my alignment i was at my paranoid stage.

anyhoo, if it turns out it is under warranty, i want to get that idler arm and take it back to the shop i'm getting my lift at and have them put it on and align it. i didn't really trust this other shop in the first place. i dunno, they just seemed kinda fishy to me.

that truss sounds interesting. i might look into it. thanks mister seth!

deathrunner

I wish you could cruise out to superstion this weekend. But don't rush your lift. I know you'll like it. It will feel very tall. I feel low now comapred and I only lost like 2 inches. You're gaining 4!!!!! Are you going to crank the t-bars at all????

I really miss those springs in the rear.
The ride is pretty awesome considering the amount of arch they have and the flex is killer. I lift tires now with my downey pack. I rarely lifted when I had that skyjacker pack on. I'm excited for you.

I don't want to make you anymore paranoid, but I would wheel fairly lightly until you can get a brace back there. I understand it really firms things up and will help with the alignment staying for a little longer. Truth of the matter is, no matter what you wheel, your alignment will go out after a good while....quicker if you use alot of momentum.

I would also recomend welding those lift brackets together once you have a real good alignment. Then again I seem to remember you talking about a SAS down the line. If you want to resell that lift kit, better not weld it, each frame is different (That's why I didn't have it welded....you'd be hating me now)

Ok, enough ranting. I'm stoked you're finally getting it on. Have you dropped by to see it, yet???? I'm telling you, the rear is killer.

alanbobalan

SETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE LIFT KIT IS ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and wow, what a difference it made! i saw it, and i swear it looked like it was 10 feet taller! my rear was sagging so bad that it looks alot higher than 4 inches.

anyway, i don't have an alignment yet. i didn't have the shop align it because there's a good chance that idler arm is still covered under warranty at the last shop i had it aligned and replaced the idler and pitman arm. they'll probably align it too, they only charge 50 bucks for the alignment. they also have a pretty good warranty: the 10,000 mile/10 months. the offroad shop i got my kit on charges like 75.

anyway, now the trouble is, this alignment shop is really backed up and they probably won't get to work on it until monday. but i don't want to drive it without an alignment, so i just dropped it off as soon as i got my lift on and paid for. my tires are still fairly new, and i'm not taking any risks in them wearing down funny.

well, i'm really stoked about the lift. it looks flippen awesome. i also noticed today it looks like the rear springs have a axle shim in the bottom of the pack? is that designed to keep the pinion angle right on at the stock angle? or at least somewhat close to it? is 4 inches of lifts really going to affect the pinion angle that bad? if so, what about the front? shims for the rear are pretty easy and straight forward, but you can't just put shims on the front ifs axle. i only use 4wd when wheeling and i've heard that the pinion angle/driveshaft vibrations aren't that big of a deal at lower speeds.

one last question... when i drove it down the alignment shop, it felt REALLY tall. is it going to be alot more tippy than before? or should i even worry about it? i never thought it would be that big of an issue till i got in and drove it for the first time and i felt like i was driving a semi truck it's so flippen tall.

i might just be trippin, but just a couple extra questions i had. like i said in my last post, i'm in my paranoid stage. but it's probably a good thing, maybe my truck will last longer. maybe even pass the 300,000 mile mark! yee hawww!

oh and no, i'm not going to crank the t-bars. there's no need to, i already have more than enough lift to clear 33's. i might put on a 1 inch body lift if i ever go to 35's. but that's not till after the SAS is done and i do the necessary brake upgrades to compensate for the larger tire so my stopping distance won't be like 10 miles long. hahaha. so that's a LONGGGG way a way. my torsion bars might be cranked up just a little, but not enough to make any real noticeable difference in lift or ride quality.

alanbobalan

seth? where'd you go?

deathrunner

Sorry dude, I've been sick.

Anyway, that's awesome. When I first drove the truck I felt like I was driving a Skyscraper on rollerblades. It was wayyyyy freaky at first. After you drive it around for a while you get used to it. Soon enough I felt comfortable again even on corners. But you do need to keep in mind that your center of gravity is much higher, so don't fly around corners, it will tip easier than before. Not saying it will tip if your passenger farts, but just be more cautious. This is true for 1 inch of lift, 4 inches of lift, or 16 inches of lift.

4 inches is a lot of lift for a drive shaft. It will change your pinion angle. Usually this requires cutting and rewelding the spring perches on your axle. Those skyjacker springs incoroporate those shims to correct this. I never had a problem with pinion angles and don't see why you would. Wait till you flex those things......you'll laugh at all the fools with stock springs and blocks (The original setup of bracket kits)

As for the front pinion angle.....the front shaft doesn't move up and down. It is fixed and the angle created is a safe one. The angles you need to watch for on the IFS front end is your cv angle. This is controlled by how much you crank the t-bars. I would recommend running your lower A arms parallel to the crossmember or maybe cranked a touch higher. If basically you want it to look like this -=- If it looks like this /=\ then they are cranked too much. when you crank your tbars you sacrifice downtravel which helps to keep a soft ride.

Stay paranoid....your truck will love you for it.

alanbobalan

haha it's cool man.

i got it back the other day and i've been driving it. i've pretty much gotten over the tallness of it and can drive it normally. it's fun and i feel like a rule the road! muah ha ha hahahahaaaa!

okay about the pinion angle. is it at the stock angle or somewhat close to it? because i'm feeling weird vibrations at lower rpms around 2,000 rpm and under. but i don't think it would be driveshaft vibrations because i really notice it when downshifting or slowing down. i was thinking along the lines of maybe a bad u-joint? but you think i would have noticed that before i even had the lift on.

okay, now the torsion bars... they definetely aren't cranked up that much because my ride is pretty soft. when i bought my truck, they were cranked up sky high and i had my alignment shop crank them back down when i was getting an alignment a while back. even before i got the lift on, they looked like they were a LITTLE bit cranked up still, but not enough to make any fuss about. i even compared myself to my brother's stock 85 pickup with 31's and my friends 91 with 31's and i was maybe an inch taller than both of them at the absolute most. if i crank down the t-bars so they are level with crossmember, wouldn't my rear then be sitting higher than the front? i don't about you, but i think it would look ugly with the rear higher. haha. from what it looks like eright now, the rear and the front are almost exactly the same height. and besides, i just got an alignment after i got the lift put on. if i cranked the bars down i'd have to get another alignment.

in other news, leaving for big bear tomorrow and my truck still needs a tune up. i got till 6pm tomorrow to get it done! to my mechanic i will go!

alright seth, thanks so much for all the help. you've been great!

deathrunner

Sounds like your t bars are ok. I actually plan on my rear being 1-2inches taller. It is actually more functional that way. When you load a level rig down with gear, it starts to look like a prerunner. Not to mention having a tall butt will give me alittle more up travel and some more room for shocks under the bed. If you look at all of the protrucks they seems to be a little higher in the rear.


As far as your vibration, there are a couple of things. How old are your rims and tires? When did you last get the rims balanced? These can cause vibration. Other than that it could definitely be a u joint. Not that the pinion angle is bad, but it is now different, that could be enough to make a hiding problem noticable.

If you didn't already know how to check your u joints, get under the rig and shake the driveshaft near each u joint. If you see any movement.....you've got trouble. As a note, don't touch the u-joints after you've been driving. If they are ok, you shouldn't have a problem, but if one is bad it will heat up like a mother. I scorched my fingertips checking them afetr I got vibration once....yoweeeee!!!!

I just dealt with a vibration between 60 and 70 this weekend. turns out my u joints was bad (I only have 2" of lift now!!!!) I took it into the driveline shop and they said my driveshaft slipyoke was toast and that was killing my u joints. So maybe your shaft is bent or unbalanced. I know you rolled the rig, did you check any of that stuff?

i got a new slip yoke, a replaced u joint (I supplied the part), and the driveshaft balanced for 160.00 not too bad. they also painted it....oooooooooh

Definitely check your joints before you go wheeling. I did the 3 hour drive to superstition and back plus all of the trail riding with a ˟˟˟˟ up u joint. Bad idea.

If you don't already have one, go to harbor freight or somewhere and pick up a grease gun. It will save you sooooo many parts and headaches. Before and after every trip, just get under there and grease everything that has a zerk fitting.

Front driveshaft
rear driveshaft
ball joints
etc.

This will not only keep things lubed, but it also pushes out and mud or moisture that gets in there from wheeling.

Take it easy -Seth

alanbobalan

i just got back from my mechanic. i had the driver outer tie rod end replaced and the belts adjusted and the fan clutch replaced. didn't really have time to do it on my own because i'm leaving for big bear in like an hour. anyway, he said the angle on my tie rod's wasn't the greatest. it's not THAT bad, but i asked him if lowering the t-bars would help at all and he said that was a good idea. so i'm thinking i'll get them lowered maybe an inch when i get my next alignment done. so i'll hold off on the braces and everything until my truck needs it's next alignment. then i'll lower the t-bars an inch and get those braces on. i would lower the t-bars right away, but i just barely got an alignment the other day. what i should have done is had my alignment shop replace that outer tie rod, lower the t-bars, and do my alignment.

after getting that outer tie rod replaced my truck is pulling to the right. my mechanic said it was because the ball joint on the end of the tie rod is "tighter" than the old one on the other side. so it just needs to "break itself in." which makes sense. before he took it apart, i saw him measuring everything so he could put it back on exaclty the way it came off so the alignment wouldn't change. but you know me, i'm paranoid. so i might give it a week or so then if it doens't go away, i'm gunna take it back to him.

anyway, i just went out and checked my u-joints. sure enough, there's some movement on the u-joint on the rear driveshaft on the transfer case end. and sure enough, that u-joint felt pretty warm. i got home maybe a half hour or less before i checked them.

my shaft is for sure not bent. i've been under the rig many times and there's no dents to be found. however, i don't know about the balancing. that's another possibility. when i get my u-joint replaced, perhaps i'll have them check and balance the shaft too.

anyway, well this u-joint is definelty bad and i'm leaving for big bear in less than an hour now. i've been driving it day to day without any problem except for the vibration at low rpms. it doesn't vibrate on the freeway, however. i drive out to san bernardino from here (about 45 minutes to an hour) to go see my girl and i drove out to anaheim (about 30 minutes) and back the other night for band practice. plus all the around town driving i do and the vibration hasn't gotten any better or worse. i've really been looking forward to this trip. i think i'm still going to go, i'm just going to wheel nice and easy and maybe enjoy the camping and the outdoors more than the wheeling. we got 4 other rigs coming up so maybe i'll just play spotter for this trip. i think i should be ok driving up there though, i was planning on sleeping in my rig because i don't have a tent. haha.

anyway, i think i'm going to call you right now to get your opinion on this before i leave. i doubt you'll get this within the next 45 minutes.

and about the grease gun thing, i was thinking about getting one too. i work at the wal mart tire and lube express and i normally get my oil changed there since i work there and can kind of "supervise" the techs working on my truck and we all know each other so they usually give my rig more special attention. but what they say about quick lube places is true, we are flippen morons. i told them to grease all my fittings and they missed every fitting on my driveshaft. i brought it back and had them grease it. but still. and besides, they don't even train us on where the fittings are normally located. we just look for fittings and grease them. i guarantee you almost no car or truck with fittings leaves there completly greased.

i'm going to start doing all my own oil changes and greasing all my own fittings on a regular basis. i'm just so stingy and picky about my truck, i'd rather just put myself through the labor of the work and make sure it gets done right. everyone at my work gets annoyed because i'm so picky whenever i go get my oil changed. if i was a regular customer, they'd have to put up with my bs, but since i work there, they give me bs right back! haha.

anyway, to make this long story short, i'm going out and buying a grease gun when i get my next check. i'm going to go broke if i don't take a break from spending money on my truck for a bit. i've spend damn near 1,000 dollars this past week alone just getting my lift kit on, aligned and my idler replaced, and the work i got done today. and now my u-joint is bad! ahhhh!

alright seth, sorry for the ultra long post. but thanks so much! you are and always have been a great help! thanks alot!

--alan

deathrunner

It gets better. All this stuff you are fixing is important and once it's fixed you have that peace of mind that everything is done right.

alanbobalan

what do you think about that outer tie rod? do you think because the ball joint on the end of the tie rod is new and "tighter" than the ball joint on the other end, that would cause my truck to pull to one side? i saw my mechanic measure the tie rods before he took the old one off so the alignment wouldn't change. i just want to know because one thing i can't stand is when my truck is pulling to one side. haha. alright seth, take it easy!

deathrunner

Hey Alan, I think I figured out why your transfer case flange might be loose.

Under the driveshaft flange, there is ahuge nut that holds the transfer case flange on. Maybe yours loosen up over time. This would also cause your u joint to prematurely fail. Check both of these out.

alanbobalan

how do i access this huge nut? i looked under there and i didn't see it.