gerth92

I dropped the gas tank on my truck today and immediately ran into problems. The first thing that went wrong is I twisted off my fuel line connected to my pump bracket. Turns out that is an OEM only part that costs 150 bucks. Then after I finally go to where I could see my inside frame rail I found that it is way more rotten than I thought. It looks like I will be replacing 18 inches to 2 foot of frame rail.

gerth92

I cut out the rotten part in my frame today. I didnt order enough steel for how much was rotten. So hopefully ebay can get me more by next week. I also ordered a new fuel pump bracket on ebay from some Toyota dealer in Ohio . It was 130 bucks shipped. It was the best price I found online.

gerth92

I got started welding 3/16th plate into my frame. I started by putting a 5x8 plate over my leaf spring mount then welding in the piece above it. I will have to wait till later in the week to do the last section. I also put my fuel pump on the bracket. The bracket was very expensive, but it is very nice. You can't beat the quality of OEM. I also changed the gaskets on the pump bracket and sending unit. Then I changed out the fuel strainer for good measure. It wasn't too dirty but it was very old and fraying. My gas tank looks like brand new now.

gerth92

I got done welding plate into my frame. I ground it all down some and painted it with rusty metal primer and black rustoleum. I drilled 4 holes into my frame to let it drain. They are 3/8th holes and I put them in the lowest point of the frame in the front and back.

gerth92

I got the gas tank back in today. I replaced the vent hose with a new one. I took the foam cover off the old one and put it on this one. I also replaced the rubber part of my rubber gas line. I used 100PSI 5/16 fuel line with 14.5mm to 5/16th fittings. I hope it holds up. I filled the tank with fuel and it fired back up after a few seconds. Incase anyone is wondering the tank holds 19 gallons from bone dry. I put 2 gallons from a container then went to the gas station and put in 17 more.

gerth92

For the last few weeks my battery and brake light have been flickering on together, I thought it was a loose wire in my dash. After looking it up I learned it was time for new alternator brushes. I found auto zone had them for under 4 bucks. The old brushes were almost entirely gone on the back brush. All you have to do is unsolder the old ones and solder in the new ones. There is a spring under it which makes soldering a pain. After your done you have to snip off the extra wire. I also sprayed out my alternator with contact cleaner. And also, you have to remove the bottom hose on the radiator which wasted all my new coolant. After I was done, my voltage was 14.5 at idle. Before I started it was 11.9.

gerth92

And to add to that, those are the old chewed up brushes on the foil. And the picture from the inside shows there is a square hole for the brush and a small chamber where the wire goes up to the hole in the top. And as a little cheat to soldering, wrap the extra wire around the metal bracket on the side to hold it in place.

gerth92

I started disassembling the lower control arms. I plan On replacing my lower ball joints, lower bushings, and tie rods. The front end feels wobbly and loose so I figured it was time to replace everything I didn't do on the lift. The control arms came out easy enough. I left the ball joints attached to the arms when I removed them which made it easier on me. The only thing I ran into was 2 of my camber bolts were siezed. Those 2 swill be replaced. Next up will be the tie rods after I go to auto zone to rent a puller.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I have gotten several more years out of an alternator just by changing the brushes in them. A cheap and easy fix. The bushings on your lower control arms is not to bad of a job as well and feel it will help tighten up your front end. Looks good what you are getting done.

gerth92

I got my parts in today. I wanted to get all moog parts but that added up to about 300 bucks. With Christmas coming soon, I needed to cut costs. I went with move tech supreme parts. They ended up coming in under 150 for everything. They look like they have good fit and finish. The ball joints and outer tie rod are greasabe so they should work fine. I'll rent a tie rod puller this evening and hopefully get it back together.

gerth92

I got new tires for my truck this week.I got pathfinder a/t 33x12.5r15. They seem to have a good deep tread pattern and a ton of sips for snow traction. I'm not sure who made these tires they say made in Korea and they were a brand only at discount tire. I don't think I will ever mount truck tires on my harbor freight tire mounting stand. It was way more effort than car tires are. They do rub a tiny bit in reverse with the wheel turned all the way. I'll have to look into fixing that. Hopefully these tires work well. I couldn't find any information on the Internet except that they are more than likely a rebrand. But the were cheap. They were 136 apiece with free shipping.

gerth92

I finally got to fixing the headers and exhaust on my truck. I got some headers from JT Outfitters, a Flowmaster Cat, a thrush turbo muffler and all 2.25in pipes. My original manifold was leaking in 2 of the 4 cylinders as seen in the pictures. I used all straight tube to put it together except for one braided flex bend piece. I also used all stainless band clamps to assemble it. They seem a million times better than the u bolt clamps. Everything fit great and I was able to use universal hangers to hit the factory mounts. The truck drives amazing now. It used to struggle to take off with the 33 inch tires and now it takes right off and gets up to speed without even trying.

gerth92

I replaced the o2 sensor since I believe it was intermittently throwing a check engine light. It started coming on after I put on the headers and by the look of the o2 sensor I think that was my culprit. I also changed the fuel filter since I didn't know the age of it. Its a good thing I did because whoever installed the old one put it on backwards. And after fighting with it all day, it has a new home on the fender.

gerth92

I went and got a parts truck today. I will start getting parts together for a SAS. The truck is a 1980. But someone has swapped in a 5spd and 22r so I may sell them or keep them for spares. The body is trashed but I think I can salvage some parts from it.

flg8r22

iTrader: (1)

Moving right along. Man that header looks nice. Cleans up that side o the bay real well.

gerth92

They don't look quite as good now. All the factory paint burned off and I hit it with rustoleum header paint. The only thing I don't like is I had to take off the heat shield for the upper control arm bushing, but if I go solid axle it won't matter anymore.

flg8r22

iTrader: (1)

If you dont mind me asking, how much was the header. Ive only had the thorley tri-y. Thanks in advance

gerth92

They are about $175 after shipping. I got them from the JT Outfitters ebay listing. They aren't nearly as nice as the Thorly or the LC headers but they have a thicker flange than the pace setter and headman headers. Only time will tell if they hold up better than the other low cost headers.

gerth92

I put a light bar on my truck and mounted 2 harbor freight off road lights. I ran it through a universal relay then switched it to ground. It was easier to find a ground point in the cab than a hot wire. The bar was actually a UTV brush guard that I cut down and cut off the skid plate. I made brackets out of some .5 inch thick aluminum angle I found and bolted it to the bumper mount. Ill add pictures of everything in daylight later on. The lights are considerably brighter than my headlights and combined they are extremely bright.

gerth92

Here's a picture from before I put the lights on. It was almost full daylight.