Check this out!



I got my check and went straight to the parts store to get all new balljoints and tierods for my truck. haha
I didn't get a lot of pics because i was focused on not screwing anything up. I have only done two front ends before and these lock outs are WAY different than others ive torn into. So it probably took me a lot longer than it should have...
But i got most of it done working last night and about half the day today. I got my new idler arm on, and all four ball joints installed. But i still need to fix one lock out (i installed it wrong because i was dead tired last night). And i need to put new brake pads on it.
The few pics i got:

drivers side tie rod off.

New ones assembled

Idler arm on

The truck as it sits in my garage tonight. I hate leaving it here when i go to school.
I just love the truck so much!
and our spare truck is a death trap...
its my old 91 2wd chevy. It looks god awful because i used it as a tool to learn body work and do engine work and things.
It runs like crap, and needs a ton of work... timing adjustment, new brake booster & master cylinder, new heater core, and a multitude of things...
But as awful as it is i love it because it was my first truck and i learned much of what know working on it. haha

 

Wash that thing man!! Its SO much easier to work on when clean!

 

Hahaha that is what my dad said to me...
It really wasn't that bad i dont think... I knocked a lot of it off. But i never think of washing it until i already have it half apart...

 

MY thread has been dead for awhile. I haven't been able to do much to the truck. I did get a chance to climb some rock at a friends house and the truck received its first body damage... a dent that run about a 1/3 of the length of my rocker panel. and i smacked a tree with the passenger side tool box and bent the lid to hell. pics later!!

 

Dents are cool.

 

haha sorry i have been really busy. ill have a huge update in the next day or two with all the stuff ive done and gotten pictures of.
here is a few things (cant upload pics right now.)
- finished my winch mount
- went camping/wheeling
- got my spare tire stolen
- made plans for flood lights.
- about to do the turn signal marker light mod

ill have pictures and stuff probably tomorrow.

ha i know they are. Each one is a story and adds character.


Last thing...
Some questions

-To adjust my camber i adjust my t-bars dont i?
Or is it something else?

- i am pricing out/saving for my frame repair. i am completely replacing the rear half of the frame (from in front of rear cab mounts back, much like bttrs did with his truck)
Is 4x2 .120 wall good/easy to mate to the frame?
Or should i go with a different size/wall?

If anybody has any info on this i would love to hear it.
I am planning on tearing the truck down as soon as i graduate (may 16th).

 

Rear four link soon? I dint think i use t-bars to adjust caster i the caster changing is a result of turning them.... i could be wrong though.... how did ur spare get stole?

 

Ha no i am doing 63" chevys. Mostly due to cost (i would go nutso on it if i 4-linked it, The truck probably wouldn't be on the road for a long time because then i would sas it and do tons of other things. I want it to be very streetable) and because i will be pulling trailers a fair amount when i get my frame redone.
So i want to keep leafs for stability.

Caster is the angle at which the knuckle sits right?
and Camber is if the wheel and tire are plumb or not, correct? I could be getting the terms mixed up.
But i need to get my tires plumb with the ground.

 

also, i was at a friends farm and took my spare tire out and set it in front of the barn (so it didn't wobble and break the mount). Then i went wheeling in his woods. I came back unloaded all the other gear out of the truck (into the barn), changed out of muddy, dirty wranglers, set them outside next to the tire, and put on good jeans to go into town. I came back and everything was still there. We went out to our camp site. Then we came back the next morning and started packing all our gear into the truck to leave, and i asked, "where is my spare?" and we looked everywhere. Both my favorite pair of wranglers, and my spare tire were gone... Who would want a worn out, old 33" AT on a rusted wagon wheel, and a muddy, dirty pair of jeans?
i say to them!!

 

Okay, as i said i have a pretty big update to do.
Here is all the pics i have (not much) of what ive done lately, starting with rock crawling at my friends house.
I had the doors off. It's so much fun to drive around town like that. lol

Another shot.

some more

That is me btw haha


Me again


The day i got my spare tire stolen i got all of this damage:

broken tail light

and i scraped a tree stump with the rocker, cab corner, and bed. OUCH! I need sliders...

And another angle.

Okay, now on to the few mods i have done recently.

I moved my whip mount and switched to just one firestik, not two.
(you can see how screwed up the lid of that box is, i smacked a tree with that while rock crawling in the first photos)

a closer look.
Finally, the winch mount.

I will get a picture of the winch mounted in a few. but these are what i have on the computer now.

Next on the to do list of cheap(er) mods:
- Flood lights mounted forward and backward
- repaint the front bumper and winch mount
- get new tail lights (probably euro style)
- make a center console
- save up for my frame repair

 

Cool pictures.

What kind of lights are those on your front bumper?

 

Thanks.

I can't remember the name of them, but they are halogens.
You can find them at wal-mart for like $23. I thought they were a steel so i had to buy them. They are extremely bright too. I love them! ha

 

I have more questions...
ha
I need to adjust camber on my truck. from what ive been reading when you do that (the 'cam' bolt on LCA) it also adjusts caster. How important is the caster on these trucks? should i be concerned?

second:
Next weekend (i think), i am replacing my timing chain. Im a little nervous because i've never torn into a motor that deep and then put it back together. haha
I have only pulled them out of trucks, put them back in, or torn them apart and not put them back again.
but i am confident i can do it right and be okay.
anyways...

all i should need is:

The timing chain kit
head gasket
oil pan gasket
timing cover gasket
an oil change
and new antifreeze.

correct? Is there something i am missing?
i have read quite a bit about it on here, and on some other places.

Thanks everybody for all the info!

 

Well, today was the day i decided to tear into my motor and replace the infamous timing chain before it gets any worse. I pulled the valve cover and low and behold, the driver's guide was nowhere to be found. The cover is grooved BAD! ha so when i got inside i ordered a kit with steel backed guides and the timing cover... Then i went out and pulled the radiator, all the front bracketry, distributor, and water pump off. simultaneously i went on a labeling frenzy and labeled everything. I mean everything. ha It didn't matter to me if i knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that i know where it goes, it is now labeled. ha I didn't get any pictures but i will get some friday when i finish tearing it down.

I also figured while my truck is down and apart, (my dad is letting me drive his spare vehicle, a 2002 envoy we bought for $500) i am going to do many of the mods i have been thinking about, ie GM alternator, finish my snorkel, and do the turn signal marker light mod. There is probably other stuff i'm forgetting but its 1am so i can't think of them now. I will be back friday night with pics!

 

Yes do mods now! Lol ur lucky my chain broke on me driving to school one day... lucky for me i was inly 300 yards from school and it is a toyota so it was easy to push out of the road

 

ouch... that must have sucked. ha mine was close to that... ive been scared that same thing was going to happen to me. hahaha Hopefully i can get it all done by next weekend... There is a mud bog i am DIEING to enter. ha the GM alternator and snorkel may have to wait until after the that...

 

I would snorkle before the bog personally

 

The truck looks fun!!
Cant wait to see you do the center console.
I have seen a lot of cool modded center consoles.
Stoked to see yours!

 

Where are the pics u promised????

 

sorry i got caught up in the races we had this weekend. i will get them up today after lunch.