No work tonight! Tuna R/C car got all of the attention.
No work tonight! Tuna R/C car got all of the attention.
Tonight I decided to paint the bottom of the bed floor. First step was that one last rust hole, maybe 1/4" diameter. Done. Next was to tip it over on its side and clean the bottom up. The grease from the exploded rear end (which I think comes standard on Chevy/GMC trucks) must have been four feet thick. Between grinding/cleaning my way through that sand listening to Tunawife scream at me (still not more than 43% sure why) I spent about two hours not getting very far. I have 3/4 of the bottom cleaned up, but it still needs to be degreased which I'll try and do after putting the bedfloor on the frame upside down. After that I think I am going to try and knock out some tiny dents that I see a lot more clearly from the bottom. Since it's a truck, will be used as a truck, and will be bedlined, I am not striving for perfection there. Hopefully I can paint it tomorrow.
GM 12 bolt...the best GM ever made....almost as good as a Ford 8 inch.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: GM 12 bolt...the best GM ever made....almost as good as a Ford 8 inch.
Ugh, yeah. If it wasn't $20 and I had the confidence that I have now, that would be a 9" under there right now.
Oh well.
I spent tonight grinding and sanding away grit and grime from the frame and various crossmembers in preparation for the paint.
I was waiting for the UPS guy. I drooled when he showed up. He was carrying the box under one arm. What the hey? He's strong. No wait, it's an Amazon box. Oh crap, the springs are not here! Looking at the tracking information, "Honey, it says it should be here, Tuesday the 18th, see?" "It's the 17th, dear". Oh, well that's strange, because it's Tuesday" "No, it's Monday"... oh.
The old Janis Joplin quote about being on the bus. I don't think she was waiting for UPS though. Continue the thrash in good health.
Springs are here!!!!
But I think I'll have to move the spring hangar
Mostly because I had put the hangar farther forward than stock by about an inch based on some chalk-on-the-driveway (literally) calculations showing the new arc length of the rebent spring I was trying to make. The new spring appears to be shorter overall, thus taking that into account. Hence my spring mounts are too far apart. What does this mean? Essentially, that my shackles will be too angled. I will see when I get the new springs in. First I have to relocate the 32 ton bed floor piece. It may be a long night, but I owe it to you guys to get some glory shots tonight.
Aaaaaaaaaaand, here I go.
For the glory!
32 ton bed floor panel sitting in the driveway a few inches from the Leaf where it landed gently.
Pass spring disconnected from frame, going to have to cut the E36 M3ty square U bolts out, the nut is so bad I literally can't turn it all the way off, even with a cheater bar on the 1/2" drive.
Pass side is in
Drivers is in
Yes, that is 16 minutes for those counting at home. Wrenching at Lemons learns you some speed.
Now to move the bedfloor back on to check ride height. This will take >> 16 minutes
Looks like I'll get 1.5" droop with this, with an empty tank and no bed, so figure 2" droop and 4" compression. The droop is dictated by the shackles, which are in turn dictated by the too-far-forward front spring brackets. I am not sure this is enough. Essentially, is 2" is not enough droop, I need to move the brackets again. What do you guys think?
not bad. Pics to come.
Wow, that was only thirteen minutes?
id think yoll compress more than a half inch based on my experience.
you didn't weld the old holes up yet for the hangars, did you? if you didn't, its easy enough to change out when all the weight is on.
and crappy u-bolts suck. I prefer the good ones from NAPA.
Michael,
Now I didn't weld up the old ones, good call. Knowing me, though, I'd rather it go rearward an inch and stay at the same height, meaning four new holes and welding eight up. I dunno.
Looking at the shackles as they sit with just one bedside and the floor on, they look pretty good. Not 90 degrees or anything, but pretty good. I'll try to get a pic for you guys.
New springs
Offending cross threaded E36 M3ty U bolt
Incidently, with a cutoff wheel, I can remove a leaf spring in under a minute.
New leaf springs installed
New U bolts (THANKS BOB from ATS for having a 2.25" leaf spring pad!!)
Testing spring rate (very stiff as compared to original)
Test fitting bedside
Looks like about 5" of tire/wheelwell gap.
Is it me or does the ride eight look the same as it was originally?
Yeah, I totally set the truck down on the gas tank. Drop that ride height pictured by about 1/2". The tank is fine.
Anyway, I am not totally sure on the wheel being not-very-centered in the wheelwell. If you look at the "before" pic above, they came that way, but it looks weird.
Ugh.
photobucket is full. I'll handle the rest of the pics tomorrow.
Considering the state of the original springs I'd check some other trucks out before declaring they all do that. Even if they do, do you want YOURS to do that? You may actually need to get the truck on the road before going back and moving things. Remember: springs settle a bit once in use.
Good call JD. One additional 'shower thought'. I can simply redrill my perches to move the center pin and get a bunch of longitudinal movement that way. If I decide I can live with my shackle angle and resulting droop travel, that will take 15 minutes as compared with an entire night moving those front hangers again.
Holy leapin'. I spent 15 minutes with the car today and it basically consisted of me trying to rub some stuck on gunk off the dashboard with my thumbnail. And I've done pit crew for Chump Car before.
Isn't the 'caster' in the rear intended to fight axle wrap under torque?
Cant you hook up your driveshaft and see if the axle moved forward? Just as a check.
Rob R.
wvumtnbkr wrote: Cant you hook up your driveshaft and see if the axle moved forward? Just as a check. Rob R.
Checking the pinion angle is one of the next steps, but, since that driveshaft never actually moved the truck, there won't be a witness mark or anything to go on on the slip yoke.
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