Beater Truck

[Nizmo]

Weather is warming up and I do believe it`s time to put a little love in the beater. Today`s agenda was doing something with the rust on the bottom of the drivers door and tailgate.

So, after a quick run of the grinder and wire wheel followed by the sandblaster, it was time for a couple coats of rusted metal primer.

Followed by a heavy coat of undercoating.

The tailgate got a couple coats of gloss white farm implement paint. Does it match? No, not 100% but I doubt anybody really is going to notice it. The drivers door has not been painted yet. My can of matching paint went bad so I`m waiting to get down to the paint store.

In other events, I don`t think I`ve ever really cleaned the door hinge area, so what the heck let`s make a go at that!

Before:

Agitated (as was I, heh):

Clean:

And a quick picture of the floor cleaning process. I love the rubber floors! Some reason I didn`t capture an afters.

Slowly going to get working on the exterior. Decided the easiest route is to paint the lower portions a different color and re-clear the truck. Probably going to go with a dark gray.

 

[Accumulator]

Nizmo- Glad to see you`re getting those areas all cleaned up!

It`ll be interesting to see how the tailgate/door bottom fixes age.

 

[Nizmo]

Nizmo- Glad to see you`re getting those areas all cleaned up!

It`ll be interesting to see how the tailgate/door bottom fixes age.

Yea I`m not sure how long it will last either, but I took the preventative approach with the undercoating. Obviously with the drain holes the water is always down there.

In other news my co-worker is letting me use his spare welder for as long as I need it, so I believe it is time to do something about that holey rocker. Was going to go with a whole piece replacement, but I think with some scrap sheet metal I can make something happen!

 

[Coleroad]

Yea I`m not sure how long it will last either, but I took the preventative approach with the undercoating. Obviously with the drain holes the water is always down there.

In other news my co-worker is letting me use his spare welder for as long as I need it, so I believe it is time to do something about that holey rocker. Was going to go with a whole piece replacement, but I think with some scrap sheet metal I can make something happen!

back when I was young and cars weren`t galvanized. I took an approach similar to yours on the doors. What I did on top of that was squirt a fair amount of hydraulic fluid in the bottom of the doors. Four more years in Michigan salt and snow, the rust never showed through any area of the doors again while I had it.

 

[Accumulator]

As long as you catch such stuff soon enough and go about it right...and are lucky...sometimes that seemingly unfixable rust *can* be arrested. I fixed the bottom of a door on the Tahoe...started coming back. Did it again differently, and years later with lots of winter exposure it`s still OK...at least for now. But then I spent many hours on that second fix, and I don`t mean just six or eight.

 

[Nizmo]

Been having some handling issues recently. Going around corners was getting sketchy as all get out! Last known shock replacement was 100K ago so I believe it was time and a set of 4 cheap AC Delco`s on Rock Auto was $75 shipped to my door in 2 days.

The fronts were ok-ish. They actually came off with ease; most people in the rust belt have to cut the top off. Not me, after the initial loosen with the wrench all I needed was my fingers.

The rears were a whole different animal. The inner bushings were seized to the bottom bolt/stud and required some careful cussing and hammering. But, I do think I found the issue!

Yea one was not doing a darn thing! Handles like a new truck now! The front sway-bar links are getting crispy so another visit to Rock Auto will be in order!

 

[Accumulator]

Nizmo- Oh man, you`re starting to scare me That was some seriously compromised suspension stuff, makes me wonder about the rest of [everything down there].

And of course, heh heh...the notion of somebody having to cut off suspension stuff makes me want to go on a rant about maintaining one`s stuff

 

[Nizmo]

The rust belt can be a royal pain when trying to work on things. The salt they use around here is brutal! Corrosion can be so bad it`ll laugh at every penetrant you throw at it. Even my oil filter was starting to rust and it had only been on there since October.

Whenever I work on things I always like to use anti-seize and lots of it!

Luckily for me as far as suspension stuff goes everything has been redone using Moog Problem Solver parts that are greaseable. The only slop in the system is the steering box, and it`s not that bad yet.

 

[Accumulator]

Nizmo- Heh heh, remember..I know from the Rust Belt

How are the Problem Solver bits for yours? The stuff they make for Crown Vics isn`t nearly as good as it used to be.

For the steering box- Red Head Steering Gear. Period. Harvey and Linda are great. Even built me a fast-ratio box for the old Tahoe!

EDIT: Oh, and !YES! on the anti-seize! A tech once cleaned mine *off* the lugs on one vehicle without telling me, and I snapped two of `em right off with my regular breaker bar, frozen solid with rust. "But they`ll come loose!"...nope, I check `em and they never have. Gotta give a little thought to "wet torque values" though.

 

[Nizmo]

How are the Problem Solver bits for yours? The stuff they make for Crown Vics isn`t nearly as good as it used to be.

EDIT: Oh, and !YES! on the anti-seize! A tech once cleaned mine *off* the lugs on one vehicle without telling me, and I snapped two of `em right off with my regular breaker bar, frozen solid with rust. "But they`ll come loose!"...nope, I check `em and they never have. Gotta give a little thought to "wet torque values" though.

Honestly I`m not sure about the Problem Solver stuff. They were installed about a year before I bought the truck. I`ve heard it is a good set-up on the S-series trucks. Pretty sure by the time the truck needs those parts again it`ll be too far gone and no longer pass inspection. Therefore it`ll be junkyard time unfortunately. I had dreams of a V8 and 6MT swap, but the truck is far too gone for that.

You mentioning the lugs made me remember an "oh crap!" moment from today. Got back from the store and noticed the inside on the front passenger rim was soaking wet. I thought the rubber brake line had failed right there in the driveway. Put my finger in the liquid and smelled it. Oh you dolt it`s the Fluid Film you put on the rotor face where the wheel touches the rotor! Doh!

 

[Accumulator]

You mentioning the lugs made me remember an "oh crap!" moment from today... it`s the Fluid Film you put on the rotor face where the wheel touches the rotor! Doh!

Heh heh, not enough to cause issues I hope.

 

[Nizmo]

Passed inspection for another year!

But I may have inadvertently sold it, lol. Service advisor was saying he had one just like it, but sold it. Wish he hadn`t of sold it, so in my infinite wisdom said I`d sell him mine. Gave him a high (for the truck) price and said that`s a really good price for those trucks and got my number. Seemed really interested in it, and while I don`t really need to part with it I`m a man of my word...

 

[briarpatch]

Yea I`m not sure how long it will last either, but I took the preventative approach with the undercoating. Obviously with the drain holes the water is always down there.

In other news my co-worker is letting me use his spare welder for as long as I need it, so I believe it is time to do something about that holey rocker. Was going to go with a whole piece replacement, but I think with some scrap sheet metal I can make something happen!

What did u end up doing with the rocker?

 

[Accumulator]

Passed inspection for another year!

But I may have inadvertently sold it, lol. Service advisor was saying he had one just like it, but sold it. Wish he hadn`t of sold it, so in my infinite wisdom said I`d sell him mine. Gave him a high (for the truck) price and.. I`m a man of my word...

Glad you got through the inspection.

Heh heh, that inadvertent sale is kinda what happened with me on my beater-Blazer. Said something like that to my good painter`s son (body guy, figured he`d be as scared of rust/etc. issues as I was) and he just had to have it. And of course, the rust *didn`t* come back after all...

 

[Nizmo]

What did u end up doing with the rocker?

Still rusty, lol.

I haven`t had time to do anything with it honestly. Just started a job that I don`t have to be on the road so that`ll free up my time.

Glad you got through the inspection.

Heh heh, that inadvertent sale is kinda what happened with me on my beater-Blazer. Said something like that to my good painter`s son (body guy, figured he`d be as scared of rust/etc. issues as I was) and he just had to have it. And of course, the rust *didn`t* come back after all...

I was surprised, yet not surprised. I had the front tires off a couple weeks ago to change the shocks and the brakes looked good. There`s only one brake line that looks sketchy, but I guess they thought it was ok. Guess it helps to know the techs there though. I know on my GTI`s inspection the guy put a little smiley face beside his signature on the sticker, lol.

I`d really hate to sell the truck, but with having the drive almost 60 miles per day now I think I`ll need the 4wd. I`ll makes a little bit of profit from the truck to put down on a newer model. That is if the guy decides he wants it. He wants to do a V8 swap as I did, but I just don`t have the time. It makes it a little better knowing it will go to a home with similar thoughts.

 

[bennylava]

Do a full professional detail on the exterior! And post the pics.

 

[Nizmo]

Update: Needs an engine...


Edit: Guess I need to splain`. Apparently daily driving this thing up the mountain was not good for it. Upon further investigation it looks like coolant was boiling over and not reading it on the temp gauge. The engine has always had a low knocking noise when cold, I figured it was just spark knock. No, after draining the oil this weekend and seeing tons of copper in the pan it dawned on me the rod bearings are going. Deciding what I want to do at this point, and made sure my roadside is paid up. Really hate to put miles on the GTI, so I will still drive it 3 or so days a week till it gets worse. Put thicker oil in it and cross my fingers.

 

[Accumulator]

Aw gee, sorry to hear about that

 

[SWETM]

Sorry to hear about the engine.

Could it be that your thermostat is jamed at the closed position? Do you get the right heat into the truck? If you don`t get the heat in when setting the cold/hot to hot. It`s the thermostat and could cause overheated coolant. If so it could be revived by boiling it in a saucepan (google translate lol) and see if it`s opens again. Otherwise it`s not much $ for a new one.

Then maybe change the motor oil and the oil filter more regualar than useally. So you have as good as possible lubrication and cooling from the oil. Maybe you can extend the time till it leaves in.

You seem to have put in alot of time to hold the truck up. So hope you find a way to extend it`s life some more.

/Tony

 

[Nizmo]

I believe the thermostat is fine, these motors are notorious for head gasket issues. The main deal is taking the truck up and over the mountain; it`s screaming (no tach so I don`t know exact RPM) in 3rd gear as it`s the only gear that will climb. Typically 45 doesn`t sound bad, but sometimes I am over zealous and go 55. I have some 0w40 Rotella T6 oil in there now, so it will flow nice and easy when cold and thicker when warmed up. I`ll drive it till she goes!

Crazy guy I work with (lead fabricator from the show Road Hauks on History Channel, look it up if you wish) is a hardcore VW guy and wants me to put a 1.9 TDI in there. He`s doing a truck like mine here soon, so we`ll see. Adapter kits are $1K and a donor car is $500, plus tuning. We`ll see how the first one goes. I might patch and limp it along another year and trade up to a 4wd truck.