When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Yesterday was about 4 hours of cleaning, grinding and painting surfaces, including the upper fuel strap. New hardware, etc. Strangely, the new rear bumper bolts are different threading from the oem.
This was just a test fit, bolted up. Will get back at the cleaning and grinding again today. Hopefully get it welded tonight and back on the road tomorrow.
Well, Aaron came over and welded it up with his MIG welder.
Some primer and paint we are ready to put it back together. If you are going to do this job, it really makes sense to empty the fuel tank. I left about 8 gallons in the tank, I had no where to put it. Its not the weight so much as it is a fluid that moves around when you are re-installing the tank. Its not that hard of job, could be done in a day if you wanted to. I cleaned, primed, painted everything that came off, took probably 8-9 hours in total. cutting rusty bolts was the biggest time suck. For $500, seems like a no-brainer to save a good truck.
Also, get a good sanding, flap wheel to remove rust. Saves a ton of time over a cutting or grinding wheel. Before After
I don't know anything about welding, but I have to ask... how confident are you in the quality of the job given the somewhat compromised areas you were welding on to?
I think if you were planning on doing any towing then this concern becomes far more critical. For this truck we had a decent foundation for about 75% of the flaps on each leg of the frame. Stopping the rust from continuing to gnaw its way forward, and providing better collision integrity were the main goals here. The mount point for the watts linkage is also something to play close attention to. If this area is compromised then you really need a half frame, or some creative rebuilding to what's left of yours.
I think that is right. I cant believe what I had under the the body for years is any stronger than what i have now. The rest of the frame has some surface rust, but I have been treating it pretty regularly for the last several years. The issue with the rear quarter frame is that it is a folded box section with lots of seams for water to invade and no easy drain point. I did not keep them, but if you look at a cross section cut of the frame it is pretty obvious why it rusts apart, it is a really poor design.
