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.
I'm planning on making my gap guards from thick roofing rubber. Not as thick as the stock material, but more flexible and less brittle. If they seem to work okay, I don't see a reason I couldn't make more for others here.
Got the rear bumper set in place on my fancy bucket and boards rig.
It actually went back on pretty easy. I just aligned the lowest original bolt hole with the highest original bolt hole, which was almost perfect 2" lift. Then I drilled out a new hole through the bumper bracket that aligned with the third bolt on the hitch. Easy hole making truck: take 6010 or 6011 rod, soak in water, crank welder to max, use wet hot rod as a Lance and you can quickly poke holes in the bracket (or frame so be careful!) I started the hole that way and finished it with a 1/2" drill bit. Went very fast.
Front bumper I also just switched the lowest and highest bolt holes. So only two bolts holding the front, plus it sticks out about 2" too far. Good enough for now, but I want a winch mount up front so the whole thing needs redone.
Now I'm fitting up the exhaust. Sticks out a bit far with the tips on lol . Tomorrow I'll be borrowing the fan clutch tool from the parts store and getting those e-fans on. Then this thing should be ready to pull my boat!
Got the exhaust buttoned up, it sounds pretty mean.
Got the stock fan off. That was fun, the rental tools were no help, you need a pin spanner to hold back on the pulley. I made one from some 1/4" rod ground down welded onto a piece of 2" flat bar. Then it came right off.. and I get to keep it for the next truck! Started the electric fans. They came with small round zip ties that pierce the fins on the rad. It seems like it'll hold for a bit, guess we'll see. Wiring started, I'll finish up tomorrow. Got fishing to do on Thursday, better get it working!
There's a video of my truck idling. Not sure how it'll sound on speakers, but it's pretty throaty in person. Not bad for a knockoff $150 flowmaster style exhaust off Amazon.
Got the front end spiffed up with new parts. Not entirely sure how I feel about the clear corners, but they're on there for now. Bought one set on eBay for $24 and they sent me two sets. So now I can be indecisive about two trucks!
Also took it for a test drive towing the boat. Other than the rear drum missing a shoe and squeaking, it did a great job. I live on a really steep hill and it did not care about it, just kept on truckin'
Also got my efans hooked up. Seem to work okay but it does run hotter than the mech fan, even with the thermostat bypassed and the fans running full tilt. Maybe I can put a voltage step up on them and overvolt the fans to get more rpm from them.
Either way, I'm really happy with how the truck is turning out.
Put the thermostat back in, and see where your temps are at. That may solve the whole problem.
If that ain't enough, add a pusher fan. Don't over-volt the current ones, it'll just burn them up faster.
Sorry, I wasn't clear there. Stock thermostat in the block is still there, I added a bypass for the electric sensor thermostat in the upper rad hose fitting. There's a relay harness that controls the fans, I just wired in a manual override and have just been leaving it on.
Not sure if there's room for a pusher fan, it'd be tight. I should probably add a trans cooler now that I'm thinking about it.
Gotta love when you let your Dad borrow your truck, because you're replacing the wheel bearings (for free ofc, I even paid for them) on his truck and he goes and backs your truck into a concrete post...
Guess the good news is that it's really just a tail light. When he first told me I was worried he hit the tailgate since there's no bumper on the truck. As long as the gate opens, it can have dents, it's a beater truck. Still a nice surprise though
06-01-2020, 10:42 PM
