Got bored today because I'm waiting on parts for my 93. It was 53 degrees outside and I felt like working. So 8 rusty bolts (3 of which I broke) and and hour later I had the bed off my truck. Did it without help too. Hooked a tow strap to the tailgate end of the bed and used my engine hoist to lift it up then lifted the cab side by myself and just wheeled it outside like it was nothing. So now I'm completely stripping the back half of the frame. I'll be grinding off all the rivets and removing all of the brackets and braces then it's time for lots of grinding with the wire wheel. I've already checked the frame very closely. Even went around smacking it with a hammer knocking rust scale off. Didn't find any holes or thin spots, just alot of rust scale and dirt. One of my tailpipes rusted off the end of the flowmaster, the hangers are junk. All in all it'll take some time and work but by the time I'm done it should look good. I expected alot worse considering this truck has spent 24 Winters in these salty Michigan roads.
on a side note, I need to find a couple rust repair pieces and have had no luck here's what I'm looking for
1. Both front inner fenders
2. Both rear wheel tubs
3. Driver and passenger floor pans
Also does anyone know where to find replacement frame pieces, mainly looking for the rear leaf spring shackle mounts. Any input will helo

 

 

yup there are leaf spring companies that make the spring shackles and hangers, hafta ask my cousin which place he got his from...... they had the leaf hanger brackets for full size Dodge for many years, along with Dakotas, and other brands of trucks too.... prices were reasonable too.

 

Yeah just pm me the info or post it when you find out. I was looking around and found some at a company called ats I think. They're beefier than stock but cost alot

 

Always fun to take apart! I POR'd and enameled mine. Good Luck!!

 

yup I need to do that to my 96.... but gotta get the motor back in the wife's Durango 1st so that she don't have to drive my truck

 

Update on the frame work. Pulled off the hitch, had to cut the bolts, too rusted, started cutting the rivets out of the brace for the shocks and rear brace. Went through a cutting wheel per every two rivets. The local true value had there price tags marked wrong. Metal cutting wheels were really masonry cutting wheels. So drove the 10 miles to Ace hardware and picked up some wheels for steel. Got the rivets cut and punched out of the frame. Removed the brake hose off the frame to the diff. Then I ran into a serious problem. Started to remove the leaf spring hangar bolts. They were completely rusted to the metal sleeves inside the bushings. Used a 20lb long handled sledge and a punch to drive them out. One wouldn't move, had to use the grinder to cut through the bolt on both sides of the shackle. So the differential is loose. Did find out that my rear axle is a 3.90 and a limited slip. So that's awesome. The frame rails got pretty wobbly so I reinstalled my hitch to sturdy them up. Tomorrow I'll be cutting off the shackle hangars, and front two rails that the fuel tank straps bolt to. Got the exhaust pulled off too. Gotta weld up some holes. Made a giant mess. Found out my buddy has a sandblaster coming that he ordered do from Eastwood. So I'm going to sand the rear section of frame with my grinder, metal prep it, then it's time for por-15. The front half of the frame will get sandblasted when his sandblaster gets here then painted. Here's some pics after today's work

 

[QUOTE=Azboyinmi;3384780The frame rails got pretty wobbly so I reinstalled my hitch to sturdy them up.
[/QUOTE]


I set a steel beam across, under the frame, right at the back of the cab. Then I removed all the cross pieces, hangers, etc.
And the spring shackles are available through dorman. If you need the part number, I can find it for you.
I cleaned everything, including hangers by electrolsys. (thanks Tbugden!!!)

Here is a picture setting on the steel beam.

 

It looks great. I had a bit of an epiphany when I woke up this morning. I have a complete parts truck that's exactly the same as mine. I think I'm just gonna fix this frame quick and cheap instead of going all out and I'll restore the other frame the right way plus box the frame etc. Got a job lined up so I'm gonna need my truck in the road a littkl sooner than planned

 

Frame is finally stripped of all brackets and braces. Found a couple rust holes that were under the leafspring hangars and another thin spots in the frame where the hitch was mounted. The spot on the frame where the hitch goes I'm just going to weld a plate in that spot .to give it extra strength. As for the other holes by the front hangars they're in a spot on the frame that is dimpled/curved in so I'm gonna have to figure out exactly how I wanna fix it. Either cut out the contoured area and weld in a flat piece or heat and bend a piece into shape to fill it. Idk yet. Here's pics of the holes