sjwelds
Full Access Member
Better get those line clamps on before you crack an injector line. Just sayin
Big Ugly goes to rehab
- Thread starter Dirtleg
- Start date
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Time for another update.
So the most recent issue with Big Ugly was sticking drum brakes. I ordered a bunch of brake parts and got ready to tear into it again.
Thanks to the people who replied to my brake thread I went ahead and ordered new E-Brake cables as well. Good thing because this was a part of the issue.
First I just have to say fixing these types of brakes is becoming a pain. Not so much for any reason other than the fact that no one turns drums anymore. I talked to 2 local brake shops that don't turn drums. How can you claim to be a brake shop and not turn drums? 2 other shops that were recommended but nope they don't either. The one local shop that could do it wanted $90 to do so. Maybe I'm out of touch but at $55 a piece for new drums that seems absurd. I've decided, once I have time, to get setup on my lathe and do it myself. (No tooling yet)
So upon initial disassembly and inspection I see an issue. Apparently the adjuster pull cable is loose.
Hmmm this spring might be faulty.
New E-Brake cable vs old.
And finally all back together with new springs, E-Brake cables and adjusters.
After adjusting the brakes a test drive confirmed all is good.
Until the next installment. Unfortunately I know it'll be soon. Really soon.
So the most recent issue with Big Ugly was sticking drum brakes. I ordered a bunch of brake parts and got ready to tear into it again.
Thanks to the people who replied to my brake thread I went ahead and ordered new E-Brake cables as well. Good thing because this was a part of the issue.
First I just have to say fixing these types of brakes is becoming a pain. Not so much for any reason other than the fact that no one turns drums anymore. I talked to 2 local brake shops that don't turn drums. How can you claim to be a brake shop and not turn drums? 2 other shops that were recommended but nope they don't either. The one local shop that could do it wanted $90 to do so. Maybe I'm out of touch but at $55 a piece for new drums that seems absurd. I've decided, once I have time, to get setup on my lathe and do it myself. (No tooling yet)
So upon initial disassembly and inspection I see an issue. Apparently the adjuster pull cable is loose.
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Hmmm this spring might be faulty.
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New E-Brake cable vs old.
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And finally all back together with new springs, E-Brake cables and adjusters.
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After adjusting the brakes a test drive confirmed all is good.
Until the next installment. Unfortunately I know it'll be soon. Really soon.
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Oh yeah forgot to mention I finally put my rear shocks in today as well.
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I'm guessing you know, but this is why nobody turns them anymore. The really sad part is half the time the $55 new ones need to be turned right out of the box... Hooray for "quality control".
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Yeah that was my reasoning for not replacing them. Mine are round, and not bad really but since I had it apart.....
yea i am not sure some of the off shore stuff is the same quality and letting them sit on the shelf over time can let them go out of round.
looks like the brakes are going to be much better, i know mine started acting up when the welded post in the center top of the backing plate broke off lol, that sure stretched some springs out!
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Okay just to put some of ya'll minds at ease I did these yesterday. (Thanks for the link Wes)
While they fit alright the spacing on the grommets is a little tight compared to the originals. Better than nothing for sure.
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While they fit alright the spacing on the grommets is a little tight compared to the originals. Better than nothing for sure.
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
For those of you who have been following along with this thread you've seen some progress along the way by now. And also that I've been using this truck a good amount over the past 6 months.
As such the weak links are sure to show themselves and here lately they have not been shy at all.
On the brake repair post I mentioned I knew what the next round of maintenance was. Well I started on it today.
Water pump replacement.
This is what it's looked like the past week or so under my truck.
Upon closer inspection it was clear it was coming from the weep hole on the water pump.
First thing first. Get the fan clutch loose from the water pump. Success. If you look closely you can see the gap between the clutch nut and pump shaft.
Water pump is out.
And here is the culprit.
I picked up a new pump 2 days ago in anticipation of the repair and for whatever reason didn't inspect it at the store. Opened the box today and the pump had a socket allen physically wedged into one of the plugs. Never seen that before. The gasket was missing too. Also noticed the box had a small yellow "defect" sticker on one side of it.
Hmmm. Nope. So I took it back and exchanged it for a good one tonight.
There's more too this than just a waterpump and I'll explain more in the next installment.
As such the weak links are sure to show themselves and here lately they have not been shy at all.
On the brake repair post I mentioned I knew what the next round of maintenance was. Well I started on it today.
Water pump replacement.
This is what it's looked like the past week or so under my truck.
You must be registered for see images attach
Upon closer inspection it was clear it was coming from the weep hole on the water pump.
First thing first. Get the fan clutch loose from the water pump. Success. If you look closely you can see the gap between the clutch nut and pump shaft.
You must be registered for see images attach
Water pump is out.
You must be registered for see images attach
And here is the culprit.
You must be registered for see images attach
I picked up a new pump 2 days ago in anticipation of the repair and for whatever reason didn't inspect it at the store. Opened the box today and the pump had a socket allen physically wedged into one of the plugs. Never seen that before. The gasket was missing too. Also noticed the box had a small yellow "defect" sticker on one side of it.
Hmmm. Nope. So I took it back and exchanged it for a good one tonight.
There's more too this than just a waterpump and I'll explain more in the next installment.
IDIBRONCO
IDIBRONCO
Same Bat time, same Bat channel?
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Well it's taken me a while to get to another update in here.
Water pump went in well except for one thing. It didn't fit. I mean really it did except for one of the bosses in the casting hit the belt tensioner bracket.
And being in a hurry I didn't check fitment before I had the gasket and sealant applied and ready to install.
I should know better by now.
Since I was at home and not my shop the only tool I had available to trim the boss down was a Sawzall. It worked and I managed to get it done before the RTV set up.
New pump installed.
Here is where I had to trim the boss.
While I had it apart and the radiator empty I decided it would be the right time to redo the AC again. Veterans of the Big Ugly saga will remember I did all this back in June of this year. I'll reiterate for those that are new a little. I really, really spent a lot of time flushing out the old condenser and evaporator core until the point where the flush was coming out clear. I was very careful to make sure they were empty and dry before buttoning up the system and pulling a strong vacuum which it held for hours. Cut to the chase it was done right and worked beautifully all summer long until mid August. Then it was low on refrigerant. A very slow leak. So I did the dye leak test and it took about 3 weeks of heavy use before there was any dye visible. It was the brand new compressor seal.
So this time I decided not to flush, just replace both the condenser and evaporator. I also decided to not use another 4 seasons compressor even though technically mine was under warranty and I could get it replaced free.
No this time I bought a Motorcraft compressor.
Here is a collection of parts prior to getting things installed.
One more thing I noticed was that the heater core bypass valve I had put in back in 07' had developed a leak.
Whats one more part??
Water pump went in well except for one thing. It didn't fit. I mean really it did except for one of the bosses in the casting hit the belt tensioner bracket.
And being in a hurry I didn't check fitment before I had the gasket and sealant applied and ready to install.
I should know better by now.Since I was at home and not my shop the only tool I had available to trim the boss down was a Sawzall. It worked and I managed to get it done before the RTV set up.
New pump installed.
You must be registered for see images attach
Here is where I had to trim the boss.
You must be registered for see images attach
While I had it apart and the radiator empty I decided it would be the right time to redo the AC again. Veterans of the Big Ugly saga will remember I did all this back in June of this year. I'll reiterate for those that are new a little. I really, really spent a lot of time flushing out the old condenser and evaporator core until the point where the flush was coming out clear. I was very careful to make sure they were empty and dry before buttoning up the system and pulling a strong vacuum which it held for hours. Cut to the chase it was done right and worked beautifully all summer long until mid August. Then it was low on refrigerant. A very slow leak. So I did the dye leak test and it took about 3 weeks of heavy use before there was any dye visible. It was the brand new compressor seal.
So this time I decided not to flush, just replace both the condenser and evaporator. I also decided to not use another 4 seasons compressor even though technically mine was under warranty and I could get it replaced free.
No this time I bought a Motorcraft compressor.
Here is a collection of parts prior to getting things installed.
You must be registered for see images attach
One more thing I noticed was that the heater core bypass valve I had put in back in 07' had developed a leak.
You must be registered for see images attach
Whats one more part??
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Continued.
Disassembly went fairly well. The old condenser came out and new one went in by leaning the radiator back towards the motor.
After that I got to work on the evaporator. Almost out.
I'm thinking this was original. It had plenty of crap built up on it. No evidence of mice however which is a surprise considering how long it sat on the farm.
While it was out I noticed the side of the airbox that comes off the evaporator housing had a crack in it on one of the ribs where the vacuum hose attaches. Thinking this may not be good for the vacuum system I decided to try and seal the crack. I filled it with super glue.
After that since I saw how dirty the condenser was I decided I needed to check the heater core as well since the system was already empty.
It looked surprisingly good considering how the condenser looked. So I re-installed it.
Yes there is more to come.
Disassembly went fairly well. The old condenser came out and new one went in by leaning the radiator back towards the motor.
You must be registered for see images attach
After that I got to work on the evaporator. Almost out.
You must be registered for see images attach
I'm thinking this was original. It had plenty of crap built up on it. No evidence of mice however which is a surprise considering how long it sat on the farm.
You must be registered for see images attach
While it was out I noticed the side of the airbox that comes off the evaporator housing had a crack in it on one of the ribs where the vacuum hose attaches. Thinking this may not be good for the vacuum system I decided to try and seal the crack. I filled it with super glue.
You must be registered for see images attach
After that since I saw how dirty the condenser was I decided I needed to check the heater core as well since the system was already empty.
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It looked surprisingly good considering how the condenser looked. So I re-installed it.
Yes there is more to come.
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Okay so on to buttoning up the system.
I installed the new evaporator, compressor and A/C lines. I had a new combo line from the dryer to the compressor and compressor to condenser but it was for the later style dryer so after a thorough cleaning and new Schrader valve I reused my original line.
Evaporator going back in.
Got everything else re-installed and pulled a vacuum on the system for an hour or so. This is where it stayed after turning the pump off for 30 minutes.
Everything back together and working well. A/C is very cold. Best it's ever been IMO. I really hope I did a good job and it all stays working for a long time this time.
So seeing as the weather is also turning right now another issue that only happens when it's cold has shown up again. Thought it was corrected but no apparently not. It just hasn't gotten cold enough for it to happen until this past week.
When I first got the truck back last year the brake assist wouldn't start working until the truck had warmed up significantly. I verified the operation of the check valve and replaced the grommet on the booster and that made no change but I had other brake issues and wasn't using the truck at all until around June when I finally got it road worthy/legal again. By this time apparently the warm weather was masking the no assist issue as I haven't had it at all until the temps dropped below 40 again. During the interim I have gone through a repaired the broken vacuum connections on the HVAC system and as was just posted earlier fixed the crack in the vacuum accumulator on the evaporator cover. So I went ahead and threw a vacuum pump on as I really felt like that was the issue. It's definitely improved but not gone yet so a little more investigating on the main vacuum hose and manifold is in order.
New vacuum pump.
So being one who cannot leave well enough alone I decided it was time to pull the rubber floor covering and original XLT gray carpet that was under it. I has this underlying hope that due to the carpet being covered by a base model rubber floor liner and then another rubber liner on top of that, that the original carpet may be okay.
Yeah no. Not even close. Looks okay under the middle of the seat though so at least there was that.
I went ahead and pulled it out as it's trash and also to get a look at the floor underneath. What I found was a little disappointing but not really all that bad. There were definitely some rust spots starting to form and the drivers side tar pad had delaminated from the floor completely.
Here is what I found with the carpet out.
And the drivers side will be in the next post.
I installed the new evaporator, compressor and A/C lines. I had a new combo line from the dryer to the compressor and compressor to condenser but it was for the later style dryer so after a thorough cleaning and new Schrader valve I reused my original line.
Evaporator going back in.
You must be registered for see images attach
Got everything else re-installed and pulled a vacuum on the system for an hour or so. This is where it stayed after turning the pump off for 30 minutes.
You must be registered for see images attach
Everything back together and working well. A/C is very cold. Best it's ever been IMO. I really hope I did a good job and it all stays working for a long time this time.
So seeing as the weather is also turning right now another issue that only happens when it's cold has shown up again. Thought it was corrected but no apparently not. It just hasn't gotten cold enough for it to happen until this past week.
When I first got the truck back last year the brake assist wouldn't start working until the truck had warmed up significantly. I verified the operation of the check valve and replaced the grommet on the booster and that made no change but I had other brake issues and wasn't using the truck at all until around June when I finally got it road worthy/legal again. By this time apparently the warm weather was masking the no assist issue as I haven't had it at all until the temps dropped below 40 again. During the interim I have gone through a repaired the broken vacuum connections on the HVAC system and as was just posted earlier fixed the crack in the vacuum accumulator on the evaporator cover. So I went ahead and threw a vacuum pump on as I really felt like that was the issue. It's definitely improved but not gone yet so a little more investigating on the main vacuum hose and manifold is in order.
New vacuum pump.
You must be registered for see images attach
So being one who cannot leave well enough alone I decided it was time to pull the rubber floor covering and original XLT gray carpet that was under it. I has this underlying hope that due to the carpet being covered by a base model rubber floor liner and then another rubber liner on top of that, that the original carpet may be okay.
Yeah no. Not even close. Looks okay under the middle of the seat though so at least there was that.
You must be registered for see images attach
I went ahead and pulled it out as it's trash and also to get a look at the floor underneath. What I found was a little disappointing but not really all that bad. There were definitely some rust spots starting to form and the drivers side tar pad had delaminated from the floor completely.
Here is what I found with the carpet out.
You must be registered for see images attach
And the drivers side will be in the next post.
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Okay now for the drivers side.
Here is what that looked like after removing the carpet.
Notice how the sill tray is full of dirt/mud? Yeah that's not good so I went about emptying it out to see how that looked.
Not the best picture as it was getting dark and well camera flash.
When I got around to the passenger side it was much worse in the sill tray as this picture will show.
So now I've got to deal with that. I don't believe I'll need to cut anything at this time just get rid of the surface rust and use POR15 on it to seal it for now. Eventually I will want to do the sill plate correctly but until I have a new shop that just isn't possible. Soon I hope.
With the knowledge that I need to fix the rust areas on the floor I got to scraping off the existing tar pad things. My son decided he would help for a while. I did appreciate it very much.
After a couple of hours it looked like this.
More in the next post.
Here is what that looked like after removing the carpet.
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Notice how the sill tray is full of dirt/mud? Yeah that's not good so I went about emptying it out to see how that looked.
Not the best picture as it was getting dark and well camera flash.
You must be registered for see images attach
When I got around to the passenger side it was much worse in the sill tray as this picture will show.
You must be registered for see images attach
So now I've got to deal with that. I don't believe I'll need to cut anything at this time just get rid of the surface rust and use POR15 on it to seal it for now. Eventually I will want to do the sill plate correctly but until I have a new shop that just isn't possible. Soon I hope.
With the knowledge that I need to fix the rust areas on the floor I got to scraping off the existing tar pad things. My son decided he would help for a while. I did appreciate it very much.
You must be registered for see images attach
After a couple of hours it looked like this.
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More in the next post.
Dirtleg
Full Access Member
Now that the floor is stripped of the tar stuff I can get the rust areas cleaned up and ready to reseal and paint. Using a fiber wheel on my cordless drill (Only tool I have available that isn't at my shop 60 miles away) I managed to get a couple of the rust areas looking like this.
Still got a ways to go on that. But I'm going to need to get some things from the shop to do it right.
Question if you've made it this far. Am I better off to strip the whole floor and use POR15 on it or can I leave the good paint in place and just use POR15 over all of it? Never used it before so looking for advice from someone who has.
Also while I was in there I decided to see If I could make these work.
From this other angle it seems pretty doable.
That is a part of this set which also includes the drivers seat. Grabbed them at a pick-n-pull last weekend for a grand total of $39. (Was 50% off toys for tots drive)
Yes I realize with the integrated belts I'm going to have to add some floor reinforcements where the bolts are at but these have 5 bolts each side plus separate bolts for the center belt so at least there are extra attachment points. With the reinforcing of them it should be just fine.
And that gets us caught up to current. Lots more to do in the near future
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Still got a ways to go on that. But I'm going to need to get some things from the shop to do it right.
Question if you've made it this far. Am I better off to strip the whole floor and use POR15 on it or can I leave the good paint in place and just use POR15 over all of it? Never used it before so looking for advice from someone who has.
Also while I was in there I decided to see If I could make these work.
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From this other angle it seems pretty doable.
You must be registered for see images attach
That is a part of this set which also includes the drivers seat. Grabbed them at a pick-n-pull last weekend for a grand total of $39. (Was 50% off toys for tots drive)
You must be registered for see images attach
Yes I realize with the integrated belts I'm going to have to add some floor reinforcements where the bolts are at but these have 5 bolts each side plus separate bolts for the center belt so at least there are extra attachment points. With the reinforcing of them it should be just fine.
And that gets us caught up to current. Lots more to do in the near future
