10thGenScab

In previous episodes of our saga, I've done the following since October of 2016 when I bought the truck with 193,000 miles:

1) Replaced the K&N hot air intake with a factory junkyard find for the 5.4
2) Replaced the IAC and the thermostat
3) Fitted a poor man's exhaust to hold until it can be done right
4) Drained and filled the transmission, new filter
5) Drained and filled the transfer case
6) Drained and filled the rear diff
7) Replaced the rear diff pinion seal
8) Replaced both U-joints on the main drive shaft
9) Replaced all four oxygen sensors
10) Fitted KR wheels with General Grabber AT/X tires
11) New front & rear brake pads
12) New Starter
13) New alternator
14) Replaced upper control arms, lower ball joints and front shocks.

She's been a good truck to me so far and with a solid frame, strong engine and no transmission problems, still worth keeping on the road. We're at 205k miles now and, sadly, the rockers are officially rotted out completely. The cab corners are starting to go and the rear corners of the bed have also been patched once and need it again.

I've been waiting for the warm weather to begin the body work and... it happened. Both rear leaf spring shackles broke. I was going 50mph at the time, too. Luckily, the springs didn't puncture the bed and I was able to come to a controlled stop.

She's sitting in the driveway now awaiting repair. My plan of attack is:

1) Remove the bed and work on that patch work separately
2) Remove both springs and begin rust remediation on the frame and rear axle
3) Once the frame and axle are acceptable, I'll start working on the rockers and cab corners.
4) With the body work completed and the bed ready to replace, I may as well do the fuel pump.
5) Exhaust manifolds and a new
5) Send it for a new paint job. Current clear coat is peeling anyway.

I have a mig setup and some basic bodywork experience, so I'm not concerned about that. The mechanical stuff should be easy enough as well. Luckily, she's running beautifully so I think with some TLC, a little body work and a new coat of paint we have at least another 50 to 75k in her.

Two questions:

• Regarding welding, I've only ever disconnected the battery before. Should I also be diconnecting the ECM?
• For the rocker replacements, do I really have to remove the doors? I'm going to be working outside and the rockers are going to take at least two or three weekends.

Pictures will follow.

10thGenScab

First Update: March 24, 2019

My friends are coming over today to help take the bed off. By this afternoon I’ll start on the suspension repairs and cleaning the frame.

Here’s the current state of affairs:

Apdl

10thGenScab

Here's today's update... I had some buddies help me remove the bed, then I started cleaning and cutting out the old rear spring brackets. I took it easy and only did that and took out the shocks. Seriously... how the hell are you supposed to swap the shocks with the bed on? I now know why I put that off so long. It's amazing how lovely it is to work on the truck standing comfortably. I'm going to miss having the bed off once she's back together.

I broke two cheap T50 bits on the bed bolts. I gave up and ground out the two that were troublesome. Also, I fully compressed the shocks and they never rebounded... guess they're shot!

Some pix of what I'm working with:

10thGenScab

More pix:



You can see here below how the spring tried to poke a hole in the bed, but I got lucky and it's only a dent. I can pound that out and be OK with it.

10thGenScab

white89gt

Don't know if you already thought of this, but right now is a REALLY good time to replace those filler neck/breather hoses, and any EVAP stuff.

Going to be watching this.... cool thread so far.

10thGenScab

Yessir... i started taking an inventory of everything that looks like a pain in the *** to do once the box is back on. I'm going to do as much as the wallet will allow.

10thGenScab

10thGenScab

I may need to add brake lines to the list. They are also crusty. It really is a mess under there, but the frame is solid. The spare-tire X brace may need to be replaced, though. We'll see how it goes.