RustFlames Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Hey this is basically my first post to show you some of the love Ive putting into that indestructible vehicle, for your viewing pleasure : ) Ever hear the saying dont fix what isn't broken? Well I took it upon myself to do some upgrades. I was driving this to work where the guys gave me the nickname Bald Tires. My ricer friend told me I'm in desperate need of an alignment. Theres at least another kilometer on my fronts for sure So I actually don't live here in Calgary anymore but the "garages" in these townhouse are so slim only passengers on one side can get out. Not enough room to do anything in there, however in the rain I would have it wedged half inside just to keep dry Yeah I took one look in there and figured I needed it to start ripping things apart and putting in less rusty components! Im was totally winging it here and I was in the dark as to how to remove the lower ball joint, eventually I took a zip disc to it not really knowing how the new one was going in... Yeah you gotta be smarter than the hub, while we are in there, might as well replace the inner and outter bearings.. The stock rotors had a lip that is probally pretty normal for a vehicle with 320 k Replaced the rusted/dented bumper for an equally dented shiny bumper! Paint her blue and call her new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustFlames Posted November 4, 2012 Author Share Posted November 4, 2012 Now thats better, time for a beer Whats the point of shining up your rims when theres a god awful brown drum peeking out from behind Grinded down and painted, at first I thought it look very homosexual. When the tire was mounted it looked much better Anything to hide the rust haha Put in a new distributor cap as well The hid lights are amazing, I will never go back, converted basically every else inside and out to LED Did some dynomatting to keep the road noise out Afterwards I put on some new rubber and took it in for an alignment. They told me my steering box is quite worn,there is an inch of play in the steering wheel. At least that death wobble is non existent now, Well thats all for now when I get home I will upload my clutch repair pics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pav Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Nice to see you showing it some love Did you re-grease the Automatic Locking Hubs as well? Would love to see pics of that process if you have any. I got my tires on Kijiji...if you're patient you can come across some amazing deals. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikerJared Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Looking good. Keep it up. You should make an awesome burnout video of your tires before you swap them. ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 That's a fair amount of work, but it looks like it needed it equally bad. The only thing I'll scold you on are those tires. That is beyond bald and into dangerous. Bad Dog!! B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 ^ Just one kilometer on those tires is pushing it! Good work though! I'm always envious of these threads that show so much getting done and not the pain of working on a old truck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Nice work. If your steering box is shot, chances are your strut rods need attention as well. They're something to get around to sooner rather than later. But yeah, those doughnuts had to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) Nice work. If your steering box is shot, chances are your strut rods need attention as well. They're something to get around to sooner rather than later. X2 On the strut/tension rods. In my experience they look worse on the inside than the outside. On the steering, did you replace the centerlink and tie-rod ends too? Since if those are still original, it might explain the play in your steering wheel. The stock steering on these trucks isn't very robust, but you don't often hear of the box wearing out first. I know my steering was sloopy up until I replaced the tie rod ends, adjusters, upgraded my centerlink & replaced the other front end components you just did. Now it's tight enough that my friend with a worn out toyota thinks my truck responds to quickly lol. Edited November 4, 2012 by Harbinger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Nice work, The only thing I'd scold you on are what looks like those Bosch plugs you used, should just stick to cheap old NGK's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 According to the FSM 1 inch of play is within the acceptable range. Bosch plugs are ok, used them in mine before and they were find. I agree with the others about the tension rod bushings, change them and it will tighten things up a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 those look like those gimmick plus 4 plugs, if they work for you than fine, I always prefer NGK, that's what they came with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustFlames Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 Yeah Pav. The grease in the hubs was very gritty and black, I essentially dug it all completly out and hand packed it with fresh grease, along with the new bearings. No much of a process. Just removing all the old stuff out and slop the new stuff in. Unfortunatly BikerJared, I turfed the old tires as soon as I had the new ones mounted. Yep Precise1 I knew I was tempting fate travelling 500k to work and back on slicks, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do though. Slartibarfast and Harbinger. Yeah I will be replacing all the bushing soon as possible, thanks for reminder same with centerlink I replaced the inner and outter tie-rods as well just forgot to take pics. Those reverse threads inner tie rods werent cheap, 90 bucks a piece at napa. Yeah I got scolded by my buddys for putting in the bosch's quad platinum plugs, but I havent had any problems so far with them. I will probally be beefing up the pitman arm and centerlink this winter. I just found out the old lady just smashed into the back of a semi with it, (She's fine) suprisingly the airbags never went off. Which was a good thing because she is 8 months pregnant! Looks like I will have a bunch of front end bodywork to deal with when I get home! Everyone tell me that its not worth fixing this vehicle.(My pops even told me he would be disappointed in me If I attempted repairs lol) but they don't understand the joy and sense of acomplishment I feel from improving it. Im afraid Im going to have to let them all down. Well not you diehards of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Slartibarfast and Harbinger. Yeah I will be replacing all the bushing soon as possible, thanks for reminder same with centerlink I replaced the inner and outter tie-rods as well just forgot to take pics. Those reverse threads inner tie rods werent cheap, 90 bucks a piece at napa. I will probally be beefing up the pitman arm and centerlink this winter. Everyone tell me that its not worth fixing this vehicle.(My pops even told me he would be disappointed in me If I attempted repairs lol) but they don't understand the joy and sense of acomplishment I feel from improving it. Im afraid Im going to have to let them all down. Well not you diehards of course Ouch on the tie rod ends! Have you heard of rockauto.com? They offer discounts to NPORA members so it might save you a buck in the future. There is also a forum member here that works at a Nissan parts dealer, you can find his info in the services(?) sectiion. I bet new tension rod bushings (have a welder on hand when you do those, just incase the bearing cups need repaired), new idler (Plus a brace if you want to beef it up) and a centerlink would tighten everything right up. The stock CL's on these trucks use ball joints on the ends, as I'm sure you've seen. They don't last near as long as they should, and that's why a lot of people update if they plan to (gently) abuse their rigs. I'm currently catching a lot of flak for spending repair money on my rig too. At the end of the day though I own it outright and I'd rather fix it than scrap it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Nice to see some love shown! If you love it it will love you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I just found out the old lady just smashed into the back of a semi with it, (She's fine) suprisingly the airbags never went off. Which was a good thing because she is 8 months pregnant! Looks like I will have a bunch of front end bodywork to deal with when I get home! Everyone tell me that its not worth fixing this vehicle.(My pops even told me he would be disappointed in me If I attempted repairs lol) but they don't understand the joy and sense of acomplishment I feel from improving it. Im afraid Im going to have to let them all down. Well not you diehards of course WDs never came with airbags that I know of. Good to hear your wife/gf is okay though! These things are built like tanks. And yeah, my dad always gives me crap about putting in more than it's worth. Resale value only matters if you're building it to sell! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdubs12 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 how much grease should you be putting in those bearing hubs? im starting to think i didnt get enough in there with my light smear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Only a light coating is desired. That is all they need, can they can bind or stick if they are slathered. You did fine. Test them out then move on to the next item... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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