Well its time to get going again on this thing....
The list of little things has been a long tedious one, not the fun make a huge difference in how the truck looks kinda stuff....
-I changed the oil. 3 gallons is just enough to get it to the middle of the 'safe' zone on the dipstick! Heck, I think the filter held more oil than the girlfriends Jetta!
-I found and fixed a really annoying noise coming for the front end. It took a while to find but it ended up being a brake pad slightly, though not all the time, rubbing on the squealers.
-I also removed those stupid chrome hob cover things from the front wheels. I hate those things. You can't feel the bearing hub to see if its warm, cold, or too hot. That is a VERY good indicator for wheel bearing condition. I still need to rip the rear ones out.
-I replaced the last leaking seal under the truck that I could find. It shouldn't leak anything anymore. For my friends that are reading...yet I think I own a vehicle that doesn't leak! It was the rear output seal on the transfer case.
-I finally un-bolted the goose neck hitch in the bed. I won't be needing it so all that nice 1/2" thick steel is going to make the main frame brackets/clevis mounts/recovery points for my front and rear bumpers that are coming.
-I cut a patch panel out of the inside of the old tailgate to fill the hole left under the goose neck hitch in the bed. I think I can get it welded up good enough that I can spray some bedliner over it.
-I also made a nice little adapter sleeve for a new air cleaner project I have coming up....
And last but not least I started laying out and modifying the new front passenger side fender. I am lengthening the fenders so that I can run around a 37" tire with chains if needed without adding any more suspension lift to the truck. I hope it will also really set the truck off from stock. Its going to be a lot of work but I think it will be really cool when its done.
This is the outside of the fender. I am lengthening the fender a total of 6 inches, 3" front and back. I will be adding two new sections of fender lip so that I can keep at least one of the inner fender bolts in the stock location. I hope this will help me rebuild the inner fenders easier.
This are area in the middle is where the one top bolt is for the inner fender.
This is a little better detail of the front fender section, this is the easy one.
The bottom of the front corner of the fender is also getting bobbed down for a little more clearance. The new front bumper will also wrap around and provide protection in this area. The new bumper will be shorter top to bottom than this section....that's why its getting cut. More clearance overall.
The backside of the fender gets a little more interesting. There are two stiffening brackets that need to be modified or repositioned. Not a big deal, but a little more work. In the end it should all look very close to stock.
Here is a rough 'chop of what the new sectioned front fender will look like. Its not going to be a huge difference, but it should allow some 37s to fill the wheel wells nicely without having to have any more lift on the truck, maybe even a little less than it has now. I think the front could stand to loose an inch from where it sits now to level the truck out, especially with anything in the bed or on the trailer.
I am hoping to do both front outer and inner fenders in the next week or two. I am waiting on some new hand shear/nibbler things to make some of the cuts a lot easier and efficient. I have to do a lot of sections on the truck! There are about 8 planed right now. The one on the front of the drivers side rear with the gas door should be really fun! That is going to have to have a dog leg in the section!
I try and do a little every day.
