Above 1200 Sq/FT The Warthog Hidey Hole

[jbmatth]

I rebuilt the front suspension on my '05 2500HD Dmax - I think I used every tool in my shop.

That was a long and dirty project!

I agree, I have used what seems like half of the tools I own, wrenches, sockets, breaker bars, torque wrench, pry bars, punches, jacks, jack stands, impact gun, grinders, vises, wire brushes, clamps, drills, 18" (46 cm) crescent wrench, welder, little hammers, big hammers, big big hammers, and a recip. saw just to name a few. I've also had to buy a rear axle nut remover and a giant socket that I didn't end up using as it wouldn't fit the area I planned to use it. Then I rented a ball joint remover/installer which really helped with the ball joints (duh), and installing the control arm bushings. When I leave for work I pretty much have to take shower so I don't look and smell like I've been working all night. By the way welcome to my thread and thanks for commenting, I really like your old and new garages they are very clean and well laid out!

the wood on the Berline wall is gonna look sweet. with the tin on the doors below it will have a real rugged look to it. breaking all the panels down must of been fun. over here everyone is into pallets for projects but I don't think people relise how much work it is to break them into usable pieces.

and the plague wagon... very nice. that is a big old beast and it looks like your getting stuck right in. you can never have too many projects!

keep it up fella!

Slammed, I fixed a little typo for you. I'm excited to see how the T.B.W. turns out, I have a few things up my sleeve for finishing it so you'll have to stick around for a while to see how that goes. Sadly it'll have to wait until The Black Plague is back on the road. The fence panels were pretty easy for the most part just time consuming, I have a few pallets I've tried to disassemble without much luck, I tend to break more boards than I get that are usable.

Yes I meant BPS, guess I'm not very good at letters only... like you

Bugthug, No worries, I have to look up most of my acronyms prior to using them unless they are simple. I'm starting to get excited to take a look at your old car when I get things done, it'll be a fun addition to the the scenery while I try to get it back on the road.

JB

 

[jbmatth]

Time for a progress report. I'm glad it isn't a grade card as I'm sure I wouldn't be passing if it were. It seems like this is taking way longer than it should. As I mentioned yesterday the front end is pretty much complete short of an alignment and replacing the drivers side hub assemble with one for 4x4. (Still can't believe I messed that one up.)

Here is the front all back together:

Now time for the rear, I have the shocks off and the springs out:

This is what made me want to do the add-a-leaf which has spiraled out of control:

Blown axle seal, there is still plenty of oil in the differential, but I've got to get this fixed before I'd feel comfortable driving it.

Another couple of views of it:

Now I'll have to clean all of this up before it goes back on and while I'm at it I'll go ahead and change the gear oil, replace the shocks, and install Energy Suspension bushings on the leaf springs as one of them was sticking pretty bad and would have gotten on my nerves.

Something to note, the front bolt of the leaf spring on the drivers side hits the fuel tank when you try to remove it. I ended up cutting part of the end of the bolt off as it wasn't threaded. Then went to the back and the bolt that holds the shackle to the spring perch hit the trailer hitch mount. I started to remove that only to think it would be easier to remove the spare tire, well that didn't go as planned. The spare tire on these trucks are known for being hard to remove as the mount that holds them rusts and then won't release the tire. (Just what you need to worry about when you are on the side of the road and need to change a flat.) I'll do a little write up on how I fix this problem when I get to it in the next day or so. I also plan to show how I replace the axle seal as it is different than any others I've encountered before. Keep moving forward,
JB

P.S. Hopefully the pictures are better than they were, but I've noticed they are much clearer on my computer before I attach them here as they seem to show up grainy. Let me know what you think as I really don't have a good way to post them other than attaching them like I've been doing. I can't use photobucket etc.

 

[BUGTHUG]

Pictures look fine.

 

[jbmatth]

Thank you Bugthug, I didn't know if they were any better than the old Iphone pictures or not.

Moose, Thanks for stopping by, hopefully you decide to stick around for a while and keep an eye on things. Your name reminds me of a game we used to play in college with a cup, an ice cube tray, and a quarter. If you bounced the quarter into the cup everyone would have to put their hands up to their head to look like moose antlers, the slowest person had to drink the cup of tea.

I spent about 2.5 hours this morning installing the leaf springs and U bolts, and removing the spare tire. It seemed to fight me the entire time. The design of the spare tire holder on all GM truck from 1999-2007 was lacking, but the 2006 I have was much worse than this one on the 2001. So the tricks I used for the 2006 didn't work. You have to contort your body to remove the bolt that holds the spare tire lifting mechanism to the frame, once the bot comes out the tire falls on you, oh JOY! I filled the lifting mechanism with cleaner, dried it out, then sprayed A LOT of lube in it so hopefully next time it comes down easy. I do the same thing on my 2006 at every oil change as I don't want to be on the side of the road with a flat and a spare that won't come down. That is also a good time to check the pressure in the spare. No pictures as I was covered in dirt and grease from head to toe. If you would like me to I can add pictures to this post later.

I should have the truck back on all 4 wheels today after work and change out the axle seals. Then I'll get to decide on when to do the injection pump which should be about an 8 hour job that will need to be done start to finish to keep from having anything left open longer than needed, and so I remember where everything goes.
JB

 

[BUGTHUG]

I'm sure no one will bother you at 4a.m.??

 

[jbmatth]

Evidently my body hasn't come to terms with the time change as I've been waking up at 3am by the new time settings. Makes for short nights, but I'm getting a good amount of shop time this week before work.
JB

 

[slammedkustom]

I use to got to work super early as I got much more done before customers etc turn up, guess you get the same feeling. was funny when people moaned about coming in at 9 and id been there since 5!
hope the pump job goes ok. I did a timing belt on my golf at the weekend, should take 3hrs, it took 8 as four hidden allen heads were rounded off and then I ended working in the dark! 3 hours to get those 4 bolts out....grrrr

btw why does your berlin wall have an e at the end?

 

[jbmatth]

I'd rather get to work and get going early as well, I can get a lot more accomplished when I know I won't be interrupted for any reason. I also hope it goes ok, but it seems like anything I do even if I've done it 10 times before takes 3 times as long as it should.

The Berline Wall was introduced here I also explained the reasoning and other useful information about the wall and projects at that time here on page 8.
JB

 

[slammedkustom]

aha now I remember! thank's for the memory jog... sometimes I cant remember what I had for breakfast let alone keep up with all the threads!
im getting old and I think the brains gone squishy!

 

[jbmatth]

Wellllllll that didn't go as planned. I wanted to get the axle seals changed over and the dif. oil switched out last night, then install the new 4wd hub assembly rather than that darn 2wd hub. I still don't know why I did that.

This pretty much sums up my night/morning:

Gunk everywhere! I am now going to be replacing the E-brake cable, E-brake shoes, regular brake pads even though they have lots of thickness left, and other odds and ends in there.

As you can guess I have lots of cleaning to do as well, but so far everything is going pretty smooth. That is until I tired to remove the E-brake cable, it is shot, I'll just leave it at that as I spent probably an hour trying to remove it in one usable piece. Once again this is what greeted me around every turn:

I was ready to install the seals when I looked a little closer at the one that was leaking, I pulled off more parts than I did on the other side. Turns out when this was replaced in the past someone didn't remove all of the old seal, that is why it was leaking. :facepalm To top that off the seals I picked up at the parts store are no where near going to fit so I have to deal with that as well sometime today. I sometimes wonder why I start things like this and if it is just me that it tends to snowball on. Oh well I'll keep moving forward and hopefully get it knocked out this weekend.
JB

 

[BUGTHUG]

Those brake shoes almost like they have been submerged under water for awhile? Have any other parts that had a lot of rust on them? What part of the country did the truck come from?
It wasn't too many years ago and a lot of drowned vehicles came from the south after being in all the hurricane storms, hope this truck doesn't have a secrete past?

 

[jbmatth]

That isn't rust on any of it, just a little surface rust, less than on the frame that can be seen in the first picture above. It is all caked on gear oil from the dif. mixed with dirt, sand, and road grime. As for the history there isn't any that I'm aware of after a few searches. It was sold in Kansas actually, and I picked it up from a guy in the Tulsa area. I luckily was able to find the right axle seals at a small parts store here in town just now on my late lunch break as well as the brake pads and E brake shoes so all of that will be going together tomorrow and I'll do a write up on the ordeal with more pictures.
JB

 

[1/2 Cup]

JB, sometimes I have days like yours where you just can't take a trick and every thing you do uncovers more things to do.
At least when you are finished you should be able to drive the truck knowing it is in good order.

Hang in there.

 

[jbmatth]

I have had a good few days working on the Black Plaque and now have it back on the road for a few days. Lots more parts than I expected but there is nothing left to replace in suspension or running gear, it is all done once the new tires go on tomorrow and they realign the front. Here is a write up on what had to happen to change the axle seals.

After I dissembled everything it was now time to clean in reinstall the nasty parts. I really should have taken the time to clean more and paint parts but it just wasn't in the cards at this time. Here is the clean backing plate ready for the E brake shoes:

New E brake shoes installed, and yes they are not centered here but that was fixed prior to installing the rotor:

In order to easily remove the old seal:

You need a tool like this:

Technically this is a transmission seal removal tool, but it worked great here.

Install the new seal with gentle taps from a hammer onto a block of wood to keep everything square and dent free:

I didn't take a picture of the cleaned hub but you can use your imagination what it would look like. (Truth be told I don't know if I cleaned it now or not so I'll use my imagination as well.)

More to come...
JB

 

[jbmatth]

On disassembly I ran into this interesting nut:

Okay okay so I knew I was going to have to deal with it but that would reduce the amount of drama in this short series wouldn't it.

In order to remove the nut you need this tool:

Then because it does fit I had to spend about half an hour filing the corners of the nubins and relieving the edges in order to get it onto the nut. When installing you have to tighten it down to 50 lb ft (67.8 NM) that sets the bearings, then back it off to where the notches line up and you can insert the square key. (It should be an easy slip fit.) After the key is installed there is a retaining ring that is also really pretty easy to install. Now you are ready to install the axle and axle flange nuts:

Torqued to R.D.T. (Really Darn Tight) (Okay not all that tight but I think it was around 140 lb ft (190 NM).)

Not is is just a matter if dumping 4 quarts of gear oil into the differential, then going to the store to buy 2 more because 4 wasn't enough, use 1/2 of one of them, and done. But before you drive anything you've done so much work on it is time to go over every bolt you've touched and make sure they are torqued. Or if I were just a little better at this I would have bought a paint pen and painted every fastener as I torqued them. Install the tires and pull it out in the sun:

It is now ready to test drive and realize how bad your alignment really is. That concludes this portion of the Black Plague, next up will be working on the T.B.W. (The Berline Wall), followed closely by Diesel Injection Pump Mayhem and Debacle.

JB

 

[Vieux]

It is well known I work on replacing the brakes. You're lucky that you haven't seen how much you have to make an effort and complexities to change the brakes on the car VAZ . After the car VAZ replacing the brakes on your truck will seem child's play

 

[jbmatth]

Vieux, If you have any photos of how complex they are I'd love to see them. The brakes on this truck weren't that bad in reality. The worst part is the sliding pins for the calipers use a T55 torx (star) bit that doesn't fix very tight and has a tendency to strip out. You have to be VERY careful when removing them or they will never come out.
JB

 

[Vieux]

Vieux, If you have any photos of how complex they are I'd love to see them. The brakes on this truck weren't that bad in reality. The worst part is the sliding pins for the calipers use a T55 torx (star) bit that doesn't fix very tight and has a tendency to strip out. You have to be VERY careful when removing them or they will never come out.
JB

Photos probably not. But when the next time will have to do this kind of work I will do some photos. Car VAZ disc brakes are installed only in front, old rear drum brakes. Brake drum is usually a strong liking to what is called "tightly". It is impossible to remove the puller, hammer blows, etc. I know a easy and reliable way how to remove the brake drum and no damage it. You need to remove the wheel, hang the car on the Jack, start the engine, turn on high gear to spin the wheel and abruptly apply the brakes. Brake drum explodes, and it is easy to remove. Sometimes this procedure must be repeated several times.

 

[jbmatth]

That sounds like it would be worth seeing a video of. I've had trouble with drum brakes in the past and had to use some large hammers. Some have a threaded hole you can screw into that will back the drum off, but releasing the tension on the E Brake screw will usually do the trick.
JB

 

[bonecrrusher]

I agree, I have used what seems like half of the tools I own, wrenches, sockets, breaker bars, torque wrench, pry bars, punches, jacks, jack stands, impact gun, grinders, vises, wire brushes, clamps, drills, 18" (46 cm) crescent wrench, welder, little hammers, big hammers, big big hammers, and a recip. saw just to name a few. I've also had to buy a rear axle nut remover and a giant socket that I didn't end up using as it wouldn't fit the area I planned to use it. Then I rented a ball joint remover/installer which really helped with the ball joints (duh), and installing the control arm bushings. When I leave for work I pretty much have to take shower so I don't look and smell like I've been working all night. By the way welcome to my thread and thanks for commenting, I really like your old and new garages they are very clean and well laid out!

Thanks!

Looking through the rest of your pics just reminds me of the mess of my old garage.

I never want to do that again! I had to buy a OEM tool to get the steering arm off of the box. What a pain in the rear! Luckily I found that tool for half price on Ebay. I had to wait a few days - but no big deal.

 

[Vieux]

That sounds like it would be worth seeing a video of. I've had trouble with drum brakes in the past and had to use some large hammers. Some have a threaded hole you can screw into that will back the drum off, but releasing the tension on the E Brake screw will usually do the trick.
JB

Here is a link to the video. The video was shot not me, but he did about as well.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Far out JB what a war and peace you have been through.

I can empathise with you Special tool for this, special tool for that unreal.

 

[jbmatth]

Thanks!

Looking through the rest of your pics just reminds me of the mess of my old garage.

I never want to do that again! I had to buy a OEM tool to get the steering arm off of the box. What a pain in the rear! Luckily I found that tool for half price on Ebay. I had to wait a few days - but no big deal.

I'm glad to be done with it, but I did enjoy working on it at times. I unbolted the steering box from the frame, rotated it and used a pitman arm puller tool I picked up from the local parts store. Worked like a charm and the gearbox bolted right back up. For the idler arm I replaced the entire thing so that wasn't a problem either. The bushings were what gave me the most grief.

Here is a link to the video. The video was shot not me, but he did about as well.

That is just amazing, I've never thought of doing it that way before, of course that would only work with the drums on the drive wheels, but that is good to know. Thanks for the video Vieux!

Far out JB what a war and peace you have been through.

I can empathise with you Special tool for this, special tool for that unreal.

Thank you 1/2, I feel as though I'm only 1/2 way into this project now. I've not heard good things about trying to replace the diesel injection pump, but I'll give it a go and will find a way to make it happen.
JB

 

[jbmatth]

Round 4 of phase 1 of T.B.W. is nearly complete. Round 1 was building the wall, round 2 was electrical, round 3 was cabinets and storage bins, and round 4 is covering the upper portion of the wall. After around 1,700 screws (almost 10 lbs [4.5kg]) I have all of the wood up other than the cutout for the second H.F. toolbox. My hands and back ache from all of that screwing...

Here are the pictures:

There are plenty of gaps as the boards were not nearly straight, but I'll just say that adds character as I sure didn't want to have to resaw every single one of them.

I'm happy with the results and I have now completed my first superficial garage upgrade, this will not help it function better, it was simply for looks.

As you can see there is still a lot of clean up that needs to happen, and I'll soon be working on the lower portion of the wall, I plan to finish it off similar to the cabinets using stained wood and old barn tin this time rather than new.

JB

 

[Mike.ASC]

Constantly looking better & better.....

 

[jon72vega]

The wood looks good!

 

[slammedkustom]

looking good, seems a lot bigger than when it was just osb

 

[1/2 Cup]

Wow it looks just awesome JB what you have done will give your shop a nice feel to it, that said even though as you said it will not improve its function I believe it will change the way you personally function in your shop.

 

[jbmatth]

Thank you all, I'm pleased with how it turned out, it wasn't really all that much time spent doing it all I probably only have 15 or so hours in the covering as it is. There is 52 linear feet of covering now. (15.9 M) It is one big open area that will take some time to get anything done on, but in 5-10 years I'll have something getting close to being done. LOL
JB

 

[taumac]

Nicely done sir.

 

[Sunbimmer]

Constantly looking better & better.....

^^^ That's what I was thinking. Great place with good lighting

 

[jbmatth]

Ya'll are being too nice, and starting to make me blush. LOL Thank you all very much for the kind comments, it surely adds fuel to the fire to keep at it strong.
JB

 

[Sunbimmer]

......it surely adds fuel to the fire to keep at it strong.
JB

It sure does

 

[BUGTHUG]

 

[dhubbard422]

T.B.W. is lookin' good!

 

[jbmatth]

Sunbimmer, Bugthug, and Dhubbard, thank you all for the kind words. I've already started on the C.O.B.R.A (Cabinet Over Bench Remarkable Accumulator) for the T.B.W. (The Berline Wall) that will go over the R.M.P.S.F.B. (Rugged Multi-Purpose Sixteen Foot Bench). It'll be a built to blend into the existing wall and be shallow to hold lightweight items that are used frequently around the bench. Namely aerosol cans and spray bottles, but I may end up putting a piece of pegboard on one end to hold commonly used tools. Once I get a little further along I'll share some more information and pictures.

JB

 

[vonhef]

I like the rustic atmosphere the wood adds to your place!

 

[jbmatth]

Vonhef,
Thank you for the kind words, I would have to agree with you, I tend to enjoy the atmosphere more and more with the raw wood and bench. I've checked out your thread in the past, and I now see I have some catching up to do. The similarities are interesting between our shops, we seem to have similar tastes in both names as well as bench designs.

As for the C.O.B.R.A, I made some good progress the past couple of mornings on it. I have the basic shell complete and am now ready to start working on the shelves with the doors to follow. I'm as far as I can go for now as I've run out of screws, I was so desperate to get some more done on it I even resorted to using phillips head screws. When I pick up some for torx screws today I'll replace all of those and put them away in a deep dark hole to never be used again.

Where I stand currently:

The color is a bit off in this one, but it shows how I'm covering the 2"x3" ( 5.08 CM x 7.62 CM) frame:

There is a shadow under the C.O.B.R.A. that I do not like, I may end up installing some extra lights under it to give a little more task lighting in this area.

Prior to installing shelves I'll bring over all of the stuff I plan to store in it and group likes sized items to maximize the density of accumulation it can sustain. Something to note other than the screws and Habitat Restore hinges I won't have any money in this as I'm using leftovers from the T.B.W. covering. The 2"x3"'s were also a part of that and I have plenty left over. Progress may continue Sunday if I can get the injection pump swapped out on my truck tomorrow. Keep moving forward,
JB

 

[BUGTHUG]

Its hard to keep the counter top clean. My started out that way, but now looks like a tornado has hit it.

 

[taumac]

Looks damn good sir.