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Tonight's project is going to be greasing all steering and suspension components. To help with this task, I've broken out the powered grease gun. As I will soon find out, this was one of the best things I could have done. I highly recommend. I have no idea what GAA grease is, and it seems to...

Fuel Filler Neck Molding Trying to avoid work that actually is well, work, I decided to replace the fuel filler molding. It's all about priorities. To remove, the outer screws are 8mm and held in place with speed nuts. The inner bolts are 11mm. These have a nut on the opposite side and two...

More parts - it's almost like Christmas comes once a week. Aside from the big box labeled "radiator", there's also a water pump, steering pump, and hydro-boost unit in here somewhere. This may not be everything on my list, but at least we're getting closer...

I wasn't planning on writing about radiator combs this morning, but here we are. This first item is actually an alternative to radiator combs. This works for me; your results may vary. Radiator combs don't work great if there's heavy damage. Here's a plastic tool for interior trim. I don't...

For the last activity of this evening, I'm going to spend a little while cleaning hardware. Is this activity essential? Not particularly, if we're solely focused on operation; but if the goal is to turn back the clock a while on this truck and freshen things up, then something has to be done...

You'd think there was only so much I could post about tie-downs. I have more. If I can save $100 on something, I'm going to do it myself. Here's the tarp tie-downs after treatment and drying. Even though I want these to be matte black, I am putting a coat of wax on these tie-downs just for...

This morning, I decided that one way or another, the driver's seat was going to move; and it was going to be a battle to the death. First, some light persuasion with a dead blow hammer. I didn't have much room to get behind the seat, as it was all the way back. I was really just hitting the...

I decided to replace the radiator also. I should have it from Champion by the end-of-week, or early next. I guess I'll go work in the garden until everything shows up.

This is an ominous sign of what's about to come next. Engine parts on are on order and inbound... Next up for replacement: - Water pump - Belt tensioner - Power steering pump - Serpentine belt - Hydro-boost unit - All high-pressure steering hoses - All low-pressure steering hoses - Heater core...

Two-man soft top kit - I finally got around to installing the soft top kit. Working inside the cabin, I needed as much ambient light as possible, but now that we've made some progress, it was time get this kit at least partially installed. It takes an extra pair of hands, and I've got some...

Here's the completed tie downs after black oxide. Before: Caswell black oxide concentrate. 1:10 mixture with distilled water for 10min. Caswell penetrating sealant. Dip for 5min. and air dry. Finished product. They take a while to dry, so they will lose their gloss by tomorrow. Should...

Tarp tie downs - this task was not important and definitely not urgent. However, there is something to be said for therapeutic and thoughtless. There's a total of 14 tarp tie downs that are attached to the body. Each one is fastened with two nuts and two bolts, or in my case, a piece of string...

Parking brake replacement - It's only taken six weeks, but I did get a replacement parking brake and finally was able to get it installed. The release button on the original parking brake had basically disintegrated, due to age and exposure. Probably the worst part of this project was...

Air obstruction gauge - A few weeks ago while replacing my turn signal lever, I had managed to bump the reset button on my air obstruction gauge, damaging it. Basically, I broke it off. Needless to say, it was probably on it's way out before my help. Apparently, it had either deteriorated...

I was able to accomplish a few other items this week. Fuel filter and water separator - this is a pain to get to. Remove the two upper hoses (fuel inlet / outlet), disconnect the transducer, remove that lower hose (drain), and unscrew the bolt clamping the bracket together. Bend open the...

New coolant hoses (Part 2) It took some research and some trial-and-error, but the replacement of the coolant and hater hoses did finally come together. I realized that a few hoses had been cut, which was why I couldn't match them. A few items that were ordered were incorrectly described...

I keep getting behind with my posts here. Two weeks, four weeks, six weeks, two months; obviously I was overly optimistic on how long this was going to take. A lot of the delay has been due to waiting on parts orders, a few incorrect items that had been sent, and just the general...

New coolant hoses (Part 1) Ignoring the surprise leak that has sprung up inside the cabin, I took a long pause and decided to change coolant hoses. All of them. Every single one. At the same time. I had purchased a full car set of hoses a few weeks ago, and I have to say it was pretty good...

Speaking of surprises, did anyone see this in the previous post? Look closely... Look closely at where the floor transitions to the toe panel. It seems like I've sprung a new leak. I've got my opinions as to what this is from, but since this isn't a repair that I'm working on at the...

New brake switch. One of the problems I had on my list was the brake lights. They did work, but not until the last inch or so of brake pedal travel. Basically, my foot was down at the floor before the brake lights would turn on, if they did at all. The brake switch is located under the dash on...