Old Blue - 1984 XL Flareside

I didn't realize it, but the E-Brake bolt needed to be removed, thanks for the help.  That made a big difference.  The funny thing is that in the corners, the dash moved more freely with that bolt in than by the steering column.  Oh well.

I have to just disconnect a little more wiring and then it's free!  Thanks all!

I always forget about the E-brake bolt. But glad you got it figured out.

I have a whole baggie full of bolts and screws now.  Hopefully there are none left when I put it all together haha!

Yeah, no joke. Trust me, if you're going to leave it more than a couple of weeks(depends on your memory I guess), I would divide and mark them in more bags. Mine sat for 4 years and I've had a tough time with hardware. I was in a rush when I disassembled everything and thought 'I would remember that'. No, no I don't! My unused hardware bag is growing by the day! Hopefully the truck doesn't just fall apart the second I drive out the driveway!

On that note, if you have time, do you mind taking a picture of the two bolts/screws that hold the upper and lower frame to the dash cover. They are at the bottom, between the steering column and heater controls.

These two. The ones I have in there now, aren't the correct ones, too short, they don't actually go through.


Thanks.

Rob
If you can find the bolts in the dash illustration, you can pull all the info from the fastener catalog Gary just scanned.

Heck, with a part number it's pretty easy to get the specific bolt.

I got a box of 6x1x24mm screws with dog points, reduced heads and thick integral washers almost overnight from eBay.

Hi Rob,

Let me see what I can figure out.  I already removed them and put those guys in the generic "dash frame support" baggie without noting where they were intended to go.  Sorry

No worries Chris, I bought some generic screws to try at TSC and size 14 fits perfect, now I just need something not so obtrusive as the big zinc bolt heads.

Good luck putting it back together!

Hi All,

So I have a bit of a generic question, because I'm torn.  I've recently stripped out the cab.  All plastic trim, dash, carpet, the works.  Just wires and the seatbelts is all that is left.   The intention is to get all the trim repainted in the original Dark Blue with SEM paint.  As a test run, I decided to repaint my radio bezel with SEM Trim Black paint (rattle can) - the paint looks nice but as it turns out, my garage is just too dusty - I get crud in the paint.  It makes me worry about repainting all the trim - as far as car interiors go, there only shops seem to do upholstery.  If I chose to have a pro with the right tools/environment, who do you think I could contact?  Is maybe a auto paint shop the right place?

On a higher level though, I've been doing the interior because it's something manageable for me.  I don't have a full complement of tools or space to do some of the larger tasks right now (front end work, repainting the entire truck).  But now that I have the interior stripped, I have started contemplating replacing all the rubber (especially the vent window rubber).  But it seems to me it is kind of backwards to do this before paint.  Pic is a bit old (carpet still in, detritus on the floof), but this is the current state



I've done some casual looking, but is there an established order of operations regarding the order in which things should be tackled?  Any and all mechanical?  Then paint? Then interior/rubber?  

I understand this is a rookie question, but hey, I'm as self-aware man haha. Maybe I just get the trim painted now, and put it all away safely and bolt the seat back in and just start working on other areas.  Thoughts?  Thanks for all your help.

As for dirt in the paint here is a trick you might be able to use.
With the truck out of the garage if you can.
Sweep out the area with a fine hair broom. Then blow off the work bench area and any rafters.
Let the dust settle and sweep again.

If you have an area you paint in see if you can cover it in that cheap plastic you can get to cover things when painting inside the house. Then wet the floor down as this will also keep the dust down.

I did all this but I used heavy mill plastic to cover the walls up as high as I could, about 6 feet, but still keep about 2 feet on the floor. Part of the wall had my work bench and the door into a work room where I mixed the paint when I painted my truck.
Here you can see I pulled the plastic back on the right side so I could get in / out of the work room before paint started.

To my back in that picture is my sons apt. things and a car I also covered with plastic.
I had vary little dirt in my paint job, more bugs LOL

My area is big enough when I did my panels I did not get crazy with the plastic or wetting the floor.
I did have the garage doors down and no fans running. I also sweep the floor most of the time when done working on the truck, body shop thing LOL


As for what order to do things?
I think it depends on what you plan on doing and how far you plan to take it but there really is not one.

I did not plan on a frame off rebuild but once I got my truck and parts truck home and found mine run good and the work it needed to get it on the road and be safe is when I went ape and pulled the whole truck apart.
I did the needed rust repair on the cab when it was on horses. I painted the firewall and the bed lined the under side& top of the floor before I put it back on the frame.
I also had the frame stripped down so I painted it and slid it back under the cab.

As each part got put back on or in it was checked, repaired or replaced as needed.
Body work was done to the doors and the inside of the cab, inside doors & jambs painted.
I then fixed the dash, someone cut it to get the radio & HVAC controls out, and painted it and got it & wiring back in.
Before the fenders went on I installed the motor & transmission.
Did the same with fenders, body work done and insides painted before put back on the truck.
I then did the rest of the body work to the cab. By this time I could move it under its own power in & out of the garage.

I then went to work on the bed as I made a custom metal ribbed floor to replace the wood the flare side came with. Once the cab & bed was ready for paint I pulled the bed off to paint the cab then pulled the bed apart to paint it.

It took me 4 years to rebuild mine into a nice driver from a pile of junk, it does not happen overnight LOL
That just a really quick run down of how I did it. I never drove my truck other then a bad test drive before I bought it and did not really know how bad it was till I took it apart!
Dave ----

ps yes I did the rubbers & seals after it was painted.

You know Chris, one idea I want to float by you is getting color matched 2k paint in spray cans (and Transtar 'Jammin Clear' if yours is metallic)

You could easily prep and paint the interiors of the doors and jambs with the spray cans, making your interior complete, and saving a lot of work and $ for the body shop.

It's just an idea, but if I was in your position I would consider that route.

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, keep it comin'!

Jim, I hadn't considered painting the jambs etc... good idea!  My only worry though is if when I get the rest of the truck painted, what if it doesn't match?  I guess I'm only out the cost of the paint I used to spray the inside, so that's a pretty good gamble.

Overall, the truck is in pretty good shape for all it's miles.  These are my biggie items (so far discovered, or desired)

1.  Diff leak
2.  Transmission fluid leak
3.  Overheating when idling (not sure if fan clutch, or radiator/water pump)
4.  Small oil leak (this isn't out of the ordinary though, so maybe this is a pass for now?)
5.  Cruise control inop
6.  AC not working (either compressor clutch, or low refrigerant pressure)
7.  Replace bed wood (including bed blocks/pads)
8.  Troubleshoot stumble on acceleration (carb rebuilt professionally, helped a little but not entirely)
9.  Body work (remove rivets for tonneau cover, passenger side fender where meets door not flush, hood dents)
10.  Paint
11.  Re-install factory radio, with Bluetooth amp
12. Oh, while I have the dash torn off, I'm replacing the heater core as well.

Maybe this'll help guide what to do first.  To be honest, most of the mechanical (items 1-4) will probably be done by pros.  I have a two car garage and I just don't have all the gear (yet)

If you don't have the tools, time, space or experience, it seems items 1,2,4 &6 should be covered by a shop.

But it would help to understand where the oil leak is, and if the fan clutch is bad.
In my experience fan clutches fail locked up, not freewheeling.

5 needs a good deal of details to diagnose.
We're here for you! 😉

11 seems simple enough, but George and Nick seem to have that covered.

8 We can offer help there. You need to work with us, probably Bill as he was the one with a carburetor shop...

***tried to fix numbers***

I added a few more that slipped my mind, but now I've thrown your answers off.. sorry!

I'll climb underneath and wipe down the leaky areas so I can try to pinpoint the leaks better.

The fan is freewheeling, definitely not locked up.  When I got the truck smogged last year (yeah, I live in California...), the tech suggested the fan clutch as the overheating issue but I haven't looked further.  I think I'm on a 5 year plan with my truck

I'll probably postpone the cruise issue until I get it rolling again.  Give the work I'm going to do on it this year, I just re-registered it as PNO

I think on the leaks it would be nice to know where they are coming from for 2 reasons.
I you know just were it is leaking from and weather you can fix it or
You know where it is leaking so when the shop gives you a BS place it is leaking you can say "can you show me please" to see if that is where it is leaking from.

If the diff cover is leaking that should be an easy fix, new gasket & gear oil and done.
Now if axle or pinion seal then he may want to farm it out.

Trans could be a pan gasket, again easy fix with new gasket & ATF but if it is the shift rod seal then maybe farm it out.

Oil leak could be an easy to change gasket, valve or side cover on the 300 he could do but oil pan yep farm out. I have an oil leak and think the pan gasket that I installed is leaking, I am afraid to go looking
Dave ----

If you can, without setting off the environmental police, wash the whole engine down with gunk and a dish brush.

Start it up for one minute and took for leaks.
A piece of toilet paper will pick up oil film you can't even see.
I've also used Desenex foot powder spray to find tricky leaks before.

If there's no drag on the fan, definitely change the clutch.
Four Seasons @~ $100 is my best advice.

Thanks Dave and Jim, both good suggestions!  I'll give these both a shot.   The fan clutch is something that looks doable for me, the part isn't too much.  As I sift through things, my approach is to replace things with good quality parts (NOS where possible) if I'm not aware of them being replaced.

As for the hesitation issue, I just uploaded a video I took awhile back while the interior was still put together. .  Maybe you guys can glean something from it?  I also replaced the EGR valve when I pulled some codes... both KOER and KOEO comes out clean, and this video was taken after that fix.

https://youtu.be/NimqPFhEs24

I've purchased a new fan clutch (Four Seasons, as recommended) and also purchased a new heater core since the interior is dismantled.

While we are on the subject of the interior - I read before taking it apart that you should have the battery disconnected.  This makes sense if there were loose wires, etc.  But if my wiring is in order, can I start my truck up if I need to move it, start the motor after replacing the fan clutch, etc?  Are there any connectors that MUST be connected to their usual components or I'll damage something?  Weird question I know, but I don't want to find out the hard way.

I can't think of any reason to disconnect the battery, other than there's no chance of accidentally getting caught in the belts.

If you have the convenience lighting package there will be a glove box lamp.
Just pull the bulb so it doesn't drain the battery if left lit for a long time.

Thanks Jim.  Just to be clear, I meant electrically (open circuit or something).

I also discovered an old problem, a broken vacuum hose (pic below, you can see the broken portion as well).  I know the line is hooked up to the HVAC controls, but it seems like a bear to feed a new line from the cab to where those two lines come into the engine compartment.  The line is a little brittle so I'd like to replace it, but do you or anyone else have tips on how to feed a new line through?  It comes up from the cab way in the corner behind where the heater core is when installed.