Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

Again: put it together, grease the locks, and enjoy. After driving through deep water, service the hubs as recommended. If you find them dry, you'll know the grease is working. If they get more contamination than you like, replace them THEN (after a few maintenance cycles).

Steve - I appreciate your suggestion. But at this stage of my life I'm wanting to make it "right" as I do it rather than potentially come back to do it again later. Having said that, this is a new philosophy for me and I'd have probably done it as you suggested just a few years ago.

My situation is one of not nearly enough time to do everything I want to do, so I want to do something once and not have to worry about doing it again. Otherwise I'd have had the guy who said he'd swap gears with me do so and also check out the differential bearings & seals. Instead, I'm having the differential made "new" and will do the same to the wheel bearings & seals as well as the brakes, bushings, etc. The one exception is the calipers since they are a relatively easy re-build and I trust I'll do at least as good of a job as others would.

Anyway, thanks.

[Steve83]

Steve - I appreciate your suggestion. But at this stage of my life I'm wanting to make it "right" as I do it rather than potentially come back to do it again later. Having said that, this is a new philosophy for me and I'd have probably done it as you suggested just a few years ago.

My situation is one of not nearly enough time to do everything I want to do, so I want to do something once and not have to worry about doing it again. Otherwise I'd have had the guy who said he'd swap gears with me do so and also check out the differential bearings & seals. Instead, I'm having the differential made "new" and will do the same to the wheel bearings & seals as well as the brakes, bushings, etc. The one exception is the calipers since they are a relatively easy re-build and I trust I'll do at least as good of a job as others would.

Anyway, thanks.

I hear what you're saying - I don't like redoing things either. But the fact is: hub locks are high-maintenance parts. So no matter what you do to them, or how much you spend on new ones, you still need to maintain them periodically. Especially immediately after fording deep water.

[Gary Lewis]

I hear what you're saying - I don't like redoing things either. But the fact is: hub locks are high-maintenance parts. So no matter what you do to them, or how much you spend on new ones, you still need to maintain them periodically. Especially immediately after fording deep water.

My plan is to not Ford deep water. I'll Dodge it.

Seriously though, I do hope to stay out of the deep stuff. But, as I'm new to overlanding I don't know what I'll find. However, I suppose I should take grease and the right tools to pull the hubs down and clean them while on any long-distance trip.

[grumpin]

My plan is to not Ford deep water. I'll Dodge it.

Seriously though, I do hope to stay out of the deep stuff. But, as I'm new to overlanding I don't know what I'll find. However, I suppose I should take grease and the right tools to pull the hubs down and clean them while on any long-distance trip.

That’s what I would do and have problems! Someone else could drive the entire length of the Mississippi River, never touch the hubs and never have a problem!

Do I whine much...

 

[Gary Lewis]

My plan is to not Ford deep water. I'll Dodge it.

Seriously though, I do hope to stay out of the deep stuff. But, as I'm new to overlanding I don't know what I'll find. However, I suppose I should take grease and the right tools to pull the hubs down and clean them while on any long-distance trip.

That’s what I would do and have problems! Someone else could drive the entire length of the Mississippi River, never touch the hubs and never have a problem!

Do I whine much...

Nah, not much.

I find that if I've prepared for "it" then "it" rarely happens. So I tend to go loaded for bear, and I don't see one very often, which is fine by me.

[Gary Lewis]

Nah, not much.

I find that if I've prepared for "it" then "it" rarely happens. So I tend to go loaded for bear, and I don't see one very often, which is fine by me.

Well, we are grandtwinless for the weekend, and I got to play in the shop today - before weedeating and mowing. (Without getting the mower stuck, again, David. )

I media blasted the other brake caliper and then phosphated both of them. Here's one of them, although in person they looked a lot more gray than brown.

And here they are after being powder coated. (Jim - I must have gotten the wrong bottle of powder as I was sure they were going to come out red. )

But, in doing the phosphating I got the bores as well. I don't think that will hurt anything, but what do y'all think? Here's a shot of the bores on one of the calipers. Note that I didn't get powder into the bores, which I did by slipping the old pistons in, applying the powder, and then pulling the pistons out.

Also, I bought the new issue of Outdoor X4 magazine, and there's an article in it called Built For Adventure. In it a guy explains how he built a 2011 Toyota Tacoma pickup into and overlander. And one of the things he did was to add Hellwig air bags and Daystar cradles for those bags. So I went to the Daystar site and read this:

Did you know you lose up to 20% of your suspension travel when installing a set of convoluted airbags on the rear of your truck? Daystar has the answer to this problem: The Universal Air Bag Cradle. This unique product will recover your lost suspension travel while keeping all the benefits you want in a set of air bags!

Daystar's Air Bag Cradle allows you all the features you wanted when purchasing your air bag system improving ride quality and maintaining the load carrying capacity all without robbing you of your suspension's full travel. Daystar's new Air Bag Cradle mounts to your truck's lower suspension providing more room for the air bag to safely cycle with no loss of overall wheel travel. Made in America from Daystar's High-Density Polyurethane, the Air Bag Cradle is guaranteed to perform as long as you own your truck and is backed by Daystar's exclusive Go Everywhere Warranty.

What do y'all think?

[Gary Lewis]

Well, we are grandtwinless for the weekend, and I got to play in the shop today - before weedeating and mowing. (Without getting the mower stuck, again, David. )I media blasted the other brake caliper and then phosphated both of them. Here's one of them, although in person they looked a lot more gray than brown. And here they are after being powder coated. (Jim - I must have gotten the wrong bottle of powder as I was sure they were going to come out red. )But, in doing the phosphating I got the bores as well. I don't think that will hurt anything, but what do y'all think? Here's a shot of the bores on one of the calipers. Note that I didn't get powder into the bores, which I did by slipping the old pistons in, applying the powder, and then pulling the pistons out.Also, I bought the new issue of Outdoor X4 magazine, and there's an article in it called Built For Adventure. In it a guy explains how he built a 2011 Toyota Tacoma pickup into and overlander. And one of the things he did was to add Hellwig air bags and Daystar cradles for those bags. So I went to the Daystar site and read this:

Did you know you lose up to 20% of your suspension travel when installing a set of convoluted airbags on the rear of your truck? Daystar has the answer to this problem: The Universal Air Bag Cradle. This unique product will recover your lost suspension travel while keeping all the benefits you want in a set of air bags!Daystar's Air Bag Cradle allows you all the features you wanted when purchasing your air bag system improving ride quality and maintaining the load carrying capacity all without robbing you of your suspension's full travel. Daystar's new Air Bag Cradle mounts to your truck's lower suspension providing more room for the air bag to safely cycle with no loss of overall wheel travel. Made in America from Daystar's High-Density Polyurethane, the Air Bag Cradle is guaranteed to perform as long as you own your truck and is backed by Daystar's exclusive Go Everywhere Warranty.

What do y'all think?

I've done some searching to see about the Daystar cradles and ran across this video that I thought might help you see how they work:

 

[Nothing Special]

I've done some searching to see about the Daystar cradles and ran across this video that I thought might help you see how they work:

That would certainly deal with the limitation on droop I experienced in my F-150. If it works in real life as well as it looks there it would seem to be a great thing!

[Gary Lewis]

I've done some searching to see about the Daystar cradles and ran across this video that I thought might help you see how they work:

That would certainly deal with the limitation on droop I experienced in my F-150. If it works in real life as well as it looks there it would seem to be a great thing!

Agreed. However, Firestone doesn't think so. I also found this in the TruckSpring Times:

Firestone Ride-Rite Air Bag Kits & Daystar Air Bag Cradle Not Compatible.

Firestone has issued a warning advising customers not to use the Daystar Air Bag Cradle in conjunction with Firestone Ride-Rite kits. Use of a cradle could create a safety issue and shorten the lifespan of your Firestone Ride-Rite air bags.

Firestone states that the air bag should be fully restricted prior to pressurization and use. Installation and use of the Daystar cradle requires the air spring to be partially unrestricted all of the time which would lead to a high-stress scenario that potentially places the user at risk. In addition, the cradle subjects the Ride-Rite air bag to forces that were not tested to withstand.

Use of a cradle could cause a bottoming out of the air spring and subject the spring and brackets to extreme impact and spike loads. Firestone has no plans to test its air springs or brackets with the Daystar cradle and will not warrant products used or installed with the cradle. To protect against injuries or damage to your vehicle or Firestone product, do not use the Daystar Air Bag Cradle with your Firestone Ride-Rite Air Bag Kit.

But, in all of my reading on the internet I've only found one person who had trouble after installing the Daystar cradles. In his case the air bag missed the cradle and hit the tire, cutting a groove in the sidewall. But I'm guessing that he didn't get the cradle properly centered under the bags, which caused the problem. In fact, some of the people reported having to offset the cradle on the bracket to get it centered, and I'd bet he didn't.

All of the MANY others reported good success with the cradles. Articulation was back to what it was supposed to be and there were no problems of the bags not going back into the cradles. So I think this is the way I'll go, assuming that I do take leaves out of the springs and then need more load-carrying capability.

[Gary Lewis]

Agreed. However, Firestone doesn't think so. I also found this in the TruckSpring Times:

Firestone Ride-Rite Air Bag Kits & Daystar Air Bag Cradle Not Compatible.

Firestone has issued a warning advising customers not to use the Daystar Air Bag Cradle in conjunction with Firestone Ride-Rite kits. Use of a cradle could create a safety issue and shorten the lifespan of your Firestone Ride-Rite air bags.

Firestone states that the air bag should be fully restricted prior to pressurization and use. Installation and use of the Daystar cradle requires the air spring to be partially unrestricted all of the time which would lead to a high-stress scenario that potentially places the user at risk. In addition, the cradle subjects the Ride-Rite air bag to forces that were not tested to withstand.

Use of a cradle could cause a bottoming out of the air spring and subject the spring and brackets to extreme impact and spike loads. Firestone has no plans to test its air springs or brackets with the Daystar cradle and will not warrant products used or installed with the cradle. To protect against injuries or damage to your vehicle or Firestone product, do not use the Daystar Air Bag Cradle with your Firestone Ride-Rite Air Bag Kit.

But, in all of my reading on the internet I've only found one person who had trouble after installing the Daystar cradles. In his case the air bag missed the cradle and hit the tire, cutting a groove in the sidewall. But I'm guessing that he didn't get the cradle properly centered under the bags, which caused the problem. In fact, some of the people reported having to offset the cradle on the bracket to get it centered, and I'd bet he didn't.

All of the MANY others reported good success with the cradles. Articulation was back to what it was supposed to be and there were no problems of the bags not going back into the cradles. So I think this is the way I'll go, assuming that I do take leaves out of the springs and then need more load-carrying capability.

Ok, with the calipers properly phosphated and powder coated it was time to pull the trigger on ordering the rest of the brake parts. So I just ordered these from Amazon:

• Raybestos WK2885 Professional Grade Disc Brake Caliper Boot and Seal Kit: Two of these for $9.48/ea as one set does one caliper.

• Raybestos S6858 Kits: These are the bleeder screws, and a set is supposedly $12.95. But the only review says it isn't a set but is only one bleeder screw! However, if you look elsewhere from Amazon that part number says it is a set of 10. Who needs 10? We shall see.

• Centric 145.56003 Front Brake Caliper Piston: These phenolic pistons go for $5.31/ea and I ordered four.

• Motorcraft BRPK5621A Front Disc Hardware Kit for $8.23, with one kit supposedly doing two calipers.

• Motorcraft BRSD655 Front Severe Duty Pads for $37.79

Unfortunately Amazon only has one of the brake rotors in stock, and while it kept saying "More coming" it refused to let me order two of them. One or none. So I chose none and ordered two RAYBESTOS 66476 rotors from Rock Auto for a total of $146.97, including $28.98 in shipping. The Rock Auto price for each rotor was ~$10 less than Amazon's, but they wanted ~$15 for shipping. So each rotor costs ~$5 more delivered than from Amazon, but I wanted to keep them together so ordered both from one place.

So, for $104.89 + $146.97 = $251.86 I'll have all new brakes on the new front axle.