Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

Good job! I like the picture!

Thanks, Dane.

Didn't do anything "to" the truck today. But as reported in the Ouray thread, I did a bit of packing to get ready for the trip.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, Dane.

Didn't do anything "to" the truck today. But as reported in the Ouray thread, I did a bit of packing to get ready for the trip.

Well, you can tell the grandtwins have been here as it has been over three weeks since I updated this thread, and I found it back on Page 3.

Anyway, we took the truck to Fairfax to get our Real ID today, and I have four things to report. But first, Jim, is it progress if it is one step forward and three back?

And then a funny from the Real ID experience - I'm deceased. Yep, the lady put all of my info into the computer and up popped a yellow warning that said "Fraud Alert: This person is deceased." But she wrote the state and assured them that I was sitting right there beside her and was as alive as she is, so they reset something and we processed it again successfully.

As for the step forward, I was driving along thinking "This thing has a whole lot fewer rattles than I remember!" And then it hit me - there's no rattle coming from the front springs. Man, what a difference that made! Apparently I haven't driven the truck since June 19th when I added the clamps and sliders to the front and rear of the front springs, but they sure helped.

And now for the first of the steps backward - the bed cover won't close. I opened it just fine, but it is hitting something solid when it starts to move, so I have to take that apart. Again.

The second step backward is that the A/C is no longer cold. I've asked my nephew what the pressures should be in the mid-90's ambient and if I have to put some in if I should add some with a dye. We shall see. But, I can say that the air was cooler in the Max A/C position, so my heater shut off valve may be working.

Last, DON'T PUT PROTECTANT ON THE RUBBER STEERING WHEEL RIM! While it seemed to work initially it is now sticky. So, what do I do next? Use alcohol to strip it off? What, if anything, do I put back?

[Gary Lewis]

Well, you can tell the grandtwins have been here as it has been over three weeks since I updated this thread, and I found it back on Page 3.

Anyway, we took the truck to Fairfax to get our Real ID today, and I have four things to report. But first, Jim, is it progress if it is one step forward and three back?

And then a funny from the Real ID experience - I'm deceased. Yep, the lady put all of my info into the computer and up popped a yellow warning that said "Fraud Alert: This person is deceased." But she wrote the state and assured them that I was sitting right there beside her and was as alive as she is, so they reset something and we processed it again successfully.

As for the step forward, I was driving along thinking "This thing has a whole lot fewer rattles than I remember!" And then it hit me - there's no rattle coming from the front springs. Man, what a difference that made! Apparently I haven't driven the truck since June 19th when I added the clamps and sliders to the front and rear of the front springs, but they sure helped.

And now for the first of the steps backward - the bed cover won't close. I opened it just fine, but it is hitting something solid when it starts to move, so I have to take that apart. Again.

The second step backward is that the A/C is no longer cold. I've asked my nephew what the pressures should be in the mid-90's ambient and if I have to put some in if I should add some with a dye. We shall see. But, I can say that the air was cooler in the Max A/C position, so my heater shut off valve may be working.

Last, DON'T PUT PROTECTANT ON THE RUBBER STEERING WHEEL RIM! While it seemed to work initially it is now sticky. So, what do I do next? Use alcohol to strip it off? What, if anything, do I put back?

Worked on the A/C today. The pressures were low and the low pressure switch was killing the compressor after it ran a few seconds, but I had part of a can on the gauge set so I put it in and that brought the pressures up a bit and kept the clutch in longer.

So I went to the store and got some dye, a UV light, and a couple more cans of 134A. The dye can has a connector that you are to push onto the low pressure fitting and hold for 3 seconds and it injects dye into the system. I did that and then ran the system for 10 minutes and checked with the UV light. THERE WAS DYE EVERYWHERE! Turns out that when you take the can off the fitting it sprays dye all over everything.

Thirty minutes later, after a whole lot of cleaning, I ran the truck for another 10 minutes and didn't find any leaks. So I decided that I'd put more 134A in and drive it a while and see if the leak shows up. But then I discovered that the new 134A cans are different than the old ones as they have self-sealing valves in them.

In the pic on the left the can in the center is the old style, which takes a valve with a point on it to pierce the top of the can. And the can on the left is an old-style can that's already been used. Last, the can on the right is the new-style can with a self-sealing valve on top.

And in the pic on the right is the new tap that I had to go back to the store and buy alongside the old piercing tap. I discovered the hard way that the self-sealing cans do not work well with the old piercing taps.

Long story I know, but I did get the pressures up to from 50 & 300 with the doors closed and on Max to 60 & 325 with the doors open and on normal. My nephew says the latter is high, but I'm betting it'll be down in a few days anyway.

However, as I was testing the pressures dropped to 40 & 300, and I was scratching my head as to why. Then I checked the coolant temp and it was at 208 and I'm assuming the clutch came in on the fan and that brought the pressures down.

Anyway, I still don't see any signs of a leak so I'll have to drive it and see if something is apparent.

 

[grumpin]

Worked on the A/C today. The pressures were low and the low pressure switch was killing the compressor after it ran a few seconds, but I had part of a can on the gauge set so I put it in and that brought the pressures up a bit and kept the clutch in longer.

So I went to the store and got some dye, a UV light, and a couple more cans of 134A. The dye can has a connector that you are to push onto the low pressure fitting and hold for 3 seconds and it injects dye into the system. I did that and then ran the system for 10 minutes and checked with the UV light. THERE WAS DYE EVERYWHERE! Turns out that when you take the can off the fitting it sprays dye all over everything.

Thirty minutes later, after a whole lot of cleaning, I ran the truck for another 10 minutes and didn't find any leaks. So I decided that I'd put more 134A in and drive it a while and see if the leak shows up. But then I discovered that the new 134A cans are different than the old ones as they have self-sealing valves in them.

In the pic on the left the can in the center is the old style, which takes a valve with a point on it to pierce the top of the can. And the can on the left is an old-style can that's already been used. Last, the can on the right is the new-style can with a self-sealing valve on top.

And in the pic on the right is the new tap that I had to go back to the store and buy alongside the old piercing tap. I discovered the hard way that the self-sealing cans do not work well with the old piercing taps.

Long story I know, but I did get the pressures up to from 50 & 300 with the doors closed and on Max to 60 & 325 with the doors open and on normal. My nephew says the latter is high, but I'm betting it'll be down in a few days anyway.

However, as I was testing the pressures dropped to 40 & 300, and I was scratching my head as to why. Then I checked the coolant temp and it was at 208 and I'm assuming the clutch came in on the fan and that brought the pressures down.

Anyway, I still don't see any signs of a leak so I'll have to drive it and see if something is apparent.

Good job! Thanks for the info. Wondered why those cans weren’t self sealing.

[salans7]

Good job! Thanks for the info. Wondered why those cans weren’t self sealing.

I found out about the self-sealing cans a few months ago when I went to hook a newer can up to an older valve and gauge. Had to buy a new valve and gauge to fit the self-sealing cans.

[Gary Lewis]

I found out about the self-sealing cans a few months ago when I went to hook a newer can up to an older valve and gauge. Had to buy a new valve and gauge to fit the self-sealing cans.

The A/C Pro Car Air Conditioner R134A Refrigerant Can Tap is only $9.50 from Amazon. (Link installed using Firefox.) And it worked perfectly with my older gauges, replacing the older can tap.

[Gary Lewis]

The A/C Pro Car Air Conditioner R134A Refrigerant Can Tap is only $9.50 from Amazon. (Link installed using Firefox.) And it worked perfectly with my older gauges, replacing the older can tap.

Worked on the bed cover today. I backed Big Blue out and then backed Blue up to him to pull the cover out onto Blue's cover - with a quilt to separate them. But both covers are at essentially the same height and I needed there to be a bit of drop from Big Blue to Blue so the slats can be moved sideways to line them up. So I jacked BB up and put his rear axle on jack stands. That worked nicely.

And what I found was that there are another half dozen or so bad glides. So I called Pace Edwards and talked to Tony again. He asked what width I had between the rails and I told him 62 9/32. But he said that's too wide and is the cause for the problems as it lets the glides come out of the end of the slats. Instead he recommended that I make it 62 1/8. The instructions say 62 3/16, but Tony said I should make it a bit smaller. And, Tony put another bunch of glides in the mail.

So I loosened all of the clamps and moved the front and rear clamps in to that dimension. And then I fed the cover back in, making sure that I replaced any damaged glide with a good one, taking them out of the rear end of the cover when I ran out. And, I aligned the slats so their edges were even.

Since I'm short 6 glides I alternated empty spots at the end, which Tony said would be fine until the others come in. But now the cover moves easier than it ever has.

I haven't as yet tried it with the motor as I want to check the measurements and put the middle brackets in place, but I got the truck back in the shop so I can do that tomorrow - with air conditioning. So I'm hoping it'll go well.

[Gary Lewis]

Worked on the bed cover today. I backed Big Blue out and then backed Blue up to him to pull the cover out onto Blue's cover - with a quilt to separate them. But both covers are at essentially the same height and I needed there to be a bit of drop from Big Blue to Blue so the slats can be moved sideways to line them up. So I jacked BB up and put his rear axle on jack stands. That worked nicely.

And what I found was that there are another half dozen or so bad glides. So I called Pace Edwards and talked to Tony again. He asked what width I had between the rails and I told him 62 9/32. But he said that's too wide and is the cause for the problems as it lets the glides come out of the end of the slats. Instead he recommended that I make it 62 1/8. The instructions say 62 3/16, but Tony said I should make it a bit smaller. And, Tony put another bunch of glides in the mail.

So I loosened all of the clamps and moved the front and rear clamps in to that dimension. And then I fed the cover back in, making sure that I replaced any damaged glide with a good one, taking them out of the rear end of the cover when I ran out. And, I aligned the slats so their edges were even.

Since I'm short 6 glides I alternated empty spots at the end, which Tony said would be fine until the others come in. But now the cover moves easier than it ever has.

I haven't as yet tried it with the motor as I want to check the measurements and put the middle brackets in place, but I got the truck back in the shop so I can do that tomorrow - with air conditioning. So I'm hoping it'll go well.

Well, bummer! This morning I realized that I can't easily set up the middle brackets on the rails with the cover over the bed. So I played with it a bit and marveled at how easily it slid - like on roller bearings. Then I took the plunge and slid it into the canister. There were several bumps along the way, but nothing too bad. However, when I tried to pull it out it did NOT want to come. But knowing that it had to come out I pulled and got it out, and along the way it hung up several times. And now it doesn't want to slide, so I know I damaged several glides.

Given that I got to looking at what could be causing the problem and I'm pretty sure I've found it. If you remember I modified the front of the rails to get full engagement with the slot in the canister. But in the pic on the left you can see that the red arrow is pointing to a sharp corner that could catch the glides as they try to come out of the canister and over that roller. I called Pace Edwards and sent Ed that picture and he agreed with me that I need to radius that corner. In fact he sent me some pics of what it should look like. So I radiused it as shown on the right and he approved it.

Now I'm just waiting until I get the new glides in and then I'll have to pull the cover again and replace the bad ones.

 

[Machspeed]

Well, bummer! This morning I realized that I can't easily set up the middle brackets on the rails with the cover over the bed. So I played with it a bit and marveled at how easily it slid - like on roller bearings. Then I took the plunge and slid it into the canister. There were several bumps along the way, but nothing too bad. However, when I tried to pull it out it did NOT want to come. But knowing that it had to come out I pulled and got it out, and along the way it hung up several times. And now it doesn't want to slide, so I know I damaged several glides.

Given that I got to looking at what could be causing the problem and I'm pretty sure I've found it. If you remember I modified the front of the rails to get full engagement with the slot in the canister. But in the pic on the left you can see that the red arrow is pointing to a sharp corner that could catch the glides as they try to come out of the canister and over that roller. I called Pace Edwards and sent Ed that picture and he agreed with me that I need to radius that corner. In fact he sent me some pics of what it should look like. So I radiused it as shown on the right and he approved it.

Now I'm just waiting until I get the new glides in and then I'll have to pull the cover again and replace the bad ones.

Well, least you got it figured out. I'd say that's one step forward.

[Gary Lewis]

Well, least you got it figured out. I'd say that's one step forward.

Yes, it is a step forward. I've been in this "take one step forward, now take a step back" routine on this thing for quite some time.

If you look closely at the pic below, which is the one from the left above just blown up, you can see a wear mark on the black showing where the glides have been riding against the powder coating. And it is easy to see that a glide could catch on that corner. Doh! Why didn't I think of that before? http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/head-slap-23_orig.gif

Anyway, I've now radiused both sides and am waiting on new glides. I think this time I'm breaking out!