FuzzFace2 Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 the simplest answer is to trim off anything that is sticking up and or loose. clean thoroughly and use the glue they send. I'm even tempted to buy another tube and over glue it, but I have not done it. i have used three or four of them though and usually have been happy. one more tip i will give is to lay in on dry and look around all of the openings and through the speaker grill. note any of the pad underneath that you can see and may want to trim. also, once it fits well back drill for the four screws holding the pad at the defrost ports. i have seen people glue a cover on in place and who ever needs to remove it later is screwed trying to figure out what's still holding it. four hidden screws! that's what! Yep thats what I did. Off the truck, test fit and fix why it will not sit right. I may have drilled the 4 holes at the defrost after it was glued on from the back side. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 the simplest answer is to trim off anything that is sticking up and or loose. clean thoroughly and use the glue they send. I'm even tempted to buy another tube and over glue it, but I have not done it. i have used three or four of them though and usually have been happy. one more tip i will give is to lay in on dry and look around all of the openings and through the speaker grill. note any of the pad underneath that you can see and may want to trim. also, once it fits well back drill for the four screws holding the pad at the defrost ports. i have seen people glue a cover on in place and who ever needs to remove it later is screwed trying to figure out what's still holding it. four hidden screws! that's what! Yep thats what I did. Off the truck, test fit and fix why it will not sit right. I may have drilled the 4 holes at the defrost after it was glued on from the back side. Dave ---- I drilled the holes after it was glued. That way I knew exactly where to drill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted December 5, 2021 Author Share Posted December 5, 2021 I drilled the holes after it was glued. That way I knew exactly where to drill. I think I might take a chance and cut out the speaker grille. I'm installing a new speaker and the Covercraft cover has its own grille. The one I have is a hot mess full of crumbly foam and I think any kind of actual audio under it will just shake the rest of it to bits. :) After that, yes, I think the bulk of this is structurally sound. I don't dare wave it around in the air but it seems pretty intact. It's not a super difficult item to remove later so maybe I'll just leave it be for now (I have plenty of other projects) and move on to other tasks. I can come back to it later. I had a good day overall. I didn't really get many good pics because I was too busy banging away: 1. Installed new turn signal switch and chrome turn signal lever. I haven't reinstalled the wheel, because it's easier to reinstall the dash without it but also I have a mystery wire on the new switch. This thing didn't come with instructions, anybody know what the small white socket-looking-thingy that only has one wire on it is for? Nothing in the FSM or EVTM seems to mention it. Something for a later year? 2. Installed insulation on the floor. This was the 3-piece kit from LMC but I only installed 2 parts of it. I didn't really like the look and feel of the thin/heavy extra insulation sheets so I passed on those. The carpet looks... OK I guess. It's super bunched up in some spots and wrinkled in others from shipping. Hopefully it will relax now that it's in the vehicle. 3. Figured out the window/lock interaction issue, or at least part of it. On the passenger side the window was out of its tracks and hitting the lock mechanism pushrods. I got it back in the track and rolled up and the door can open/close without auto-locking. On the driver's side... not so much but I opened the vent window a little bit and I can reach my arm in to open it if need be :) I'm not worried about it being stolen (see #4 below) I just don't want any moisture getting in there now that the carpet's in. 4. Removed the shifter cane (Warner T18). Discovered several issues, one I knew about but was confirmed. The "pin" that always gets chowdered up giving you play in the shifter is... chowdered up. I'll get a new one. I also found there's some kind of active leak going on there because the foam-rubber pad (that never seems to be in any diagrams I have) that sits on top to cushion when you slam the shifter too hard is SOAKED with oil and the top of the transmission is a hot mess. A future task to track down. Also while I was there I found the reverse switch was installed but there were no wires to it! Now I know why that wasn't working. 5. Painted painted painted. We're going to get a proper paint job some day but it's not a budget priority right now and I wanted to at least get some of the rust mitigated. Most of the body is actually in decent shape and I don't want it to deteriorate. I got all the rust on the "nose" and about a foot of the left/right front quarter panels treated, then primed, then I was holding this can of paint my son picked out and made a bad decision. He had gotten it has one of three options for a bumper paint (he wasn't sure what I would like best) and I thought, hey, this is nicer than primer, why not? So I sprayed it on. It's textured. Oopsie. No big deal, it'll all get removed anyway when I start getting the body ready for its real paint job. But I did feel like an idiot. I was in a rush and made a mistake. Story of my life. All was not lost though. Right then, Amazon rolled up with some gloss red I had wanted to throw on just to see how we liked the color on the truck in general. I quickly sanded some of the texture off and threw the red on and it came out pretty nice in the end. Plenty to hold it through the winter. 6. Not all the paint was a problem. I did get my rear primer de-rusted, primed, and painted. I went with this metallic silver my son also found and THAT looks AMAZING. I have a pic here but it does not do it justice. I threw on two coats of that plus a clear coat. I'm pretty easy on my bumpers, I tend to drop the tailgate and climb in to get stuff 99% of the time, so I think it'll last awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 I think I might take a chance and cut out the speaker grille. I'm installing a new speaker and the Covercraft cover has its own grille. The one I have is a hot mess full of crumbly foam and I think any kind of actual audio under it will just shake the rest of it to bits. :) After that, yes, I think the bulk of this is structurally sound. I don't dare wave it around in the air but it seems pretty intact. It's not a super difficult item to remove later so maybe I'll just leave it be for now (I have plenty of other projects) and move on to other tasks. I can come back to it later. I had a good day overall. I didn't really get many good pics because I was too busy banging away: 1. Installed new turn signal switch and chrome turn signal lever. I haven't reinstalled the wheel, because it's easier to reinstall the dash without it but also I have a mystery wire on the new switch. This thing didn't come with instructions, anybody know what the small white socket-looking-thingy that only has one wire on it is for? Nothing in the FSM or EVTM seems to mention it. Something for a later year? 2. Installed insulation on the floor. This was the 3-piece kit from LMC but I only installed 2 parts of it. I didn't really like the look and feel of the thin/heavy extra insulation sheets so I passed on those. The carpet looks... OK I guess. It's super bunched up in some spots and wrinkled in others from shipping. Hopefully it will relax now that it's in the vehicle. 3. Figured out the window/lock interaction issue, or at least part of it. On the passenger side the window was out of its tracks and hitting the lock mechanism pushrods. I got it back in the track and rolled up and the door can open/close without auto-locking. On the driver's side... not so much but I opened the vent window a little bit and I can reach my arm in to open it if need be :) I'm not worried about it being stolen (see #4 below) I just don't want any moisture getting in there now that the carpet's in. 4. Removed the shifter cane (Warner T18). Discovered several issues, one I knew about but was confirmed. The "pin" that always gets chowdered up giving you play in the shifter is... chowdered up. I'll get a new one. I also found there's some kind of active leak going on there because the foam-rubber pad (that never seems to be in any diagrams I have) that sits on top to cushion when you slam the shifter too hard is SOAKED with oil and the top of the transmission is a hot mess. A future task to track down. Also while I was there I found the reverse switch was installed but there were no wires to it! Now I know why that wasn't working. 5. Painted painted painted. We're going to get a proper paint job some day but it's not a budget priority right now and I wanted to at least get some of the rust mitigated. Most of the body is actually in decent shape and I don't want it to deteriorate. I got all the rust on the "nose" and about a foot of the left/right front quarter panels treated, then primed, then I was holding this can of paint my son picked out and made a bad decision. He had gotten it has one of three options for a bumper paint (he wasn't sure what I would like best) and I thought, hey, this is nicer than primer, why not? So I sprayed it on. It's textured. Oopsie. No big deal, it'll all get removed anyway when I start getting the body ready for its real paint job. But I did feel like an idiot. I was in a rush and made a mistake. Story of my life. All was not lost though. Right then, Amazon rolled up with some gloss red I had wanted to throw on just to see how we liked the color on the truck in general. I quickly sanded some of the texture off and threw the red on and it came out pretty nice in the end. Plenty to hold it through the winter. 6. Not all the paint was a problem. I did get my rear primer de-rusted, primed, and painted. I went with this metallic silver my son also found and THAT looks AMAZING. I have a pic here but it does not do it justice. I threw on two coats of that plus a clear coat. I'm pretty easy on my bumpers, I tend to drop the tailgate and climb in to get stuff 99% of the time, so I think it'll last awhile. Man, that's a LOT of WORK! (I'm seeing Maynard G. Krebs saying that.) I got tired just reading the list. I don't know what the white socket thing is as I've not seen it. A pic? Glad you got the window and lock bit sorted. Or, sorta sorted. Insulation is good, but sound deadening below it helps even more. On the tranny, if someone filled it too full it might overflow. They are to be filled to the bottom of the fill plug, but some people pour it in through the shifter housing. As for the painting, we have a saying: Pics or it didn't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted December 5, 2021 Author Share Posted December 5, 2021 Man, that's a LOT of WORK! (I'm seeing Maynard G. Krebs saying that.) I got tired just reading the list. I don't know what the white socket thing is as I've not seen it. A pic? Glad you got the window and lock bit sorted. Or, sorta sorted. Insulation is good, but sound deadening below it helps even more. On the tranny, if someone filled it too full it might overflow. They are to be filled to the bottom of the fill plug, but some people pour it in through the shifter housing. As for the painting, we have a saying: Pics or it didn't happen. Thanks! I was really pushing yesterday, I knew the weather was going to turn today and today's a family day (decorating the house). I probably won't get much done today, but I'll get some better photos. Meanwhile I could use some advice. So I have 8-lug 16.5" rims on this thing with a mis-mosh of tires I'm sure came from a boneyard. I can only find one single vendor selling an R16.5 tire (the Firestone Transforce) outside of Super Swampers or military hummer tires, neither of which is a good choice for this truck. I really want a better choice available because I'm going to be taking this back-country a fair bit, not rock crawling but definitely forest service roads. For reference, I usually run something like a Nitto Grappler or a Toyo Open Country M/T. As near as I can figure it, replacing the rims is my only option. But rim choices for an 8-lug 6.5" pattern ALSO seem to be limited. Not as bad, but there's maybe a dozen options, not exactly hundreds. What I'm trying to figure out is if it's better to use one of the limited 8-lug options, or put on adapters. I know lug-pattern adapters exist but I don't have any experience with them. Are there downsides (other than pushing the wheels a few inches outboard)? I don't know if there are anecdotes about people having them fail, or other types of problems... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 Thanks! I was really pushing yesterday, I knew the weather was going to turn today and today's a family day (decorating the house). I probably won't get much done today, but I'll get some better photos. Meanwhile I could use some advice. So I have 8-lug 16.5" rims on this thing with a mis-mosh of tires I'm sure came from a boneyard. I can only find one single vendor selling an R16.5 tire (the Firestone Transforce) outside of Super Swampers or military hummer tires, neither of which is a good choice for this truck. I really want a better choice available because I'm going to be taking this back-country a fair bit, not rock crawling but definitely forest service roads. For reference, I usually run something like a Nitto Grappler or a Toyo Open Country M/T. As near as I can figure it, replacing the rims is my only option. But rim choices for an 8-lug 6.5" pattern ALSO seem to be limited. Not as bad, but there's maybe a dozen options, not exactly hundreds. What I'm trying to figure out is if it's better to use one of the limited 8-lug options, or put on adapters. I know lug-pattern adapters exist but I don't have any experience with them. Are there downsides (other than pushing the wheels a few inches outboard)? I don't know if there are anecdotes about people having them fail, or other types of problems... I'm running Wheel Vintiques 82-680804 16 x 8 wheels on Big Blue. And Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx in LT285/75R16 tires. Makes for a good combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Blue Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 I'm running Wheel Vintiques 82-680804 16 x 8 wheels on Big Blue. And Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx in LT285/75R16 tires. Makes for a good combination. Absolutely love my Cooper Discoverer A/T 3s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted December 5, 2021 Author Share Posted December 5, 2021 Absolutely love my Cooper Discoverer A/T 3s Those are all great tires and if I had 16" rims they'd definitely be on the list. The question is: what's the best path to 16" rims from here? Is it to try to find a decent 16" on an 8-lug/6.5" pattern? Which do seem to be available but with limited options... Or to use a lug-pattern adapter to a 5" or 6" lug where I have more rim choices? Curious whether there's some reason one or another is "better"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted December 5, 2021 Author Share Posted December 5, 2021 Those are all great tires and if I had 16" rims they'd definitely be on the list. The question is: what's the best path to 16" rims from here? Is it to try to find a decent 16" on an 8-lug/6.5" pattern? Which do seem to be available but with limited options... Or to use a lug-pattern adapter to a 5" or 6" lug where I have more rim choices? Curious whether there's some reason one or another is "better"... Ohhh I replied too soon. I didn't see the Wheel Vintiques, they definitely look nice. I'll explore them more, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlisle Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 1. Installed new turn signal switch and chrome turn signal lever. I haven't reinstalled the wheel, because it's easier to reinstall the dash without it but also I have a mystery wire on the new switch. This thing didn't come with instructions, anybody know what the small white socket-looking-thingy that only has one wire on it is for? Nothing in the FSM or EVTM seems to mention it. Something for a later year? That wire and light bulb is for a van or later truck or something. I snipped mine. Put heat shrink over it, heated it to melty at the end and crimped it off, stuck it back in the wire wrapping. One warning good for everyone, If you're making two consecutive turns, let the stalk reset on it's own. If you force the second signal, you can damage the plastic parts in the signal mechanism. Yes I found that out the hard way. Good luck and keep at it. I think most of uys have been where you are at some point. I'm not a year in yet, but am familiar with all you're doing so far other than the wheels - mine are 15s on a F150 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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