New England B.S. Thread

this was me installing my remote starter. "just pull the steering wheel cover off here" it didn't fucking come off!!

 

I used some youtube videos along with the FSM to do my Lnadcruisers timing belt and some other stuff. Made it pretty easy in combination with the FSM to fill in some gaps.

 

yep. Just pop this little cover off here, crack. It was helpful when I had to figure out how to take the air bag out of the truck. I was nervous as hell with that one but the YouTubers were right, simple dismantling.

 

in the video they did it one handed, little bit of pressure "comes right off." i have the gouge marks to prove that's not true haha

 

I absolutely hate anything attached with clips, like plastic interior trim. It takes so much force I think I'm going to break it by the time it comes off. More often than not one of the clips goes flying never to be seen again too. I really don't think it would be the end of the world to just use painted screws, or screws with little plastic covers over them to hide them.

 

i feel like it never goes back together the same way

 

And it's always rattle city afterwards.

 

Robots can assemble snap pieces with some lee way. They can get close and the snaps guide them the rest of the way, add some force, assembled it is! Screws would take a lot more precision and a lot more assembly efforts and time even from machines.

 

Amen! I absolutely HATE taking the grille out of the F-250. There are I think 14 of those push pin connectors, 8 bolts then you have to pull straight back to release something like 20 snap connectors. It is getting easier every time because I think I break 1-2 off each time

 

Is there anyone who has relaced them with SS fasteners? If it’s something that comes on and off a lot I’d definitely look at rigging something up.

 

No, it's those plastic retainer clips! Once they break off, you're screwed. The ones at the bottom are stout and there are bolts on the top, so you're never really in jeopardy of losing the grille, just sucks seeing the little plastic pieces fly. I just try not to take it off in the cold if I can avoid it.

 

I have 4 different types of Toyota OEM clips in my basement. I sucked it up and bought bags of them from my dealer, its like 3 bucks each for the ones with the rubber gaskets on them! I know you are talking Ford, but it's all the same with these plastic clips.

Now I just grip and rip, they break, I shrug and go find a matching one . I actually have some more coming in the mail right now for the fender flares, because people say they break easy I'm just saving myself the hassle.

I do wish I didn't break so many of the interior plastic clips, those require buying whole new trim pieces

 

My Father would call clips like those and e-clips and circ-clips Oh Jesus clips.
Because the clip would go flying and he'd say "Oh Jesus where did that go."

 

Oh Jesus Clips, or Pingdamnits; the sound that follows taking one off - 'PING' as it hits something on the other side of the garage, "Damn it" as you realize you just lost another.

 

The problem with the Ford grille clips is it's the grille piece that breaks off, not the replaceable part. That's why I don't take it off in the winter because things are breaking off. I have a bunch of the clips you're talking about and keep them on hand for the same reason. I don't even worry about those, it's the parts that break off that piss me off. They're little plastic fingers that fit into a metal retainer. The plastic gets brittle, the metal doesn't give or holds it too tightly and snap.

 

What’s everyone’s thought on well-executes bedlining jobs on a truck body?

My paint is terrible shape and I am considering purchasing the tintable raptor liner and re-spraying the truck.
I have already purchased a new bed which is green and would need re sprayed anyways.
The truck is currently black and I would be going bright white with a finer finish like below?

 

I have some for the girlfriend's Mazda, but none for the Ford. I had to pull her door panels off to fix the speakers and everything I found said I would break a lot of clips. Surprisingly, I only broke 3 but now I have about 27 spares!

 

I really like the look of them. It's not likely something I'd do to my vehicles (mostly because I keep them shiny and would never have a reason to) but I love the look. I'm not sure how much more difficult it is to get/keep clean or if that's a concern. If you need to paint it anyways, I say go for it!

 

as someone posted you can just buy a boatload of them. Check out rock auto they might sell them in bulk.

I’m not a fan of it on the body unless it’s a nearly dedicated trail rig. Other than the added weight though, who gives a shit what the internet says. If you like it go for it. There was a green bed lined raptor I saw a few years ago on the inter webs somewhere.




This evening I’ve washed my truck. Wash mitt and all. Looks sparkly clean. I’m not taking it into the trail unMBtil the sliders are on so it’s a few weeks figure might as well have it clean in the stretch. And added some flair to the truck.

 

I'm not doing a great job explaining it. There's a little plastic tab that's part of the grille, they insert into either a plastic or metal insert on the truck side. Sometimes the truck side doesn't let go or hangs on a little too tightly and the plastic tab breaks off from the grille. Only way back is to try and epoxy it back on and hope it holds up. There are a couple that are in a tight spot, once those break off clean, you're all set