Chris(NJ); Slowly but surely, a build journal

I have been seriously considering switching to these from my Max’s which will need to be replaced this year

 

I barely have any miles on them, but so far so good. Everyone seems to have good things to say. I'll be curious how they wear over time. I'd say to go for it! I got tired of the duratracs after 100k on them. Needed a change.

 

The Max’s have served me well with 57k on them they still have decent tread. Idk sometimes I Just want to try something different. I wont get sway fro coopers though

 

I hear ya. I'm that way too.
Mine were a little less this time. I changed these out w/ 53k on them. Still had tread but they wore in bad patterns so I was getting a lot of humming and vibrating.

 

Swapping in new bed bolts. Old ones were pretty rusty. Had to take a couple out, 1/4 turn at a time. Took almost 15 minutes for just one bolt lol. Blew out the holes w/ compressed air before reinstalling new ones w/ plenty of anti-seize and some marine grease up top.


They all looked like this.....

 

Continuing w/ operation re-fresh....some overkill showed up in the mail today......

 

Another oil change at 146,841.

Also set the 2.5's to show 24.1/2 threads on the passenger side and 26.1/2 threads on the driver side. Hoping I nailed this on the first shot so I don't have to take them off after settling to readjust.

 

Finally got those 2.5's installed the other day. Mileage at 146,915.

 

147,078; Knocked out the 3 idler pulleys and serpentine belt. Skipped the tensioner pulley. It spun very freely. Could probably be replaced the next time I think of it.


Also did the UCA re-fresh. New bushings and uni-ball....

Old urethane bushings. Lots of caked on grease. The uniball was totally shot. I was able to freely spin and rotate it.


And New stuff all pressed in......

 

How level are you forward with (24(PS) and 26(DS) threads showing)?

 

Not very. I'm still off by about 1", believe it or not. I read another member (I forget who) suggests 4 threads, but I wanted to start at 2 and adjust as necessary. So he might be right. I would start at a 4 thread difference and see where you're at. I'm planning to make that adjustment when I get some motivation.

 

In the meantime....New shift knob/boot recovered by Gillin Interiors. Also finishing off the sound deadening project. The floor was the final piece to the puzzle. Needed 27sq/ft of Luxury Liner Pro and Damplifier Pro to get full coverage from firewall to back seats.




Everything fit together perfectly. This was my biggest fear. The damplifier and the MLV mat was about 1/2" of total material under the carpet. Making sure it fit back together without having it look like something didn't fit right was important to me. No complaints here!



Even made a little piece for inside the center console ......

 

Wow! Nice work. Does your accelerator pedal still have full travel?

 

THanks!

ummm, FULL travel? probably not lol. All I know is that there's plenty of room and I can drive it like I normally would. Heck, I was happy the clutch pedal went far enough down to start and shift the truck

 

Forgot to add pics of the passenger side application....

 

Pics of the new leather boot and knob. Black leather with blue stitching

 

Nice clean ride man! How do you like the Fox's?!

 

Thanks!
The fox's are definitely nice, but I can't say I notice enough of a difference that I would drop this kinda money on them if I were to do it all over again. I could've gotten away w/ less. I'm not complaining though..... That's part of the fun of modding

 

Maintenance this morning. 147,918 miles and the following was done....

New OEM spark plugs
New OEM PCV valve
New OEM Air Filter
Cleaned throttle body
Cleaned MAF Sensor

I couldn't find my freaking spark plug gap tool. Drove me nuts! Wasted so much time trying to find that stupid thing. Had to go buy one...of all things lol. ugh. Anyway. The MAF/TB wasn't as dirty as I had expected. Having never cleaned it before, I expected worse, but it seemed like typical carbon buildup. Definitely nothing excessive. Started right up and everything ran super smooth. I'm sure it's a little less stress on the system now.




All clean....

 

Mounted scan gauge up high....