Beez's Build, Beer, Bash, Break!

So,
Just got this 04, my third toy pickup. I'm going to fix a long list of little stuff, then armor, lift, and go wheeling! The main stuff right now is leaking rack (both ends and the valve), missing skid plates, steering play, and some electrical. The good news is it's got Bilsteins, toytec springs on the front, and some unknown lift on the back. Anyone know how to measure how much lift it has vs stock?

These Westin steps and push bar worth anything? I'd like to sell them off and put some BAMF rock sliders on and a bumper from...? Suggestions?

List of things that need to be done, or have been done, mainly for me to keep track of what still needs to be done. ( pretty much everything, but I'll be hitting the lottery soon... ):

Weigh the truck: 4020 pounds as of 1/17/18
Drivers side rear window trim needs replacing.
Drivers and passenger front window trim replaced with OEM inside and out 5/18.
Power steering flush and clean screen.
Brake flush completed 5/18.
Air filter and spark plugs replaced 4/18 @141k.
Diagnose & repair weak brakes and excessive E-Brake handle travel.
Change drive line fluids.
Grease drive line completed 4/18 @141k
Acquire and program additional door lock remote(s).
Remove "push bar", reinstall towing hooks.
Remove front windows tint.
Lots of rusty areas underneath to treat.
Lots of rubber bushings have deteriorated and need to be replaced.
Pax sun visor clip. Fixed 3/18
Oil Leak appears to be from Steering Rack pressure and return lines?.
Hood Delamination issue?!?!?!??#$%^&*(
License plate lights and wiring, fixed 3/18.
RH mirror lateral traverse inop, and it's not the switch or the mirror...
Cracked hub caps replaced 5/18.
Seat belt slow retract.
Driver seat cracked plastic and cracking vinyl.
F Pax seat headrest loose and vibrates. Adjuster inop.
Rear center seatbelt has been relocated inappropriately. Fixed 3/18.
Rotate Tires 3/18 @140k
Performed steering column tack welds. Steering still loose. Deteriorated rack guides?
Alignment 4/18.

Acquire touch up paint.

Dynamat.
Better speakers/head unit/amp.
Seat covers ( Wet Okole ) or change front seats or both!
2Lo mod.
Grey wire mod.
Power outlet mod completed 4/18.
Reverse Camera.
Skids. Got a nice stainless steel single piece for now from @22REthan. That should work until the BAMF skids come out for the BestGen.
Sliders.
Bumpers.
Lights.
Electrical.
Front locker?
OBA?
Suspension.
Tires.
Camper. GFC probably, Drifter second choice.
HAM radio, CB?

 

From what I've read here and elsewhere, these are not really nerf bars or anything. Just crawled under the truck and confirm, the steps are only held on by two bolts. The push bar is slightly better, it mounts on the tow hook mounts, sadly they deleted the tow hook and eyes in the process...

 

So, today's project was to fix the license plate lights. The guy who sold it to me was so proud of it, maybe he just didn't know all the little things broken, wrong or missing... . For instance, when I sell a vehicle, I damn sure make sure all the lights work, and in this case both license plate lights were out.

Why? No bulbs installed. Why no bulbs? Because no sockets installed! Why no sockets installed? Wiring missing on one side, and tied back with a tie wrap on the other. Why? Hmmmm. Beer?

So, I looked up the part numbers for the sockets and wire, ordered that...

It says wire on the tin but, I don't see any wire here, and, sadly, no mating connector, but it gets better, the sockets don't mate with the housings...

Is it possible the housings are from a later model truck? You can see the sockets have four small tabs but the housings have holes for two wider tabs. I ordered some housings from the dealer to see if those might fit. That visit was almost as much fun and took almost as long as the DMV! When I asked him about the mating wiring harness he said I would have to order the whole harness, as in whole truck! Then he said oReillys would have it since its generic. Yeah, no. Went there. They have similar but not that.

Anyone parting out a truck want to sell me the license plate lights, sockets, and mating connectors plus about 6" or the wire so I can splice onto my harness?

Am I having fun yet?

 

This should help.

 

Nice truck...
I suggest a Shrock Works front bumper. As for sliders, there are many options available. Get a set that suits your budget. Look at All Pro for example.

Good luck.

 

OMG those are some really nice bumpers!

The main reason I'm leaning towards Bay Area Metal Fab is they have really nice products too, and they are local to me here in the SF Bay area, so I could hopefully save shipping.
Of course then there's tax so maybe that's a push. Anyway, BAMF seems like a standup guy based on his participation and build threads here...
Also I'd be supporting local business. But I had mainly eyeballed his sliders, they seem like the real heavy duty deal!

Here's a question for the more knowledgeable, if I get full coverage under-armor, will that help prevent catalytic converter theft? Maybe put in Torx bolts or some other non-standard fastener? We've had two stolen over the years (Oakland), one off our '98 4xECLB, and one off my friend's 95 4x truck when he was taking care of my then cancer patient wife while I was out of town. Talk about bad karma! Thanks Greg!
B

 

Bump!

Comon guys give this thread some LOVE!
Help a newbie get started!

Anyone recommend a place to get pigtail connectors for my license plate lights?
Just need a bit more specificity than google wants to give me. Somebody here has to have had this problem before...

 

Check out Del City: https://www.delcity.net/

Good luck.

 

Oof, lots of stuff there, nothing that looks like the license plate connector though...

 

Local junk yard Cypress Auto in Oakland FTW!
They weren't even going to charge me but I gave the yard hand a ten spot for pulling it for me.


Oh, and you can go ahead and start the BUILD thread OF the YEAR nominations...

 

Got that license plate light working, spliced the wires. Man i hate those necessary so you don't get pulled over items. Keep me from more important stuff like bumpers, skids, armor and suspension.

Greased my drive line today. Remembered my safety glasses and got a big chunk of something right in my eye anyway. Got all eight Zerks with Lucas #2 extra spoogy red.

Tested the 4wd for a mile or two on road just to spin the front and move the grease around a bit. Wouldn't drop out. Had to back up and then it dropped out with a big SNAP! I miss my manual hubs...

 

hope you boys love a little knob as much as i do!

 

Well, had a bit of play in the steering, no clicking or clunking so many have reported....

 

It was a really easy fix, maybe two hours including cleaning enough shop space to even FIND the work bench, and supervising house painters.

Interestingly, the slip joint seems to be plastic lined. It melted and extruded out the holes a little due to the heat of welding. I've not heard this mentioned by any of the other guys performing this repair.

Finally, i greased that collar near three bottom of the column. It had wear patterns indicating that it runs in a bushing and also remains of dried grease.

Test drive shows a noticable improvement in steering precision with near zero slop on center!

 

AAACK! I'm stuck at work this weekend!

Oh well, I rotated my tires front to back this morning while getting paid to do nothing else. Figured out why the hub center covers ( steel ) are cracked inside the aluminum wheels. Galvanic corrosion anyone? Yep, this truck came from the rust belt ( Omaha ). What's everyone's favorite spray on rust converting appellation? For frame and under bed, rear axle, etc.

On the same subject, while I had the wheels off, I gave the CV joints a good shake, and the driver's side inner has a lot of movement. Could this be an indication that it's gone, or that the needle bearing in the front diff is gone? Is there a way to tell the difference between the two before I take it all apart?

Trying ( increasingly desperately ) to get the wife to go "camping" WHEELING next weekend...
Beez

 

On the extremely remote chance that anyone ever reads this thread:

Why the FUCK can't I figure out the MPG on this vehicle? I use two methods:

1) Top off. Reset trip odo. Go drive around a bunch. Top off again. Note gallons. Divide trip odo mileage by gallons. = ~14mpg.

2) Use Torque Pro on OBDII. = ~25mpg average. Over a bunch of miles, gentle driving in varying conditions. Mostly flattish sea level hwy.

One of these is NOT EVEN CLOSE!

Now, I have measured my speed with a gps, and it compares pretty closely to what is on my speedo, and the OBD, so the needle on the dash shows 70 I"m doing about 67-68. Pretty typical for an analog speedo vehicle IME.

Also, I'm running stock tires ( 265/70/16 I think, wife has the truck today ).

So, what gives? I'm thinking the 14 is probably more like it, but wishing the 25 was.

Thanks!
Beez