Big Blue To Tackle The GOAT

[Gary Lewis]

I thought about using Big but then how would you see the snake?  

Yes, he scurried off as I approached.  However, I was about to step right where he was going and that spooked me when I realized it.

[Nothing Special]

Looks like an enjoyable trip, but I understand cutting things short.  Not entirely unlike how Lesley and I frequently end up on easier 4 wheel drive trails on that last day of a trip!

What tire pressure were you running?  With the chance of hitting big ruts at speed you wouldn't want to go as low as you might on a true 4WD trail, but a better ride is maybe the biggest advantage of airing down.  I MIGHT have dropped my 50/40 psi normal pressures to something like 30/20 for that type of driving.  (Or I might not have...)

[Gary Lewis]

I left the tires at 35 psi, the normal pressure.  That's 'cause we had so many sections of highway between the sections of trail, and then the trip to/from the hotels.  So it would have been a big pain to change the pressures.

If I had the compressor installed I might have dropped them to the low 20's for the trail.  We could have driven slowly on the blacktop/highway and then aired up at the end of the day before dashing to the hotel.

[swampedout]

Those trails look nice and shady. It is definitely snake season, I had a bull snake or gopher snake holed up in my Bullnose last week.

I know Im a day late, but happy birthday! Seems like you celebrated it the right way!

[Gary Lewis]

Oh no!  I'm glad I didn't have a snake IN my truck.  

But thanks for the birthday wishes.  Yes, I got to spend it the way I wanted.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'd rather have the black snake holed up in my truck than the rodent damage I've seen here on the forum.

[Gary Lewis]

There's truth to that.  But I don't know what damage I'd do to the truck if I was driving when the snake came out of hiding.  

[Gary Lewis]

To wrap this up, I filled the truck up and washed it today.  The fill up took 23.2 gallons and we'd gone 236.2 miles for an average of 10.2 MPG.  Of the 236 miles, 111 were on the highway doing from 55 to 65, so only 125 were on the trail.  So assuming we got 11.5 MPG on the highway then we got 9.2 MPG on the trail portion of Tuesday.

As for the wash jobs, plural, I spent quite a bit of money at the local car wash, mostly hitting it with hot water & soap at high pressure.  Mud oozed from every pore.  From behind all of the trim.  From the wheel wells.  From the bumper - especially the front but even from behind the rubber trim strip on the back.  EVERYWHERE!

Once I thought I was done there I brought it home and spent a couple of hours going over it in the driveway.  And still got a ton of mud out.  But, finally it came fairly clean.  Here's sort of a before and after:



However, I did find one ding we didn't have when we started.  We backed into something that hit the trim panel on the tailgate.  Oh well, that's why you don't "restore" a truck before taking it offroading.




Then, when I thought I was all done, I tried to close the hood and it wouldn't stay latched.  As it turns out, the two bolts holding the hood latch on were both loose and the latch had slid down way out of adjustment.  So there are the first two of what will probably be many loose bolts I'll find as I check the truck out.  

[grumpin]

Too bad about that panel as they are hard to come by, or at least expensive!

But, that’s what your truck is for. Looks nice, everything came out good for an adventure!

Drove my truck on a 170 mile or so trip today. Very uneventful. I like that.

[ArdWrknTrk]

A) This is why I use Loctite and not Anti-Seize.

B) Be sure you flush the heck out of those wheel arch supports.
Mud loves to sit up there and hold moisture at the pinch weld.
While you don't have to deal with electrolytes like road salt and magnesium chloride 'brine' I can tell you where this will lead.

And that is why I have left a couple of holes in the top of each wheel well, so I can flush them out without having to lay under the truck to spray over the plastic fender liners.

Squirting some oil up there so it can wick into the seam and keep water out will help a lot in the long term.

Big Blue is certainly looking good!  

[Gary Lewis]

Dane - Yes, the panels are expensive, so I'm bummed that I messed this one up.    But I hope my body/paint guy can smooth it out some.  He's told me before that he is pretty going doing that, so I'll check with him at some point.

And yes, uneventful trips are the goal.  Ours was pretty much that way, with a few small exceptions.

Jim - Let's put it this way, those bolts won't come loose again.  

And I did spend a lot of time flushing the wheel arches.  Both with the high pressure at the car wash and then with the hose at home.  And I put the hose in ahead of the liners several times, so I hope I got it out.  But I already have rust there and it is coming through the body putty someone put there.    So when I get it on the lift, maybe tomorrow, I'm going to take the liners loose and see what's behind them.  And I might put some holes in them to make it easier to clean them next time.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Well, once you welded that good latch in place I wouldn't expect it to come loose again.  

I left holes in the metal center section, not the plastic front and rear.
My arches were pretty shot!
If you're sure the seam is thoroughly dry give it some oil.
It can only help keep that rust at bay.

[Gary Lewis]

No, I didn't weld it.  But I did use the orange Loctite.  

On the arches, when I am sure they are dry I'll hit them with some oil.  Maybe Fluidfilm?

[ArdWrknTrk]

I picked up some of the orange Loctite when I last saw it.  

That's exactly what Fluidfilm is formulated and sold for.
I think you have the right product for the job

[Gary Lewis]

Good to know.  

[Machspeed]

Bummer on that panel, Gary! I for sure would not have been happy about that finding. Hopefully your paint and autobody guy can fix that. I've seen them do some amazing things with trim.

You should have cleaned up Blue at the house......topsoil!

[Gary Lewis]

Well, John, having done as Jim suggested and looked the rear wheel wells over closely there's lots more top soil that needs to come out.  

So I need to get the truck back out in the driveway and have another go at it with the hose.  Then, when that's done and dry I'll apply the black Fluid Film I ordered today.  (Turned out that the can I had was almost empty.)

Anyway, I'm going to wrap up this GOAT thread with one more discovery & pic and then go back to the Transformation thread.  I looked the truck over closely today, and while I haven't finished checking all of the bolts for tightness, it looks like everything is still tight.  However, I did find this.  One of my wires wasn't properly secured and its convolute rubbed on the front driveshaft for a large part of the trip since I had the hubs locked in.  But it didn't really harm the convolute, so I tied it up out of the way - securely this time.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'm glad you haven't found anything else loosened up or overlooked.  

Yeah, wheel arch rot is one of those things that seems designed into these trucks.  

That's why I decided it would be a lot better to make the mud able to dry out, and easier to flush.
I think DieselBrad had suggested putting holes there.

Seems your off-road shake down was successful.

When do you intend to get to work on the air tank and tire carrier?

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, the wheel well design is horrible.  I'm going to add some holes to be able to flush the dirt out, but you don't really have much room to drill w/o hitting the outer panel.

As for the next project, that will be the air compressor and tank.  As soon as I get the wheel wells cleaned and Filmed I'll start on that.  The spare tire carrier is way off in the distance as EFI comes first.

Overall I'm pleased with Big Blue.  He ain't perfect, but he sure is stout.  Next up, Ouray!  

[ArdWrknTrk]

Well, I did have the whole wheel arch removed for replacement, so it was easy for me.
The one side is all opened up already.

I don't it would be too hard to trim it back to solid metal.
And maybe make a hole or two on the other side with a disc in a muffler tool or die grinder.