It's one thing after another. I just finished replacing both gas tanks and fuel pumps. While under there I decided to replace shocks, they'll be here tomorrow.

The 2 rear parking brake cables are shot. Cover rotted off and metal rusted.

They make the sharp turn after intermediate cable around front spring mount. The drivers side is all kinked up like it is too long. The passenger side cable goes across axle and is mounted in clip on back of pumpkin. Problem there is it touches both shocks. There are holes worn down to cable at both shocks. It also seems too long, a shorter cable connected to sway bar wouldn't even touch shocks.

What's going on here? Maybe someone replaced them with wrong size? Still don't see how passenger side won't rub shocks while clipped on pumpkin.

Here you can see rot under frame. Driver side has chunk of cover missing in middle, I cut that off because it was a tangled mess. You can also see passenger side hitting shock.





Here's passenger side touching also.

 

It needs to have some "hoop" like that for the suspension travel. If anything, the passenger-side one seems a bit short. You can loosen that clip and slide the driver's side cable housing forward a bit if you see fit.

EEEK, replace that tire! And if you don't paint that shiny new fuel tank, it's gonna rust.

 

The tire situation is under control. I had a nice set of tires on the truck until I came home one night to find 2 of them slashed, in my driveway. I had those old tires on the old steel wheels so they went on the back. Just picked these up last week, one thing at a time.

 

I understand the whole hoop idea. The one on right is going to drivers side. It looks way better now. It wasn't hooped, it was kinked. In that spot with the missing black jacket. I "fixed" that area.

My real problem is the long passenger side cable. It runs in front of both shocks and as you can see rubs on them. It just doesn't seem right. Why would factory run cables up against moving shocks?

 

Hmm, I'll have to look at mine this weekend. I know if you loosen that clip, and take the cable out of the clip on the top of the pumpkin, you can nudge it this way or that a little, until it's not contacting anything. I'll see if I have enought light tonight to get pics.

 

Now you tell me to paint the tanks. It crossed my mind but this has already been a 3 week project. Limited time and limited space. I hate my garage and my wife hates parking her Jeep in the driveway so I'm always under the gun. Too late now, they are in and I need to move on to next project. I'll have to circle back to that at a later date.

I already replaced totally rusted out and collapsed drivers side shock tower, radius arm bushing, ball joints, shocks, and brakes on both sides. What a job. Now I have to do the passenger side so I can get an alignment and not eat up these new tires. Like I tell my wife, everything is connected. If you want to fix X you also have to fix Y and Z. One thing after another.

Here was a happy point when rusted junk shock tower was finally out!

 

The frame-bone's connected to the shock-bone,
The shock-bone's connected to the spring-bone,
The spring-bone's connected to the......

.....ain't life in the rust belt grand?

 

I have the sway bar that comes up and over front side of pumpkin. If cable was connected to that I don't think it would touch shocks. When I replace shocks I will try that. I'm ordering new cables because I use parking brake every day. Parking brake is very important to me with my sloped driveway.

I'd like to see how your cables are run and if they are rubbing shocks.

 

NO it isn't!

My wife doesn't get why I keep working on this truck. She says go buy a new one. I don't have $50,000 to $70,000 at this time. That new truck will not come with a 4.9L 300 engine.

 

I actually contacted Spectra who made the gas tanks. They just responded.

First they said painting them will void the warranty.

Next they said they are made in Canada from U.S. Steel's "Ni-Terne" material. Compared to galvanized. No other protection needed.