I read that you just have to drill out the holes for the bigger bolts. We'll see not even sure I'm going to do it yet but I will have them in the garage so i can always compare and try.

The 08+ leaf springs are longer and have less leafs so they ride nicer but they squat a lot compared to the older leafs. To compensate for that i was going to get some rear airbags to fill up when hauling and that way it rides nice but don't squat any more than she used to. I am also looking into nicer riding front leafs so that i don't have a nice ride in the rear and stiff up front. I was going to get rear 08 lift springs and front lift springs form the same company that way they ride equally.

 

subscribing to this one. Can't wait to see more.
Trav

 

Ordered a new Spectra fuel tank just now, I should have it Thursday thank god for Amazon Prime lol. I will most likely pull the bed because i will be removing the spare tire carrier and painting the frame in Silver POR or at least as much of it as i can I only have a quart and i will be using some on my 04 since the floor pan is rusting.

 

Received my tank yesterday afternoon I will be attempting to install it in the next week or two.

I have one more issue which is the emergency brake is not hooked up. When i first bought the truck i had no time to learn to fix it so i gave it to my GF's dad who is a mechanic and he did the brake lines for me and said i needed new emergency brake lines. I got all of them except for the one that comes from the pedal. He installed them but never linked them together (naturally i was furious because i paid him to do everything but i let it go). Basically I have the single cable coming form the peal and then the two cables that link together at the metal bracket near the bed and I also have i believe it's called the intermediate cable which goes from the bracket to the pedal cable. It's about 2" too short and i can't get any slack out of the pedal cable or rear cables to connect them so they are wire tied together right now. anyone have any idea's being a manual I always feel funny leaving it in gear (which i would anyway) and not having the ebrake locked.

EDIT: Also they are all the correct lengths 117" wheelbase (Reg Cab Short Bed)

 

Mine is spring loaded on the pedal side and was able to get enough slack to connet them. A second set of hands would make it easier.

 

Hmm..ok ill grab my buddy then to give me a hand, it gets do close it's annoying lol.

 

This weekend i will be removing the bed and replacing the fuel tank. The reason i chose to remove the bed is because the brakes blew in my SD and i chose to fix the 95 first now so that i can make more room for my SD. The 95 is the rear is on the grass and an an angle so getting a jack and everything under it to get the tank out would be a pita rather than grabbing my brother and dad to help get the bed off and on some saw horses for an afternoon.

I'm also going to take a crack at hooking up my e brake line again after i fix the tank because i will be able to move the truck to the driveway then.

Also my grandfather is going to start driving it around since he need something other than his Buick to haul things back and forth for his woodworking and other hobbies lol. I will still own it but he is going to be driving it and taking care of it...also he lives next door so it's not going far lol i will be keeping up on the maintenance and everything on it i basically want him to drive it so i gets used and not neglected like it has since December while i work on my SD and drive the expedition. I bought it to give it a second chance and not get crushed in a junk yard...plus it was cheap lol.

Secretly i think he wants something tall enough that my 4'8" grandmother can't get in so he can go places alone lol.

 

Small update kinda, I had a buddy of mine help me with the bed this past weekend and we got the bolts cut off and the bed removed, the bed is in rough shape it needs both fenders along with the front and back lower panels (i forget the technical name right now) and one cross member is rotted out. between buying all the panels and then getting them installed and the bed painted i would be cheaper to buy a new bed or build a flat bed. I plan to POR the frame though while the bed and tank are out so i will upload pics of that this coming weekend.

 

That looks like a good time right there. I am having flash backs to my Ranger lol.

On a random note, the Chassis Saver helped me last winter, but this year I am undercoating the Ranger with bar and chain oil using a shutz gun. $10 a gallon at Walmart for the oil and $16.50 for the gun. I am willing to take that risk. Check this out:

Bar Oil Undercoating

Economy Shutz Gun with 1 Quart Can

 

Cool, my plan was to POR and do and then use motor oil or something but that seems like a better option especially since it's so cheap. On my 04 I an going to POR, topcoat it with the chassis coat and then use that stuff then to have several layers. I probably wont drive my 04 in the winter anymore since I have my expedition and the 95 but still can't hurt lol.

 

I was always told motor oil too, but after reading about bar and chain oil it just makes sense. It is designed to stick to stuff and I believe it reacts with rust because there is phosporus in it. From wikipedia:

I looked at lunch today and Tractor Supply (if you have them) has it on sale for $7 a gallon. You can't beat that lol.

I have lots of undercoating to do yet. It is my final push in preparing for winter . Good thing I don't have to harvest crops to feed my 8 children.... No time for that with vehicles that need repaired

 

So a few updates finally been really busy recently.

I moved the truck to the sand patch where my pool used to be becasue i needed room to start working on my 04 again. I hooked up the Expy and had my fiance pull me in the 95...forgot to tell her to get teh line taughnt before the gave me wiplash .


As you can tell i am taking up a lot of space in my backyard lol.


I removed my hitch to paint it and get the 2" ball ot that has been rusted into the receiver since the day i got the truck.


Just another shot of the truck befor i moved it i covered the tank for when it rained later that day.


I also removed the front bumper and rear bumper to repaint them while all this work is getting done.


This past weekend i painted the frame with Silver POR15...forgot i should have painted the inside first not the outside that way i could have leaned on the frame to paint it but oh well the tank area was fully covered so that will be getting installed this evening. Once the tank is in i will finish the rest of the frame and start working on the bed to get it back into shape. I also cut the spare tire carrier out of the frame since it is no longer the correct size and the spare will not be in the bed instead, i also cut the tail pipe just behind the axle so it dumps just behind the rear wheels not out the side anymore.

Like i said earlier in this thread the radiator support and fenders need replacing as well and i was going to replace them however my grandfather wants to do that at a later date instead so we will see how long it takes to replace them. I have a bad habit of taking something apart and continuing to disassemble it to fix other things that are not the main concern yet lol.

No picture's of the frame yet i will grab one tonight before i install the new tank.

 

Keep the pictures coming! I love watching rust vanish... it's like a cure for cancer!

 

Lol me too makes everything look so much nicer once the rusty color is gone.

 

I am particularly curious about the silver. I think that will turn out very nice.