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Can anyone help me with this... I would like to know how the WHOLE side (not just the skin) is attached to the rest of the bed. Please see picture for reference.
How hard is it to remove (is it spot welded; line welded, or just held together with bolts etc)?
How hard is it to re-align the side to the bed?
Passenger side has been removed from the wheel well out...
After getting my lazy @$$ under the truck I noticed a seam the length of the truck bed with about 50 spot welds on it. With this seam I also noticed about another dozen spread between the front and the back to attach this side onto the bed. Is that all I can expect to be keeping the bed together?
I guess I will be looking for a spot welder to borrow or someone to hire to spot weld the pieces together.
Last edited by AzMut; Jul 31, 2014 at 04:39 AM.
Reason: actually got under the truck and looked.
If you can handle basic body sheet-metal work
is should be an easy job. I am talking more that
Bondo and paint. Yes you will be doing some welding.
Mostly spot. But you may find that outside the factory
it will take more. Your going to have to build a jig to
get the gate opening square and then one to hold the
parts in the right relationship while you do the welding.
Then after that you fill the seams with body calking and
reapply the spray-on back side liner if you want that.
I would look for a takeoff bet at an equipment company
that does service box/tool box installation. You will save
a lot of time and maybe some money by not having to
build the jigs.
Not to belittle your reply; but I have already am going down that route as well as this one.
Originally Posted by Yahiko
Your going to have to build a jig to get the gate opening square
- could I just use the gate with a spacer to make sure that the bed stays square - measuring corner to corner and across in a few spots?
Originally Posted by Yahiko
and then one to hold the parts in the right relationship while you do the welding.
- clamps along the entire seam on the underside of bed?
Originally Posted by Yahiko
I would look for a takeoff bet at an equipment company that does service box/tool box installation. You will save
a lot of time and maybe some money by not having to build the jigs.
I think that for the $600 (easily) I would be saving compared to going to get a take-off; I might try to do this; even if I have to toss a little $ at a spot welder (I am sure I will use it again since I would have it). The cheapest bed that I have found in the past month or so is $750 and it had paint issues - scratches. I talked him down a little but not enough to make the hour drive 1 way to get it.
If anyone knows of a place that is willing to sell a take-off from '99-'10 around the Phoenix Az area for less than $750 I am all ears... especially if it is white with good paint or white over silver with good paint I would pay a little more...
Some of the spots that will need to be re-welded are covered
up by the gate. $750 is it's only paint scratched is a good deal.
After all your going to have to paint to match.
The one the Zimm pointed out is a good deal comes with lights also.
The things is to put that 3/4 bed back together right your going to
have a lot of time and some hand made tools into it.
Also ask your local dealer who is the local company that is building
service trucks and then look them up. You might find a deal that way.
I was into the diagrams and workbooks tonight and thought you
could use this info that I found. The bed data is part 2 and 3 of
the PDFs. Part 1 is the back of the cab and not that you need it
but someone might like to have it.
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