JBNeal

2019 has been a challenging year, in many ways...underlying all of the other things going on is my current mode of transportation since I sold The Blue Bomber last year. Dad bought this QuadCab new, took care of it as his daily driver, then about 2007 practically parked it in the barn with 150k highway miles on it and a brand new set of tires, as his work issued him a work truck. He drove it maybe once a month locally, occasionally pulling a heavy load, but for the most part it just collected dust and spiders. Late winter 2015 he called me about it not shifting into OD when it was chilly in the morning, but my warm afternoon test drive told me it was OK, he got all worked up about pulling the transmission and having it rebuilt but I whoa'd him up on that by explaining the downside of pursuing that course of action without blurting out "it's a durn waste of $$$". The eventual transmission service and adjustments helped greatly, but the throttle still needs to be feathered around 40mph to kick the thing into OD. In early 2016, I started driving it once a week to exercise the tires so they wouldn't flat-spot so bad, as my annual request of him doing this for years had not been done. This was when I 1st noticed the random Brake + ABS warning lights illuminating on the instrument panel. The truck ran fine, stopped on a dime and gave 9 cents change, but there was no clear scenario that would cause these warning lights to come on, as they would shut off on the next drive. That Labor Day weekend, I capitalized on some online discounts and replaced those 9 yr old tires that were crumbling, basically bought 2 tires and got 2 for free. When I got the truck alignment checked, the tech pointed out the front suspension wear, so that October I rebuilt the front suspension. A few days after getting the new rubber, I was zipping down a back road one night when the ABS lights came on again...a few minutes later, a varmint wandered into the roadway, I jammed on the brakes, all 4 tires locked up, flat-spotting them new tires and making me grit my teeth on subsequent highway trips as that truck vibrated for several hunnnert miles before they wore down a little bit. About a year later, I noticed a few symptoms that the FSM pointed to a defective hydroboost unit. It had developed an internal leak, which eventually dripped onto the cab carpet. About a year after that, one of the 2 yr old tires became damaged, so I replaced it and one more (that went to the spare) to have new tires on the front wheels for winter. And within a week, with another random ABS light on, I flat-spotted the tires again doing less than 30 when another driver veered into my lane near a What-A-Burger...GRRRRR! I had been studying this random ABS light issue for months, and the FSM pointed to failing ABS sensors...all 3 fell apart during removal, so I assumed that was the problem; during the front sensor removal, I noticed that the original hubs were squeaking, so I replaced them at 195k and kinda chalked that expensive repair up to being at the right place at the right time. But just in time for Christmas, the ABS warning light made its random appearance once again... This year's wet winter and spring have seemingly exacerbated the brake issues as the random ABS lights were increasing in occurrences to the point where they started to stay on for days before turning off for brief periods. In March, I had to haul a heavy load and noticed a problem with the trailer brakes dragging...further investigation found that the truck brake pedal would take 3 seconds to spring back...the FSM pointed to replacing the power steering pump that fed the hydroboost, but the pump replacement had no effect on the pedal return...GRRRRR!Sitting in Waco traffic in April, the brake pedal started going to the floor, and the rebuilt replacement needed to be re-bled 18 times over the next 4 weeks because of recurring spongy pedal...about the same time, the rebuilt hydroboost also started to leak, so both of those were replaced under warranty. But the random ABS lights and slow pedal return persisted all summer, causing me to study the FSM and search similar problems on the internets to try to straighten this old buggy out...the last piece of the puzzle was to replace the non-serviceable and no longer available ABS hydraulic control unit with an '03 unit that several sources said would not fit my '01 yet both had the same part numbers stamped into them...this repair seems to have shut off the ABS lights for now, and a rigorous test drive got the "new" ABS pump more active than the original, so maybe this issue has been resolved... Ultimately, I replaced every brake system component on this 18yr old buggy except for the ABS control module, the metal brake hydraulic lines on the frame, the brake pedal, and the brake lights...apparently, the 18 yr old brake fluid was contaminated with moisture over time, causing most of the brake system's rubber components to swell, which caused seal leakage, caliper binding, and HCU proportional valve corrosion. The brake pedal still does not snap back in less than a second, so maybe the brake lines (which I inspected externally, even dropping the diesel tank for access) have some fouling and may need replacing...further testing is necessary. With this old Dodge fixed up a little bit, maybe I'll have the time to fix up some of the other old Dodges decorating the yard UPDATE: Brake issues continued for 4 months longer until resolved by replacing defective calipers and hydroboost

additional information - Steering Gearbox Rebuild more additional information - Steering Column Assembly

additional information - Shock Absorber Replacement P#s

additional information - partial PCV Installation

additional information - Door Check Operation

I took a 6 month hiatus to deal with several slow motion disasters that continue to unfold in my neck of the woods...we had a wet winter and soggy spring that had me trimming trees all the way into August, when it is boiling hot and the yellowjackets + bees are hiding behind every obscured object that ya might inadvertently bump into, not to mention the ravenous skeeters + chiggers that caused an insane amount of night itching, and that was only one of the minor problems I had to deal with...the tsunami of issues earlier this year were very stress-inducing, and I figured if a hobby-based community that I liked to participate in was gonna have my concerns ignored then get talked down to then maybe I should focus on other things that have turned my life into the basis for a country song. I was able to spend a few hours last week digging a couple of my parts trucks out of the black dirt that their blocks had sunken 6" into, made some larger-based blocks that are less likely to sink, and pulled the tie-vines out from all of the fenders...been doing some other preparation work that isn't too exciting (such as upgrading lights and electrical in the barn) but has taken a LOT of time to accomplish and I'm in a better position to get some interesting work done in the future. The way things are going, I don't expect to be able to get any major restoration work done this year, but I'm still gonna chip away at the little stuff on the side to get my mind off of all the daily drudgery that gets flung in my direction

it is my understanding that fresh coolant displaces oxygen to limit oxidation...the aftermarket heater in my '49 only has a manual shutoff valve, stuck in the open position...on cool days below 70, it gets the cab toasty enough I can keep the window open to give my (legal) hand signals for turning and whutnot...but on most days that it's well over 70, I am reminded just how much I don't need a heater in that truck for 6 months out of the year

This may be a useful...it looks even better when covered with a floor mat

Back when I assumed Dodge Truck engineers were all on the same page, I purchased a set of Power Wagon lug studs for my '49 1-ton...they both had very similar powertrains, so I assumed the rear hubs were the same...and then I learned that they were not ?

The hub stud bore averaged 0.624". The stud shank diameter averaged 0.623" at its maximum, and the length is about 13/16". The stud length is about 2-1/8". I reckon the tight shank fit means to me that each stud was carefully pressed in. Now I clearly see how later B-series have a different stud that does not supercede the earlier production...later studs and nuts could possibly fit the early hubs if the hub stud bores are opened up to 0.626", which is easier said than done

The stud has two impressions on each side of the shank, I am unsure if a special punch is used to hammer over part of the hub though as I could not see any marking on the hub face. The clipped head seats against a surface on the hub so that looks like that would hold the stud from rotating.

I had to get out The Persuader to pop the drum off of the shoes it was hanging up on, but eventually wiggled it off and cleaned around one of the studs...I could then see the factory staking of the stud that I had heard about. I rigged a tool to hold the hub so the press could pop out the stud without damaging the drum. And POP it did as I pumped up that press jack until that stud broke loose...had to press it all the way out, and examining the hub bore, it was as clean as the stud shank.

TOOLBOX ARSENAL: The Persuader...2# dead blow hammer

I did some checking, saw some things, re-read the parts manual, and looks like I need to do more research. I recalled having a conversation back in 2003 with an old parts guy who filled me in on the difficulty of replacing the busted LH stud on my '49. He said that style of stud had a smooth shank and required a special tool to set the heads so they would lock in place. I went to pull a drum off my '48 parts truck, but they will need more persuading during daylight hours. I compared lugnuts, and they are not the same. Measuring stud diameters, the early studs are 9/16", the later studs are 5/8". So it looks like I'll need to pop out that busted stud to figure out the dimensions of the B-1 hub and the stud...but at least I found a source that might be helpful

the CDs are economical if you have a printer that allows you to reel off a few pages to take into the shop...I prefer the hardcopy reproductions because I can leaf through those and study them, even get them dirty, and if I need another copy, there are sources out there that still carry them...the FSM repro that I picked up in '99 was bound so that I could remove pages for feeding into a copy machine, which was kinda nice

I studied the parts manual, and it appears the B-1 lug studs and lug nuts were revised, as were the hubs...There is a part number break for the B-2s, and the B-2 parts truck I have is similar to the B-1s I have. My B-3 has different sized lug studs and lug nuts. Searching the internets, I found these possible replacement parts for the later parts that should be readily available: Lug Stud, Left: Mopar 1273555 Budd 67459 Lug Stud, Right: Mopar 1273554 Budd 67458 Lug Nut, Left: Mopar 1273557 Budd 67148 Lug Nut, Right: Mopar 1273556 Budd 67147 I spoke with a sales rep at Van Horn Truck Parts about the availability of the LH stud, and he said that there are 20 on his shelf and 1700 at his supplier...how'bout that

I have seen rebuilt engines with their numbers ground off and a new number stamped in its place for warranty identification...I think the reason was that an engine gets one rebuild on it and after that, the engine is too worn to be reworked or obsolete

I was doing some research during another cold'n'rainy day and noticed some OT content on one of my build threads. Looking at four of my build threads, only one had content that stayed on topic, and two others had significant OT content. I have reached out in the past to participants when they went off the rails to remind them that they were going OT on my build thread, in each instance I was summarily blown off and told that was how the internet works. At any rate, the only way that I can see for a thread originator to control content on a build thread is to report posts, but I get the impression that is generally frowned upon as it puts a burden upon moderators on censoring members. Is reporting posts the only way to control content, or am I missing something?

additional information - Hood Lace Nails when I get to that part of the detail work, I plan on on putting a dab of weatherstrip adhesive on the twist nails (that I will attempt to salvage) to seal the cowl holes

I did one tractor pull at an antique tractor show with the '67 Farmall 1206 I had recently restored...no modifications, no weights, just bone stock on a muddy track...was 10 feet away from a full pull, something the modified tractors could not even do cuz the track was too wet, before I started to dig in and bounce the front tires...got a standing ovation from most of the crowd of 300 or so while I was unhooking...wasn't really interested in doing it before that day, haven't been interested since, only did it on a dare, got a free homemade ice cream cone for my efforts...I noticed the weight wasn't moving on the sled for the station wagon, and the 2 chvy diesels pooped out just after launch ?

During this rainy day, I was doing some follow-up research on universal joints that had been discussed earlier. The Cleveland type u-joints are not easy to find these days, though there are listings at Roberts, MoparMall and DCM. These units appear to fit, but the grease zerk is not as easily accessible as the original design, which was not a bike ride to get to either. I found a part number that grey beard had used, but my research looks like that economically priced u-joint is similar to the internal locked unit used earlier in post #25. So for now, I reckon the limits of our choices are to use a Cleveland-type u-joint that is difficult to lubricate or to use a modern u-joint that is "close enough"

Whenever the towing issue pops up on a vintage machine, I notice ppl overlook one thing: speed...these trucks were designed before the advent of the interstate highway system, and from what I've seen and heard, speed limits back then, in many locations, were much lower than today, somewhere in the 40mph range. This was done for safety reasons as bias ply tires and unboosted drum brakes were prominent. So the vintage machines could do the work, but not in any hurry...modern powertrains have more power (to go and to whoa), and are more stable with radial tires and robust suspensions. So whenever somebody wants modern performance with the retro look, then I recommend going with the body swap on the modern powertrain...the framework is proven, so grafting the body onto it is the real challenge, not engineering a powertrain into an antiquated framework

additional information - External Bypass vs Internal Bypass

additional information - Candle Wax Trick on Rusted Nuts

additional information - Brake Cylinder Sleeving