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Hard on trucks.

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
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I know phil and Alex think plowing snow is hard on the front end of a truck. Try coon hunting.. LOL..

Spent most of today rebuilding the front end of my hunting buddies truck..

Rebuilt the auto locking hubs, Stabilizer bar bushings were gone, Steering link bushings gone, Upper and lower control arm bushings gone, Rebuilt lower CV joint. And while i was in there new front shocks.

When i say the stabilizer link bushings were gone. I mean the bolt coming off the bar and connecting to the lower control arm had bushings on the bar, but the bushings on the lower arm were gone. As in missing. As in nothing but a bolt going through the lower control arm bracket. As a result the bolt was worn about 3/4 of the way through. Looked like a 8 inch tree that a buck had rubbed down to 2 inches in the middle. lmao

The auto locking hub bearings.. What hub bearings. I was using a rag to wipe metal infused grease out of the assembly. They had grease, but the roller bearings were toast. Half missing, the other half worn.

The upper and lower control arms could move side to side.. In opposite directions!

The lower CV had almost a half rotation of slop.

Basically rebuilt the entire front end suspension and drive.... :tantrum:
The good news is I didn't have to wrench on too many rusted bolts. They were shot anyway. Just took the angle grinder to them and got new ones.

Maybe we should slow her down off road from now on. :smiley_blackeye: Nahhhhhhhhhh It's all new.. Give it hell!
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
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DANG !!!

Sounds like a ton of work to fit in in a day lol. Glad you got the squeak box fixed and can now sneak up on those masked bandits lol.

Angle grinders make quick work of disassembly. We both took a side for the rebuild. Even still it took about 11 hours. No joke about the squeak box. More like rattle trap with grinding thrown in for good measure. By the end of last season the truck sounded like the front end was going to snap at any moment on the slightest bump. Surprisingly the ball joints were fine. Go figure. lol

Now all we need is a new passenger quarter panel (stump)
New back glass to replace the plexi (backed into a limb)
New tailgate.(backed into a tree that above said limb was attached to)
New front bumper brackets (bumper 3 inches high from hitting a ditch)
New plastic mud flaps (who knows)
New front valance (probably that ditch, or a constant bombardment of corn stubble)
New Drivers side mirror (limb)
New left front quarter panel (Slid into a washout in a road)
New tail light without red tape (who knows)
New paint to replace the 6 thousand scratches.

And she'll be good as new.. lmao
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
Angle grinders make quick work of disassembly. We both took a side for the rebuild. Even still it took about 11 hours. No joke about the squeak box. More like rattle trap with grinding thrown in for good measure. By the end of last season the truck sounded like the front end was going to snap at any moment on the slightest bump. Surprisingly the ball joints were fine. Go figure. lol

Now all we need is a new passenger quarter panel (stump)
New back glass to replace the plexi (backed into a limb)
New tailgate.(backed into a tree that above said limb was attached to)
New front bumper brackets (bumper 3 inches high from hitting a ditch)
New plastic mud flaps (who knows)
New front valance (probably that ditch, or a constant bombardment of corn stubble)
New Drivers side mirror (limb)
New left front quarter panel (Slid into a washout in a road)
New tail light without red tape (who knows)
New paint to replace the 6 thousand scratches.

And she'll be good as new.. lmao

I can FIX everything on that list with NO problem at all buddy.















































That Duct Tape comes in a variety of colors now lol.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,741
274
North Carolina
Joe, what kind of truck and how many miles are on the beast lol..... Hell for that matter post a picture of it inquiring minds want too see rotflmao
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Joe, what kind of truck and how many miles are on the beast lol..... Hell for that matter post a picture of it inquiring minds want too see rotflmao

98 Nissan Frontier 4x4.. 102,000 miles. George has had it 3 years.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Plowing IS hard on trucks. Lack of maintenance is harder though. Sounds like the coon hunting adventures have been fun!
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Plowing IS hard on trucks. Lack of maintenance is harder though. Sounds like the coon hunting adventures have been fun!

Always a blast. We don't walk through woods and crap to get to the dogs. If we think we can drive closer we will. Alex and his buddy were with us one night. The dogs treed in about a 30 acre woodlot.. We started walking down a 4 wheeler path to go to them.. I walked about 100 yards and said. "Those dogs are on the other side, Maybe 400 yards up.. I'm going back to the truck, you guys can walk if you want." I went back to the truck and George and I drove around. Alex and his buddy were just getting to the dogs when i stepped out of the truck and the dogs were maybe 50 yards up in the woods.


None of those part are serviceable except the hubs though. And the hubs had grease. Just hardly any bearings. Ask Alex, he's rode with George and I. He told me today.. "The way George drives that should last another 2 years." lmao.