I know that, as earlier in this tread you talked about the co-workers husband who has a shop... Just the way I saw it the first time.
And true that on them stinkin meds!! As I'm typing this I'm itchin like crazy! One of the side effects of this particular med!!
Trying to get off these things but Dr says too soon. He needs me "numb" to pain so I can keep walking as therapy. Meanwhile, I'm itching my skin off, and typing up essays on here

 

Can't beat the live entertainment here.

 

I don't get that "numb to the pain" theory.

If you experience pain, your body is telling you something. Your actions will reflect what your body is telling you.

If you are numbed up, then you're potentially causing more damage, as you cannot assess what's happening in there, as the pain receptors are fooled into thinking nothing is wrong.

Oh well, I guess I'm just old school...

 

Same here.

 

No, I agree with you all. Been back n forth with the nurse practitioners these last couple of days, asking what this new pain is(didn't have it before surgery) and when I let loose that I took it upon myself to cut back, that's when they told me to stay on them, so it would allow me to walk vs lay around. Double edged sword, man. Oh well, I'm 13 days post surgery, and that much closer to being healed up. Told everyone at work when I see them in 8 weeks I'm gonna be dancin' like Jackie Wilson. That's the goal, anyway!

 

Here's a painful factoid.

NSAIDs cause about 16,500 deaths per year in the US.

NSAID = Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs, like aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.

 

well, up here in south dakota, taking full advantage of my resources here. tractors, big heated shops, and every tool you'd ever need.

first day i got here we got that old rusted bed off


then i finally fixed the broken fuel tank strap. been secured with a ratchet strap since I bought the truck. bent this one from 1/8" plate.


then started sand blasting my cab. taking everything but the doors down to bare metal and then will have it all in epoxy primer by next week. have new doors for it at home in florida, so that will have to wait.


also made a hide-a-way gooseneck hitch. this was surface mounted inside the bed of a 90s chevy 6.5 diesel. used 2" x 3/8" angle from rail to rail. hooked up about 15k trailer to it as a test, works great!



i've had a leaking rear pinion seal for quite some time. had the seal and new pinion nut on my bench for about 6 months. finally got around to changing it. pulled the yoke and found 2 nice deep grooves, wish i would've taken pictures. so i had to use a speedi-sleeve. got it all put back together and filled with lucas synthetic. it's never as easy as we hope it will be is it?

 

J- I've always been curious about the sand blasting process. Hear about it being done on our rigs all the time, but never questioned the prep involved, time frame to sand blast an entire rig, amount of sand needed, and is this a tool that is easily rented from rental yards? Can you do a sandblasting 101 explanation? I'm sure others have wondered about this

 

There are different type of blasters. You can get bucket type or pressure pots. Each type works a little different. The main thing is the air compressor. If you do not have one that can push 175 PSI with 10CFM +. Then your just going to be standing around waiting for pressure to build up.

Rentals do not have smaller blasters. They will have the larger wheeled types with 500 lb hoppers. Then you have the cost of a rental compressor.

The cost of renting a larger blaster and compressor is high. Those rent by the day. The rental place I used to work for it would have cost $200 a day for both. That price is 10 years old to.

 

You have to be very careful with sheet metal or it will warp from heat really quick. That is why restorers use soda blasters instead of sand. Sand will also wreck glass quicker than you can say ho s#@T!

 

Don't know what it's called...timing cover or something...it's the cover on the other side (engine side) from the KSB, little oval thing with 2 screws. Don't know why it was beat on with a hammer and the screws were all deformed, but they came loose and the o-ring squirted out and it started leaking fuel (about 5 gallons to the mile) on my way home a few weeks ago.

Also replaced the front shaft seal, while I had the pump out. With all the trouble it was to get that thing out I'm hoping the new one went in OK. I guess checking the oil is the only way to know if it's leaking.

Anyways, the beast is running again.

I bought the seal kit from The Hungry Diesel, and the pump gear puller from Tork Technology...both of whom I've bought stuff from before. I also bought that "Rogue Energy Solutions" video from eBay, but other than looking at it some, I'm just really glad I didn't end up pulling the pump apart to replace the front shaft seal.

 

That's what I figured about the glass getting ruined. Did not realize the metal warping over the heat generated from sand blasting. So, is it safe to say, sand blasting is more geared for the rust removal process, body, frame, etc, than for everyday paint prep? I'm waiting on some $$ so I can finally get my truck painted along with all dents and such removed. It helps to ask the right questions, especially for prep.
Might as well ask this one, since on the subject of prep: is it even a cost savings to remove certain items from the truck, such as the chrome stuff, before handing the truck over to the paint shop? I'm talking bumpers, mirrors, grilles, nerf bars, ram head hood ornaments, all that stuff.

 

I venture to guess that those speaking of warped panels etc have done little to no media blasting as auto restorers around the country use this method to bring cars down to bare metal. Hell, there are companies out there that this is all they do. I use this stuff called black blast, its about $11 per 50lb bag. Its probably more expensive than conventional 6 inch sanding discs, but its fast and extremely thorough. It is true that you need a very good air setup, your standard 110v compressor will not be adequate. All I do is blast the panel, clean it with a prepaint degreaser, and then spray with ppg epoxy primer

 

I do not blast the outside metal. I will use a D/A with a low number grit paper for that. In areas like door jambs/ firewalls/ inner door panels/ window openings I will blast. Jambs and inner door shells are very hard with many spot welds and recesses.

If I have to blast an outside body panel I use red garnet. It is a little more gentle than the black slag types of media.

 

Finished the Dodge trans job today.

Repaired the coverings on the wiring harness down to the trans / transfer case. The old coverings simply self destructed when the trans was pulled. Today, I wrapped them up nice, installed a new plastic loom over them, and put everything back together. Looks nice, but more importantly protected it from rubbing and wear.

Fixed my "vibration" as well.

When I assembled the truck back together after pulling the trans, I noticed on the drive home that it vibrated like it had never done previously. Hoping it wasn't the new flexplate, I disconnected the hubs in front, and it went away. after goofing around under there, I realized that the new Napa yoke straps I installed on the front diff didn't clamp the u-joint down right. I pulled them off, and went to a local Advance auto and matched up to their listing another set. Turns out either the one in the Napa box is boxed wrong, or they goofed in making them. They're just a few thousands too tall. They do not clamp the cap in place, but allow them to slide horizontally around. Oh well.

Test drove it today, and it's functioning better than it ever has. In and out of 4wd easily, and no vibrations whatsoever..

Very happy I did it myself..