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Old October 26th, 2019, 05:45 AM
LordNatedawg LordNatedawg is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Sparks, Nevada
Truck: 1966 GMC 1500 Custom
Age: 24
Posts: 67
Rep Power: 62
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Default Re: "Papa Smurf" - 1966 GMC 1500 Custom

It's been almost two weeks. Time for a progress update? I surely think so!

First off, I tried to remove the old crossmember about a week ago. Got all the bolts out; most of them were not even torqued down. Kinda scary. After removing the bolts and brake lines, it was time to drop the crossmember. I jacked up the truck, put jack stands under the frame, removed the tires, then lowered the jack. The idea was that the crossmember would fall out now that the tires weren't holding it up. That didn't happen. Instead, my engine sagged. The previous owner got the motor mounts backwards. Instead of fixing his mistake, he made it permanent. He welded the motor mounts to the old crossmember. Took a week to cut and break those welds. Not a lot of room to work with, and I couldn't use a grinder or dremel near the passenger side mount. The fuel pump is in close proximity and mine has a slight leak from a cracked hose. (I still need to swap the motor mounts)

After getting the welds broken, the crossmember finally came out. Putting in the new one proved to be challenging by myself. Ended up calling my brother to help out. Once it was in, however, it was smooth sailing. All new control arms, all new wheel bearings, new slotted and drilled rotors, brand new spindles, new coil springs and shock absobers. This front suspension is 100% new. Only one issue is left to solve: My bottom bolts for my shock absorbers don't work with the new lower control arms. The nut doesn't sit deep enough in the recess for the bolt to feed through. And the bolt is a little too long. What I'll probably end up doing is grinding down the nut until it fits and getting a shorter bolt (or use a lock+flat washer).

Question: The driver's side shock stud was loose. From my research, I believe that is a common issue with these trucks. It will work itself loose or crack the frame. Is there a "fix" for that?
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