[szac]

I thought I was going to replace pads and rotors at all four corners, and the brake master cylinder on Saturday and go fishing Sunday. :lol: After 8 hours of effort on Saturday I almost had ONE done. I started with the front right and as soon I got the caliper bracket off I realized my mistake. Captive rotors. More research, more trips to get more tools, more WTF moments.

Sunday AM I was still optimistic that I could make it to the water because I had everything I needed and knew exactly what to do. At about noon I knew fishing was out of the question: Caliper was frozen to the slide pin. Lots of prying, swearing, and help from my neighbor with the BFH and it was off. I didn't finish until about 6pm Sunday. And still have the rears to do!

Happy to have sacrificed the day on the water for the peace of mind new brakes and rebuilt hubs. I think I'll finally put the G80 in when I do the rears.

I was hoping the scraping while coasting in gear sound would go away when I tested the new brakes, but no luck.

 

[Lightning]

Nice work there szac! Bummer you missed out on fishing but at least its done now. Its always the "easy" projects that sneak up behind you in my experience. Keep up the good work and photos.

Oh and here is my battery strap I mentioned.
https://www.planetisuzoo.com/viewtopic. ... 3#p5527363

-Andy

 

[szac]

My buddy came over and brought his paint resto skills with him. Wet sanding, polishing, and sanding got it this. Use to look exactly like the door! The "drips" on the door are from water seeping under the clear coat from the sun had burned it off. Super stoked to get the rest of the truck done - "red mahogany" is a pretty nice looking color with some shine to it.

 

[Enemigo]

Wow, that looks really nice. What's the time per panel on something like that?

 

[szac]

Wow, that looks really nice. What's the time per panel on something like that?

Thanks! At least 2 hours or so. We were able to double that with plenty of BSing and distractions

 

[Enemigo]

Sounds about right, thanks.

 

[dankly1]

Looks great! I need to try that on Suzie.

Can you provide some more details about the materials and techniques you used? Thanks!

Alex

 

[szac]

Thanks! All I did was stand around and watch. The process was to clean with this wax cleaner stuff, then wet sand, then polish with a "DA" (dual action) polisher, then wax again with a ceramic wax. He's done a ton of vehicles and learned how by watching YouTube videos. He said to watch the Apex Detail channel.

 

[szac]

Bit more progress on the paint. Looks worse in person, but I'm glad the white clear coat patches are gone. Still have tailgate and hood to go. Then I'll polish up the wheels and probably never touch any of it again

 

[DSUZU]

Are you basically sanding the clear coat away? Dennis

 

[szac]

Are you basically sanding the clear coat away? Dennis

Yes but only in zone "B" where the clear coat transitioning to be 100% gone. In zone "A" there is no clear coat. Zone "C" still has clear coat. After the zone B is blended with wet sanding then all zones are polished and sealed with wax.

 

[hessmess]

That is an amazing difference!

 

[szac]

That is an amazing difference!

Thanks! Hoping to have it finished off today.

 

[szac]

Some updates:

1. FINALLY got the leaky steering gear switched out with a reman. Many tools bought, some broken to get the pitman arm off. Eventually just pulled the gearbox with it on and took it to a shop to pop off. [/*]
2. A/C is top priority now. Gauge manifold arrives tomorrow.[/*]

Question: do these motor mounts look shot? I'm trying to figure out why the truck vibrates at low revs.

My buddy worked his magic on the wheels and tires while the truck sat disabled sans steering gear. Passenger side was blocked so now I'm driving around with a 50/50 crappy and money look. He worked out the recipe now I just need to work on the remaining two.

 

[szac]

Stoked to report that I got the A/C charged last week just in time for AZ heat. Thanks @Lightening for the nudge to do it myself. Was a pretty straight forward job.

I'm now relocating my aux/trolling motor battery charging circuit from the Trooper to the Pickup. I removed the bedliner for the first to find the drain plug and the truck revealed another secret...

The battery combiner is a Yandina VSR and has been working out great. The plan now is to make it removable so I can use it between our rigs.

 

[szac]

Getting stoked for the Phoenix summer to be coming to an end. Here are some updates from the past few months:

Truck is running great and made it up the hill to Flagstaff without issue (although on a couple of grades I was floored in 4th and topped at 55mph). Otherwise 65-70mph the whole way.

Here's my buddy and the 'zu. He's a believer in the old beater! This is Lockett Meadow.

Before my son sold the Trooper we took them out early to beat the heat and try to slide around in the desert.

Back in June an '88 pickup came up. I was there within 45 min and grabbed the mud flaps and a spare set of hubs.

Did some back-roading under the Superstitions just ahead of a monsoon. The flash floods are no joke in this area. I got in pretty deep when the weather changed - was hauling *** to get out! The truck ate up the tracks with zero effort.