So one thing led to another

[PetrolPatrol]

And now I'm knee deep in some sh!t and I figure the only way out is through.

It started when I decided to change my shocks, some bushings, etc.

Suspension 1.jpg

Suspension.jpg

While underneath the truck I, again, noticed all the things that needed work, plus I broke a few bolts. The broken bolts led to leaf springs and shackles out on both sides.

Leaf Springs Out.jpg

Which led to dropping the gas tank since I was already under there.

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And thus all sorts of fun things are starting to happen. Like cleaning and painting the gas tank

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And the end link mounts

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And the shackles

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Of course the filler neck came out and I'm wondering if this is fact stock? I'm guessing the crimped hole is a breather neck that got crushed for some reason?

Filler Neck.jpg

The mounting tab on the body was fubar'd so I welded in a new washer to keep it in place. Sadly, the gas cap gasket is shot. Anywhere I can get one of these?

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Now the real horror show. My brakes had been feeling mushy lately, requiring a lot more pedal travel & force to stop. So now I know why...

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Both sides look just as bad. Unfortunately I'm not in a place to start a disc brake swap, so if anyone has any parts I can use I'm all ears. I know Patrol North has the slave cylinders, but what about the self-adjuster? I can't seem to find any of those.

And as it's getting late into the evening and I needed to come in I found the perfect stopping point for tonight.

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Two questions:
1. Is that washer situation normal?
2. How do I get the wheel bearing out? I got the locking/tabbed nut off but the bearing is being difficult. It looks to be in great shape so I don't want to mess anything up getting it out incorrectly.

[RiverPatrol]

One thing does indeed lead to another...

The filler neck is stock. The crimped line should not be crimped. It is a vent, it will cause issues when you are filling the tank. The filler neck grommet used to be available but I don't see it listed right now.

Brakes - well, they all need it eventually. No need to consider going disc unless you're really jonesing for a mod, the wheel cylinders work just fine and are readily available and bolt right in. Why does the adjuster need replacing? I'm sure one of the guys doing discs has a spare adjuster.

The shims on the axle are perfectly normal. Be sure to put back exactly the same ones and how many you took off. Getting the bearing off can be trying.

[zed]

You are winning the Patrol Ownership Battle!
When I work on my Patrol I try to focus on the task at hand. I keep a running TO DO list of needed tasks and tackle one at a time. At my rate of progress, EVs will dominate the roads and gas stations will become rare as apothecary stores.

Keith

[Esteban]

Regarding taking the axle bearing out, check the following post. It has some info, not all, but will get you started:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4997

Once the nut is out, the bearing will need some coercing to come out. Might try a press, although some manual methods will free the bearing. There's a seal on the outer side, and also the seal on the axle housing.

Bearing: ATM 959
https://www.napaonline.com/en/search?te ... referer=v2

Inner seal: ATM 2116213 35x55x11 mm
https://www.napaonline.com/en/search?te ... referer=v2

Outer Seal: NOS-550225 48x65x7 mm
https://www.napaonline.com/en/search?te ... referer=v2
https://www.amazon.com/48x65x7-Rubber-C ... B00SVIPCFQ

The amount of shims that you put back, specially over time, are always less than what came out, since the tips of the axles are almost touching each other inside the differential, and to correct the wear that develops you have to take a shim out. There's a procedure to do it in the Service Manual. Probably going through that section of the manual will help you a lot. Let us know if you run into some additional questions. Not everything is that crystal clear on the manuals.

[PetrolPatrol]

Why does the adjuster need replacing?

Sadly it no longer does the one thing it's meant to. The dust boot on the back of it has also returned to mother nature. As an aside, you'll be happy to know that three of the four U-Bolts came off beautifully and cleaned up nicely.

There's a procedure to do it in the Service Manual. Probably going through that section of the manual will help you a lot. Let us know if you run into some additional questions. Not everything is that crystal clear on the manuals.

I was going through that earlier today during lunch, but it was about as clear as mud.

Instructions.jpg

Looking at the later manuals it seems like the shaft + wheel hub should come out in one piece.

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So perhaps just more force is needed and a slide hammer type device. If that's the case I think I can figure something out.

[RiverPatrol]

Why does the adjuster need replacing?

Sadly it no longer does the one thing it's meant to. The dust boot on the back of it has also returned to mother nature. As an aside, you'll be happy to know that three of the four U-Bolts came off beautifully and cleaned up nicely.

I'm pretty sure every brake adjuster dust boot has returned to mother nature by now. There's not really that much to the adjuster. There is the center bolt that simply turns in and out and there are the 2 adjusters that the tip of the adjuster bolt pushes out. The adjusters have a groove at the shoe and and sometimes one edge of the grove breaker off. Otherwise, just soaking it in some oil it should free up. If not, hit up one of the guys doing the disc conversion.

[PetrolPatrol]

Teardown continued tonight and, knock on wood, it's been going very well. Not a single broken bolt since the U-Bolt (though the bump stops are coming up next).

Bed off

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Progress will slow at this point as I don't want to get too far ahead of myself with the teardown and there's a lot of cleaning to do, parts to order, and some things to figure out. Generally speaking the truck appears to be in good shape minus some strange random holes and, of course, the rats nest of wiring. The sheet metal on these things is so thin I have the usual dents and bruises but I haven't decided just how far into this I want to go. I don't have full restoration money but I am seriously thinking about painting it which would require a fair bit of work. Decisions, decisions. I'm certain I'll have questions regarding how the Patrols are supposed to be stock coming up shortly.

One decision down though. I finally picked up a 3D printer for myself and have been slowly (as in the past 24 hours) learning about and upgrading it. Hoping in the future it'll come in handy with all four vehicles. Did my first print tonight but forgot to take a picture before giving it to the girlfriend's son.

3D Printer.jpg

[faux40]

3d printers are awesome! Congrats!

[PetrolPatrol]

Was able to get some more tear down and a bit of cleanup done.

Rear frame is now bare and ready for cleaning/painting.

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But first

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I found what I believe to be an exhaust mount that was broken. Mine looks shorter than any others I've seen though so I'm guessing it broke already in the past and a PO bypassed it when they had the exhaust redone. I'm not too worried about it, but I'll clean it up and weld it in place. Sadly, I also found this broken bit of kit.

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This, unlike the exhaust, is far beyond my capability. This is where the rear step mounts to the bumper and I'm not sure if it's worth getting fixed or not. For a properly skilled individual I think it would be fairly easy, although very labor intensive, and it's not affecting anything as far as I can tell? What I'd really like to know is how it happened in the first place. This isn't thin steel to be breaking/bending.

Turns out I also have a functional rear end and not just layers of mud the I6 is making work through sheer force of will.

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I'll crack this open next. If the sending unit gasket is anything to go by the pumpkin's gasket will need replacing as well. I haven't looked yet; however, if anyone can point me in the right direction I'd certainly appreciate it. I'll be replacing the brake lines as well since I have some extra from the Patrol and D100.

And last but not least for tonight - the fuel tank is cleaned (inside), painted, and ready to go back in. It's dirty from being in the garage while dust and grease and PB Blaster and who knows what else was flying around but it's a big improvement.

Gas Tank.jpg

[PetrolPatrol]

I wish I had made more progress, but it's been all cleaning and waiting on parts.

Did some more cleaning and opened up the transfer case to check its status. Fortunately, it looks good. Ordered some gasket material and new gear oil to keep it that way. I was going to replace the brake lines but turns out I don't have enough extra like I thought I did, so more line is on the way.

Transfer Case.jpg

Got my ultrasonic cleaner fixed as well. Broke under warranty and Vevor told me they couldn't fix it and offered $50 instead. They retail now for ~$180, so I talked them into giving me $60 and fixed it myself. They claim to not make much profit on these but after taking it apart I'm doubtful of that. Fortunately it's working again and now I can start cleaning all those little parts.

Cleaner.jpg

Brake shoes are getting a coat of paint while I wait for the shop to finish getting the bearings out.

Shoes.jpg

It'll be a while till I'm ready, but some new rubber came in as well.

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You can see in this picture a PO added access panels to the transmission cover and I'm wondering if anyone else has done the same? I like the idea but I'm not in love with the execution. If anyone else has done or seen something similar I'm open to ideas/suggestions. You can also see that there's some missing bolts and some putty like material in its place. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of damage is waiting for me there.