Builds spinning the roulette wheel (twice) on a 1996 Middle East HDJ81 at auction (2 Viewers)

[John Young]

Unfortunately, with the glass out it was obvious we have a problem in the passenger lower corner.

I called a halt to the proceedings and spoke to the owner of the garage, explaining that he was going to have to have his body shop guys repair, and paint this before we can install. Here in the Middle East maybe you could possibly get by with a lot of sealant, but this truck is eventually going to where it rains regularly so I really want this fixed correctly. At least to the point of removing ALL rust.

Here's where I'd solicit your collective comments on the best way to tackle this. I do have the donor truck available. I could possibly tell the guys to cut out this piece (presupposing that the donor truck does not have this problem) and weld in a section from the donor truck. But what do you all think? What should I do?

 

[lp2k]

Edit- this is a tough call, I zoomed in and saw it’s rusted through…

 

[John Young]

fix it right. Sand off the rust which is really just surface and have them clean it REALLY WELL. Sand prime and paint . I wouldn’t be fine with a cut in this area, my 0.02

It is a little more of an issue than that. The metal is actually completely gone in a small area. I was able to break of little chunks. But I agree with you. It seems to me the lower corners are real problem areas. I also told the owner that I wanted the entire surround sanded, primed and painted before the window install. I also used the word 'monsoon' within earshot of the window installer trying to convey that this truck needs to be able to deal with water.

 

[SNLC]

Proof even desert Cruisers rust.

Cheers

 

[John Young]

The guys did some repair on the surround; it looks like it should work with a good glob of sealant.

 

[lp2k]

It will, it wouldn’t hurt to double check the thickness and ask them once they are done with the metal work (welding/grinding) to properly clean the surface before prime and paint. The metal is your first layer of defense. Primer will be second and paint will be third and the gasket will be fourth. You really want to make sure each layer is up to the job of no mo leaks

 

[John Young]

Yes, I've asked them to prep and paint the entire surround.

 

[John Young]

The great drama continues! Today the guys started unbuttoning the turbo diesel to swap in the 'new' frame.

 

[John Young]

I went up and looked at how things were going and was pleasantly surprised to see that the windshield surround on the Omani truck had been painted and is pretty much ready for the new windshield installation.

I also dropped off the replacement 'barn door'.

Things seem to be moving a little faster now.

 

[John Young]

I happened to be up at the garage when the windshield installers were there. I had mentioned the need to use sealant several times but the installer (an outside guy not affiliated with the garage) insisted that it was unnecessary. At least he was using the rope method.

I called the garage foreman over and said again that the FSM explicitly called out the use of sealant and that 80s have a history of leaks around the bottom corners.

This is one of those situations where you have to choose whether to tell them to stop or not. I decided I just wanted it installed so I can pass inspection. But I am not comfortable leaving it like this. I'm wondering if I, myself, can't lift up the edges of the rubber gasket and insert sealant in there. What do you all think? Suggestions? Leave it alone while the truck is in the desert? Do something now while the rubber is still soft?

Glass wise, here is the aftermarket used:

The DOT563 indicates it is from the PRC, Shenzhen Automotive Glass Manufacturing, specifically. It has a nice tint and seems to fit well. And there seemed to be very limited options available.

I'm a bit annoyed by having to deal with this. But there are a lot of other things on my plate right now. Trying to take a step back and not over blow this.

 

[Broski]

It's been my experience that people don't want to work on your car if they think you know more about it then them. make a note fix it later

 

[bhsdriller]

Yep putting on sealant after the fact works good. There's a few threads on here about it.
I've done it
Sealant on both sides of the seal, glass and paint.

 

[John Young]

Thanks for the suggestions on the windshield.

Just got some photos from the shop foreman of work proceeding on the turbo diesel:

I'm pretty jazzed to be seeing this happen. And what a great time to get a close look at that driveline.

 

[lp2k]

looks good - maybe repair and replace some of those lines that live in the transmission bay where it’s impossible to do maintenance on. Especially if you have the rear heater

 

[John Young]

looks good - maybe repair and replace some of those lines that live in the transmission bay where it’s impossible to do maintenance on. Especially if you have the rear heater

Thanks for the suggestion, Ip2k. I was just whatsapping the foreman that "in general if you can get a couple of your guys under the body to clean it and put underbody protection on, it is the perfect time to do that!" But your point about looking for lines that need replacing is arguably higher priority. I will go up to the garage after work and see what I can see.

 

[John Young]

I went up after work and had a good look at the underside of the turbo diesel.

This first photo is from the center of the car looking out towards the passenger side. Those hoses are going to the rear heater. They are ok but hard and need to be replaced.

This photo is looking towards the rear wheelwell on the passenger side. That's the fuel tank to the left bottom. The hoses going to the diesel all look pretty good. I'm going to leave them alone.

This photo is looking forward towards the front f the truck. Everything was pretty tidy.

 

[John Young]

These rubber hoses are pretty hard and have to go.

So do these.

The only issue I saw was that the truck had been jacked up on the body rather than on the hard points and it has bent the body itself a little. Nothing serious and I'm inclined to let it be. I think the repair would be hard. You can't really see it when the car is on the ground. I wish it had not happened but it is heavy truck and it has been through a lot by now.

 

[John Young]

Oh! And I have to show you the cute little turbo!

I had a look at the old body mount rubber cushions. All were in good shape. I probably did not need to change them out. But I will keep these as spares.

 

[lp2k]

You are most certainly welcome @John Young ! easier to deal with all that old rubber now versus later!

don't forget about me if you have room to bring some spare parts!

 

[John Young]

You are most certainly welcome @John Young ! easier to deal with all that old rubber now versus later!

don't forget about me if you have room to bring some spare parts!

How about some more advice?

You can see the two sets of hoses, the straight pieces in the lower right corner of the upper box and the bent pieces in the lower right box at the bottom. I can't seem to find the part numbers for just the hoses. Any ideas? Use generic Gates? What size?