Easy grasshoppa, easy.
Growing up doesn't have to suck
- Thread starter iamdub
- Start date
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My engine is just that clean! It's only been in there for 19K miles.
Nah, fo real, doe, I started out wearing the Harbor Freight 9 mil nitrile gloves but never bothered to put 'em on again past the initial disassembly. A gallon of Zep Cherry Bomb stays on my utility tub and, after all the work was done on that last day, I scrubbed my nails with a toothbrush.
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iamdub
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Randy started it!
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iamdub
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Been absent for a while since getting ready for my trip to Florida had me out until late nights and wee morning hours.
After feeling confident the Tahoe was mechanically sound, I turned my attention to the wheels. The de-clads (20") had plenty of tread, but needed balancing. This requires a competent shop with a specific cone and cup clamp for their balancing machine. I had a dealer do it last time, a couple years ago.
I had some 22s and nearly-new tires on deck and I really didn't wanna invest the hassle and money into the 20s, so I focused my attention on getting the 22s fixed up.
They needed some minor reconditioning and paint. I threw together a rig using parts collected from my TYF brothers to set the wheels on and spin them as I fixed and painted them. One wheel needed the backside of the hoop beat out a little and some curb rash ground and polished off the lip. That one and another needed some scratches smoothed out of the spokes:
The wheels are a grayish color that would look 'okay' with the body color. But, I'd rather a much closer if not an exact match or a completely contrasting color. Given the time constraints and the fact that I want these to be a total budget setup, I went with Basic Bítch Black. I used what I hope is good paint- Krylon Automotive Acrylic Enamel.
After fixing the hoop, grinding the lip and sanding down the scratches, I used filler primer to build up and even out the sanded spots and to coat the whole wheel. This pic was after some light sanding on the fixed spoke:
First dusting of color coat:
Before final sanding and final wet coat:
I had a local custom shop mount and balance the tires. I scored these sub-3,000-mile Pirellis for $380 not long after I bought the wheels. I wanted this specific size and, lucky me, they're stock for a ~2020 F150. A guy barely rode on 'em after buying his truck new then had 'em replaced with off-road tires. I installed new TPMS sensors before I had the tires mounted. Just some Chinese Amazon specials that had good reviews. About $40 for the set. I brought 'em to the shop on my trailer with the wheels in the back of the Tahoe. Picked 'em up in the Chrysler Voyager van I was using as my work rental while my work van was in the shop. Sorry, not sorry, Enterprise:
After feeling confident the Tahoe was mechanically sound, I turned my attention to the wheels. The de-clads (20") had plenty of tread, but needed balancing. This requires a competent shop with a specific cone and cup clamp for their balancing machine. I had a dealer do it last time, a couple years ago.
I had some 22s and nearly-new tires on deck and I really didn't wanna invest the hassle and money into the 20s, so I focused my attention on getting the 22s fixed up.
They needed some minor reconditioning and paint. I threw together a rig using parts collected from my TYF brothers to set the wheels on and spin them as I fixed and painted them. One wheel needed the backside of the hoop beat out a little and some curb rash ground and polished off the lip. That one and another needed some scratches smoothed out of the spokes:
The wheels are a grayish color that would look 'okay' with the body color. But, I'd rather a much closer if not an exact match or a completely contrasting color. Given the time constraints and the fact that I want these to be a total budget setup, I went with Basic Bítch Black. I used what I hope is good paint- Krylon Automotive Acrylic Enamel.
After fixing the hoop, grinding the lip and sanding down the scratches, I used filler primer to build up and even out the sanded spots and to coat the whole wheel. This pic was after some light sanding on the fixed spoke:
First dusting of color coat:
Before final sanding and final wet coat:
I had a local custom shop mount and balance the tires. I scored these sub-3,000-mile Pirellis for $380 not long after I bought the wheels. I wanted this specific size and, lucky me, they're stock for a ~2020 F150. A guy barely rode on 'em after buying his truck new then had 'em replaced with off-road tires. I installed new TPMS sensors before I had the tires mounted. Just some Chinese Amazon specials that had good reviews. About $40 for the set. I brought 'em to the shop on my trailer with the wheels in the back of the Tahoe. Picked 'em up in the Chrysler Voyager van I was using as my work rental while my work van was in the shop. Sorry, not sorry, Enterprise:
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iamdub
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Installed Monday night and went for a test drive to assess the balance job and feel. They're not perfect (as expected), but WAY better than the 20s. The cheap TPMS sensors programmed fine and seem to be reporting accurately. I needed smaller diameter lug nuts and I scored these spline drives a while back for free off Marketplace. They sold the vehicle they were on and didn't have the adapter socket. So they left 'em in their mailbox for me to swing by and get 'em. I got a replacement socket off Amazon for around $8. They're chrome and I'd prefer black. But, again- budget job. Also, the all-black wheel isn't my first choice. But it's fine for what I have invested. I might buff the paint off the milled edges of the spokes like they were originally (refer to first pic of previous post). Probably not any time soon, though. Some of y'all are just gonna have to hate on 'em:
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iamdub
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I finally got to bed at 10:30 Tuesday night and got up at 3:00 Wednesday morning- A solid four hours of sleep thanks to a 10mg melatonin tablet. First time ever using that. I swear, every time I make this trip to Tampa, it's always on 4 hours of sleep. I always try to leave no later than 4am and it always ends up being closer to or past 5am. This time I went solo so I could leave when I wanted to. Since I've been stressed so much the month leading up to this, a friend suggested I take a small detour to the gulf to watch the sun rise out of the water and insisted that I put my toes in the water. Sunrise was at 6:17 so I had to leave my house no later than 3:30. I left at 3:36 but drove fast and skipped coffee to ensure I made it in time.
Arrived at the beach in Gulfport around 5:50:
Right on time at 6:17:
One more from the sand before I left:
I sat on a bench to watch the sunrise. As I waited in the chilly breeze, I recounted all the events leading up to this and how all them struggles were suddenly over with. I literally felt myself decompressing. It was a feeling of melting and/or getting lighter. It's been full throttle for over a month with sleep coming only when I couldn't go any more. I'm so glad I heeded my friend's advice.
Before I turned away from the beach to head back to I-10:
Arrived at the beach in Gulfport around 5:50:
Right on time at 6:17:
One more from the sand before I left:
I sat on a bench to watch the sunrise. As I waited in the chilly breeze, I recounted all the events leading up to this and how all them struggles were suddenly over with. I literally felt myself decompressing. It was a feeling of melting and/or getting lighter. It's been full throttle for over a month with sleep coming only when I couldn't go any more. I'm so glad I heeded my friend's advice.
Before I turned away from the beach to head back to I-10:
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iamdub
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Stopped at Buc-ee's in Robertsdale, AL for breakfast and saw this fine machine as I was driving up. We were peepin' hard at each other's rides:
I didn't learn of this storm until the night before I left. This was taken somewhere in the panhandle. "Oh, Florida. You sure know how to keep us entertained":
I reached my brother's house in Wesley Chapel around 4:30 (local time) and stayed there for the night. The rain was very minimal at that time but the storm passed during the night. I slept right through it and didn't get up until almost 11 yesterday morning. Quality rest, again, from a melatonin tablet. I left there around 1:30, got breakfast and coffee at Wawa and went to hang at my grandparent's house in Sun City Center for a few hours:
I didn't learn of this storm until the night before I left. This was taken somewhere in the panhandle. "Oh, Florida. You sure know how to keep us entertained":
I reached my brother's house in Wesley Chapel around 4:30 (local time) and stayed there for the night. The rain was very minimal at that time but the storm passed during the night. I slept right through it and didn't get up until almost 11 yesterday morning. Quality rest, again, from a melatonin tablet. I left there around 1:30, got breakfast and coffee at Wawa and went to hang at my grandparent's house in Sun City Center for a few hours:
I heard from a source in Texas that Buc-ees is a great place to get jerky, is that true?
That's what rentals are for.
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