I am fixing up my 82 w150. I am not a mechanic but I can do a lot of mechanical work. When I get in trouble of have to shop owners that will help. My truck runs, it could run better. I am thinking my first step is to do a good engine scrub. I know I have one oil leak. It is drivers side valve cover. Do you guys have any suggestions on what to use for cleaning the engine. I am thinking gunk engine clear or simple green. Cover all electronic stuff and use garden hose. Reason I am doing the engine cleaning is to get an idea if there is any other leaks so I know how far to tear down the engine. If you guys have a better starting point let me know.

 

I use a car wash or presser washer at least once in a cars life time even my late model stuff.

 

I Like gunk and a pressure washer....
If the pressure washer has a hose for a product to use? Use a degreaser like Zep Produces... Might have it at your local Home Depot or Wal-Mart?


http://www.zepcommercial.com/product...er-Concentrate


But if all you have is a hose, A good scrubbing is a good place to start. Clean it up fron top to bottom and see what need to get done.....


Keep us posted..

 

Thanks for the info. I will post pics of before an after. Plan on doing it tomorrow.

 

After cleaning a warm all cylinder compression test is the best first thing to do.

 

Thanks for the compression test suggestion. I would have forgot about that. I'm waiting to the heat and humidity drops again before I jump in to it to much. I am working on the headlight bezel now. It has a bad crack in it. Seems like they are a pain to find so I will attempt to fix first.

 

Outside temp sure can temper ambition for sure.

 

J.B. Weld it.... Sand it .... And Paint it.....
Just my 2 cents....

 

I called a dozen or so junk yards. Most said sorry we don't have any some actually laugh a little when they said no. So I set all afternoon with some 5 min epoxy. JB weld would have been better. I will pick some up tomorrow because I have a spot the size of a dime that I was missing. Here the funny part just as I got done one of the junk yards called back. They went for a walk and found a truck they forgot about. I'm going to buy them for spares. We have a lot of deer in my valley. They seem to like standing on the roads. 2 years ago 3 deer ambushed me and did just over 8000.00 damage to my nissan titan. The car going the opposite direction was a complete loss. They hit 2 of the deer that missed my truck.

 

Sounds like a good fix-it-plan.... Glad you found a couple spares for later.
You are sure rite about them boogers jumping out and tearing up equipment !

 

I got the headlight bezel glued, sanded and painted. It turned out great so I painted the other to match. Not factory but I like it. I have found a new problem that I need to address before anything else. We have been getting thunderstorms ever night with a decent amount of rain. The truck sets out for now. There is water under the floor cover. The insulation is soaked. I couldn't find where it is coming from, so tomorrow I am going to pull out everything from the cab until I find it. The floor boards have a lot surface rust on them, seems solid, but I won't know for sure until the rubber mat and insulation is up. I will try to post pictures tomorrow of my project. I am horrible at that kind of stuff.

 

right floor or left?

 

Both sides but the drivers side is a lot worse.

 

Also firewall and back of cab is dry and no water marks. The worst rust area is between the drivers side seat bracket and the door. If I can't find it after I tear everything out. I will set inside the cab while my wife sprays it down with a water hose. Unless you guys have a better way.

 

We had that rust area in our '92, don't know if they are built the same. Our's was leaking at the top of the windshield, down the pillar, inside the kick plate and sitting in the floor insulation.

 

Your on the right track.

 

I did some looking on line and I believe there was very little change from 72 -93. After I get the wet stuff out the windshield will be the first place I look.

 

Mine had a bad windshield seal... Also I had to patch a few holes that where drilled into the cowl.... I had also had to change the heater box fresh air intake seal. Mine was split and leaking badly...


Beside all the weather stripping..... Make sure all the door drains hole are clear. Also clear the lower fender area between the wheel openings and the doors.

 

Here is a few pictures I grab this morning before I removed the seat and floor mats. I will post better ones later the sun was in a bad spot to get a lot of photos.

 

So I got the seat out, mats and padding. Still not sure of where the water is coming from. Almost looks like it is running down the door frame and coming in through the seals. Not sure though. Right now I have doors open and drying out. Getting hot so it should dry out today. Attached are some pics of the problem.

 

I like your approach to fixing the problem.
My 77 windshield gasket was leaking and door gaskets.

 

My wife and I sanded and steel brushed the floor pan, it cleaned up pretty good. Drivers side had a hole about the size of a golf ball and a few pin holes in random places. Still very solid. Passengers side was only surface rust. I think the leak is the window but still not sure. I going to take out the dash this weekend. I checked the insulation under the dash today and it felt damp. Plus the fresh air duct was full of wet leaves. After I get the dash out I will get the wife to hose it down while I'm in it. I was planning to paint the inside of the cab anyways so I am half way through the rear down so why not just do it now and save ripping things back out later. Not sure how I am going to fix the floor pan I suck at wielding, since it is not structural I am thinking about epoxy. Any opinions on how to fix?

 

Check for leaks on the inside of the truck down in the lower corners. you will see it dripping if it is leaking.....

Sand.. Grind... Primer with rust converter... Seal with enamel paint... Bend up and old street sign.. Use a good Body sealer.... Drill and pop rivet it to the old floor... Seal the under side with some good undercoating.. And be done with it for a long time...

http://www.eastwood.com/ Or http://www.tcpglobal.com/
I like both...

 

PRO-15

 

I agree....

 

I like the old sign idea. My uncle and I did that many years ago to fix his 72 charger. I looked for the POR 15 in quite a few auto parts stores, Wal-Mart and a few tractor supply places. No luck so far. If I can't find it this week I will order online.

 

Padding and carpet are going to cover it anyway... Then if you ever decided to do a floor pan you can cut it all out and replace it at that point...
Just my 2 cents..

 

I had tarp over the cab of the truck. It covered the cab, windshield, 1/4 of back glass and the doors about a 1/4 of the way down. We got about 3/4 in of rain yesterday and there was water in the cab again. So today I sat in the truck while my wife spray it with a water hose. The leak is coming through the bottom door window seals. It runs in and hits the plastic door cover and runs out on to the floor. I found replacement seals at LMC. Do you guys know of any better places to get items like that. I don't mind paying the 15.00 each for the seals. I figured that will say me a bunch of money later on.

 

Those are the Metro ones.... Their ok... I get the ones from Dodge for mine... But that's just me.... You can check classic industries, Year One, Larsons, and so one.... Summit might even sale them at this point...

 

I can't remember on a Dodge truck but there should be drain holes in the bottom of the doors, make sure there open.