Cab mount failure

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: Trav
It is repairable but its not going to be easy or cheap, the truck is for all intents and purposes is finished and not worth fixing.
How much are the memories worth to you? I would hang the steering wheel in the garage and spend the money on something better.



So it would be wise to pull the motor and refresh the engine down the line and stick it in a better truck ? I mean the engine runs great and is strong . Rust has been this trucks killer.

 

[Rolla07]

Do you need the truck? I understand the emotional link towards it, but eventually you will need to let go of it anyways. I know itd be hard to do, but id get rid of it. Its at a condition where you will need to keep putting money on it.

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Do you need the truck? I understand the emotional link towards it, but eventually you will need to let go of it anyways. I know itd be hard to do, but id get rid of it. Its at a condition where you will need to keep putting money on it.


I don't need one usually but when I do it's nice to have obviously. Basically the bed and cab are junk obviously you can live with rust in non important areas but I mean I feel silly putting any real money in something that is still a turd. And the hrake lines aren't great they don't leak but it'll be on the list eventually. Fuel lines possible to eventually. But the Motor trans and rear end are great no leaks no smoke no nothing. Very Solid drivetrain.

 

[NormanBuntz]

Your grandfather would only want you to drive it if it was safe to drive. You won't dishonor your g-pa by selling the old truck.

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: NormanBuntz
Your grandfather would only want you to drive it if it was safe to drive. You won't dishonor your g-pa by selling the old truck.


Is it even worth selling it though? I mean everything works feature wise but it's not pretty. And the interior isn't great the dash is all but gone (plastic caved in) seat is worn it headliner junk the door panel is broke . It's pretty rough overall. But ac and heater work and runs great .

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Have someone weld in a new cab mount. Keep the truck.


YES

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
A body shop or a guy who is a welder can just cut that cab mount off, and stick a new cab mount on and weld it in place.


YES again... It's not hard to do if you have the right skills.

I have fixed MUCH worse on rusted vehicles than this.

 

[ram_man]

I have a friend who's been wrenching for roughly 30yrs he's going to take a look at it tomorrow. He said it shouldn't be that big of a deal to fabricate a piece and weld it in. If it can be done for a reasonable amount then I'm all for it. Then I'll do the other front one in the next few months as it's not broken or near that bad yet. The other mounts look fine.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: ram_man
I have a friend who's been wrenching for roughly 30yrs he's going to take a look at it tomorrow. He said it shouldn't be that big of a deal to fabricate a piece and weld it in. If it can be done for a reasonable amount then I'm all for it. Then I'll do the other front one in the next few months as it's not broken or near that bad yet. The other mounts look fine.
Needs to be really strong too, because if you get into an accident you don't want the cab flying off...

 

[Trav]

That's the whole point. Its easy to just weld a piece in and a new mount but its structural and must be as strong as it was when it was built.
Once you cut rust out like this the area you loose before hitting "good metal" can be enormous, note that spot is double wall, which is not only for strength and reinforcement but stress distribution in an accident.

Not being overly dramatic but that much rot in those areas especially where the cab is already moving on the frame is to much of a liability for me personally. Someone will do it cheap though that's true, it just wouldn't be me if offered the repair. Its one of those jobs you know by instinct the best thing to do is pass on it if you know what I mean.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: ram_man



So it would be wise to pull the motor and refresh the engine down the line and stick it in a better truck ? I mean the engine runs great and is strong . Rust has been this trucks killer.


Be cool if you put it in a rat rod or something. Then you could have that lineage to your grandpa but something new too.

What is it a 180 HP 318? They're everywhere.

 

[ram_man]

It is a 360 with an aftermarket cam. It runs pretty darn good honestly.

 

[ram_man]

My friend looked at it and said it couldn't be fixed without extensive work. It was worse than the pictures implied. But he did say he could repair it by so called "rigging" it and it would be very safe and decent for quite awhile. I trust that he can do that . I put less than a 1,000 miles a year on it so if it buys me time before needing to find a other truck and making this one a donor truck that's a win for me . With paying cash for a house I don't really want to be spending a chunk on a clean truck right now.

 

[CKN]

Safe and "rigging it" doesn't belong in the same sentence IMHO.


I find it hard to believe the other mounts are not on the verge on failure-even if it doesn't look that way to the untrained eye.

Somebody on here gave the advice of "parking it on the back 40" and not driving it. That's the best advice......

 

[oilpsi2high]

That's not safe to drive. Sounds like the rest of the truck is gone as well.

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: CKN
Safe and "rigging it" doesn't belong in the same sentence IMHO.


I find it hard to believe the other mounts are not on the verge on failure-even if it doesn't look that way to the untrained eye.

Somebody on here gave the advice of "parking it on the back 40" and not driving it. That's the best advice......

both fronts are the rest look great.
We ended up having a steel mill make us a big chunk steel that would fit between all of that. He cut out the the rust and made a plate from 1/4 in steel welded it to the floor pan and then removed the old mount and got a new bolt and installed the block bolted it back where it was and then welded it. He did this to both sides. If anything it's stronger than it ever was. It's technically rigging I guess but yea it's pretty solid. It really didn't make a huge difference in ride quality. It feels stiffer but before it felt kind of floaty being broke. It rides good shifts good ECT. So I'd say for the limited use it's probably going to be good for quite a long long while.

 

[Nick1994]

Paint it really good so it doesn't rust out again.