How much effort to pull the cab?

[vkh]

So this summer I'm hoping to do a bed swap on my truck (lwb fleetside to lwb stepside) and was kinda thinking while the bed is off might as well paint the frame to protect it while it's still good. Seems rather silly to paint half the frame so I got to thinking about pulling the cab too. So how much work does it take to pull the cab off? We have access to a backhoe to do the lifting so that's not an issue. Worth noting that if all goes well we'd paint the truck (ourselves) too so pulling the front clip would only help with that. I also thought It'd provide an excellent chance to replace all the bushings and rubbers in the suspension (all but the sway bar bushings are original).

So do you think it can be done over the summer on a reasonable budget? It's an 81 c2500 trailering special with a 454/th400. If you need any more info just hit me up.

Oh, parallel question, I've heard about the frame cracking at the steering box, are c series trucks on the heavy duty frame susceptible to this or am I safe?

Thanks all

 

[Swims350]

all these trucks can break check it. If you can buy the brace and install it to prevent it or make one.

It's not the easiest thing to pull one it's gonna take awhile.

You need to unhook the wiring at the firewall, unhook the steering shaft, remove the master from the booster or pull the lines off it. You of course have to unhook a/c stuff and heater hoses, or just hoses for heater if you don't have ac.

Another option would be to use something brush on like por15, and get under it and do it,

 

[vkh]

all these trucks can break check it. If you can buy the brace and install it to prevent it or make one.

It's not the easiest thing to pull one it's gonna take awhile.

You need to unhook the wiring at the firewall, unhook the steering shaft, remove the master from the booster or pull the lines off it. You of course have to unhook a/c stuff and heater hoses, or just hoses for heater if you don't have ac.

Another option would be to use something brush on like por15, and get under it and do it,

Will do, I'll search around for a brace.

Using a brush sounds doable, I was looking at an epoxy chassis coating from summit and they say brush or spray-able. Am I within reason thinking I could disconnect the cab bolts and lift it a few inches to make it a touch easier to get the top of the frame?

 

[PrairieDrifter]

Off Road Design. Check it out

 

[Papa smurf]

It was a lot of work to remove my 85 k20 cab but the rewards were worth it. Once the cab was off I could tilt it on the firewall and paint the bottom of the cab standing up and not lying on my back. I power washed bottom of cab , light sanding, chassis saver and then base coat/clear coat. With the cab out of the way I was able to sandblast frame , front and rear axle and leafs, and clean and paint the tanks. Also painted the fire wall with cab off so no over spray got on the frame and vise versa. Looks like a brand new truck ! I sleep very well at night knowing my frame and cab are not rusting Buffalo,New York.

 

[vkh]

It was a lot of work to remove my 85 k20 cab but the rewards were worth it. Once the cab was off I could tilt it on the firewall and paint the bottom of the cab standing up and not lying on my back. I power washed bottom of cab , light sanding, chassis saver and then base coat/clear coat. With the cab out of the way I was able to sandblast frame , front and rear axle and leafs, and clean and paint the tanks. Also painted the fire wall with cab off so no over spray got on the frame and vise versa. Looks like a brand new truck ! I sleep very well at night knowing my frame and cab are not rusting Buffalo,New York.

Hmm, the more I think of it the more it feels like I should. This will be my last summer for a long time that I'll have the time and tools to do this scale of project. And it would be a wonderful feeling to know my base is as good as new. I want this truck to last and with all things preventative measures are easier than trying to fix it after. Would also be a good time with my dad.