What have you done to your square lately??

[bucket]

I took the access cover off of my '78 Burb's tailgate to give everything it's yearly lubrication. The regulator, motor, key switch, handle mechanism, latches, glass sash and all that are still in fantastic shape. Gave them all some lube anyway. Unfortunately, the two guide channels that were originally felt lined, are now lined with chunks of flaky rust. They definitely need replacement.

 

[Turbo4whl]

No adjustment access? I wonder what year that was added.

Early squares had a knock out slug in the brake drum for star wheel adjustment. Aftermarket drums would sometimes have the knock out location cast in the drum, but none would actually knock out. You would need to drill two holes next to each other.

 

[seventy5gmcc20]

There may be some areas on the drums which look like blank outs.
Don’t think either are original, back plate seems much closer and easier to the star. Kinda donkeyed plugging the holes with those plastic safety ac receptacle plugs for babies, and silicone. Will get rubber grommets one day in the far future. Simply procrastinating from body and paint work

 

[Grit dog]

I got a free bed rail / rack system and installed it. I'm going to try to tell you guys about it, but I've been drinking quite a bit so hopefully this will all make sense. Well first of all it was in pretty rough shape. I don't think it was left out side, but all of the moving parts, hinges and latches were stuck, so first order of businesses was soaking all that stuff until it moved again, and then greasing it up. Next was lengthening the top cross bars, as they were to short for the truck. Then cleaned it all up and painted it and installed it.

Below, the rails installed on the bed. My favorite thing about them is that the look good on the truck, and like they could have been installed back in '84.

You must be registered for see images attach

Below: From the other side

You must be registered for see images attach

Below: see how the rail bars hinge up, forming the legs and then the cross bars slip onto the top of the legs.

You must be registered for see images attach

So I can take this from being just bed rails to being a rack in just a few minutes, and it comes back down just as quickly. The top bars, are pinned in the center so they can be taken apart and I can store them in my tool box. If there is a down fall it's certainly not as heavy duty as a lot of racks, but it's much more flexible being able to easily put it up and take it down. Certainly I'll be able to haul a ladder up there, or a couple of long boards without any trouble. I've done some chainlink take downs which almost always involve at least a few 12 foot or longer pipes, so it should come in handy for that as well.

Uh oh Rob! Pickled at 1am? Lol
You do perty gud drnuk psoting!! Lol.
Yeah that convertible rack looks super handy!
It’ll handle more weight near the sides than in the center (obviously).
If you have an iffy load that Might be too heavy, my biggest concern would be ford/aft stability if you hammered on the brakes.
But a couple little ratchet straps on each side X bracing it fore/aft would alleviate that concern. Within reason of course.

 

[bucket]

Early squares had a knock out slug in the brake drum for star wheel adjustment. Aftermarket drums would sometimes have the knock out location cast in the drum, but none would actually knock out. You would need to drill two holes next to each other.

Ooohhh yeah... I remember that now. Most I came across were already knocked out. Some had a rubber plug in them, others were just left open by previous mechanics. The access in the backing plate makes much more sense, and you don't even have to take the wheels off.

 

[Grit dog]

Not to hijack your posts, but fyi for others, I think bed widths are pretty close in most models, brands of trucks.
I removed the Pro Tech headache rack that came on our 2016 Ram so I could put a tonneau cover on.
Slapped it on the square just to see how it fit and it fits perfectly. The angle of the uprights matched the angle of the cab B pillars and the width was closer to a perfect tight fit between the bed rails than the dodge that it came off of.
Just a fyi for anyone looking at used racks for their squares….

 

[bucket]

Not to hijack your posts, but fyi for others, I think bed widths are pretty close in most models, brands of trucks.
I removed the Pro Tech headache rack that came on our 2016 Ram so I could put a tonneau cover on.
Slapped it on the square just to see how it fit and it fits perfectly. The angle of the uprights matched the angle of the cab B pillars and the width was closer to a perfect tight fit between the bed rails than the dodge that it came off of.
Just a fyi for anyone looking at used racks for their squares….

Right, the bed width at the front seems to be fairly similar for all trucks. Just not the rear of the bed. Also, the hight of the cab roof in relation to the bed rails can be very different, but the '04-up F150 may be the biggest (maybe only) offender in that regard.

 

[Goldie Driver]

The old tower clamp seems to not be working right anymore, and the radiator guy pointed it out.

Fiddling with it yesterday made me believe him as just loosening it got me some heater hose leaks. The plan was to replace it with a 7/8 clamp style.

2 problems -I could not get it to slide down, and I was too lazy to take the hose off and lose antifreeze, which is good as 7/8 was too small.

These dam things are also a victim of the supply shortage ( the clamps) so I grabbed a big bag of assorted sizes at Vato Zone today.

Voila!

 

[Ken B]

Can u get tower clamps? Or did u have to go with hose clamps

 

[CRM]

Disassembled the PS pump this afternoon and cleaned internal parts. The rebuild kit I bought looks to be the right one. I've got to take a wire wheel to the body and reservoir so I can repaint it, or my OCD will drive me nuts. The hardest part so far has been getting the whole thing out of the truck, and getting the pulley off the shaft. Rebuild and re-installation look to be easier.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Uh oh Rob! Pickled at 1am? Lol
You do perty gud drnuk psoting!! Lol.
Yeah that convertible rack looks super handy!
It’ll handle more weight near the sides than in the center (obviously).
If you have an iffy load that Might be too heavy, my biggest concern would be ford/aft stability if you hammered on the brakes.
But a couple little ratchet straps on each side X bracing it fore/aft would alleviate that concern. Within reason of course.

Thanks. Spell check helps lol. It's obviously not a super heavy duty rack, but if I need to haul a lot of long heavy stuff I have trailer for that. A few long boards, or pipes, or a ladder, the rack should be great for that. Occasionally I do chainlink take downs, most commonly on city lots, and there are typically a few 14 foot pipes that area the top rails, and it should be great for that. Where as dragging a 18' trailer around in the city and worse yet trying to find a place to park it near where I'm working, just for a couple poles kind of sucks. I completely agree with the direction most likely to have stability issues, and the ratchet strap idea is a great idea. I wasn't looking or even think about wanting a rack like this when it came along, but as soon as I realized convertibility I knew it would be worth the work to clean it up.

 

[Goldie Driver]

Can u get tower clamps? Or did u have to go with hose clamps

I just bought what I could find at the parts store. Tower clamps are OE, so I'd probably replace them if I could find more.

 

[CRM]

Finished rebuilding the steering pump assembly. It took a while as there was sludge build up on all the internal parts, as well as the reservoir. Removed it all with brake cleaner, rags, and a brillo pad. Next up is painting the reservoir, reassembling everything, and reinstall the whole thing back into the truck. I'm planning on flushing the whole system once it's back up and running.

 

[CRM]

Painted the mounting brackets, pulley, and reservoir, using engine paint. Once they dry completely I'll put it all together.

 

[Grit dog]

Can't wait to see how awesome the rebuild works. Imma bout to start doing this when needed vs buying reman junk from the parts store.
Looks good!