AxleIke
Hard Core 4+
Phase 2 Complete, Phase 3 Started
Update:
Nice enough day, though my toes still froze even with two pair of socks.
Got the hitch hole cut, the hitch tube drilled, with a minor hicup. Welded fully, with AWESOME penetration. The hicup occurred when I was super stupid, and bought the wrong sized drill bit, the bit I bought being too small. So, after much walleyeing, the pin will now slide into the hitch with zero issues. It was frustrating though, since the drill almost ripped my hands off on more than one occasion.
I also got the corners lopped off at a 45 deg angle, and capped, though there was some issue with grinding too much off on the driver side, so now I have a little dimple.
Gotta fill it still.
I ground everything pretty smooth, and got the tops of the mounting tabs ground so my cosmetic strip (fills the gap between the tailgate and the bumper) will fit properly.
Now, for the million dollar question:
I'm looking at putting the tailpipe routed through the bumper. Basically, I have my exhaust cut off under the truck, and wired up to the driver side frame rail.
I am considering cutting a hole in the driver side wing, and welding a small exhaust coupler (found at every auto parts store ever) into the hole. I will then connect the hard pipe to the coupler via some flex tubing.
Heres what I like: It gets the exhaust out of the way, and protected (can't tell you how many times I've crushed it before).
Heres what I don't like: I'm worried about carbon residue getting all over my nice bumper (vain, I know). I'm also concerned about it not being symmetric (even more vain). I want it to look good in addition to being functional.
So, opinions?
On to the pics! Sorry there aren't many of the various steps. I was under a pretty good crunch to get this done before the sun set. Normally, I keep the camera outside with me, and I can snap a few here and there, but it was cold enough that the camera kept telling me the batteries were dead, even though they were brand new, so I had to keep it inside. I was only able to get a couple.
__________________________________________________________
Cutting the hitch hole
Leveling the hitch out.
Welded in front and back. Front pictured
Finished with phase 2. Sitting on garage floor waiting to be loaded for the trip to Boulder.
Close up of front of hitch.
Corners cut. Purely cosmetic, but I was trying to make it look a LITTLE less like a box.
Backside of the hitch.
Update:
Nice enough day, though my toes still froze even with two pair of socks.
Got the hitch hole cut, the hitch tube drilled, with a minor hicup. Welded fully, with AWESOME penetration. The hicup occurred when I was super stupid, and bought the wrong sized drill bit, the bit I bought being too small. So, after much walleyeing, the pin will now slide into the hitch with zero issues. It was frustrating though, since the drill almost ripped my hands off on more than one occasion.
I also got the corners lopped off at a 45 deg angle, and capped, though there was some issue with grinding too much off on the driver side, so now I have a little dimple.
Gotta fill it still. I ground everything pretty smooth, and got the tops of the mounting tabs ground so my cosmetic strip (fills the gap between the tailgate and the bumper) will fit properly.
Now, for the million dollar question:
I'm looking at putting the tailpipe routed through the bumper. Basically, I have my exhaust cut off under the truck, and wired up to the driver side frame rail.
I am considering cutting a hole in the driver side wing, and welding a small exhaust coupler (found at every auto parts store ever) into the hole. I will then connect the hard pipe to the coupler via some flex tubing.
Heres what I like: It gets the exhaust out of the way, and protected (can't tell you how many times I've crushed it before).
Heres what I don't like: I'm worried about carbon residue getting all over my nice bumper (vain, I know). I'm also concerned about it not being symmetric (even more vain). I want it to look good in addition to being functional.
So, opinions?
On to the pics! Sorry there aren't many of the various steps. I was under a pretty good crunch to get this done before the sun set. Normally, I keep the camera outside with me, and I can snap a few here and there, but it was cold enough that the camera kept telling me the batteries were dead, even though they were brand new, so I had to keep it inside. I was only able to get a couple.
__________________________________________________________
Cutting the hitch hole
Leveling the hitch out.
Welded in front and back. Front pictured
Finished with phase 2. Sitting on garage floor waiting to be loaded for the trip to Boulder.
Close up of front of hitch.
Corners cut. Purely cosmetic, but I was trying to make it look a LITTLE less like a box.
Backside of the hitch.
