Collin,
On the '99s the pinch weld is only 1/2 inch high. This isn't much area to
mount something you're going to stand on. If your step boards are going to
be decorative and you don't plan to stand on them, then the pinch weld
should be enough support. A stronger location is the cab mounting horns
welded to the frame.
Here in the salt belt of upstate New York, the procedure I use is:
Drill all the mounting holes you will need.
Install the part, then check to make sure it's level and in the right
location
Remove the part
Radius all the holes, Use a drill bit about twice the size that you used to
make the holes and gently touch it to the edge of the hole This makes a
better chamfer in sheet metal than a countersink.
If the metal thickness is 1/8 inch or greater, use a countersink LIGHTLY
Or, use a stone in a die grinder LIGHTLY.
The idea is to get all the burrs off and radius the edges of the holes on
both sides. Paint will adhere much better to a smooth curve even if it's
only 1/16 radius than it will to a sharp 90-degree angle
.
Paint all the holes in the truck and in the parts you're installing. I use
Corroless rust stabilizer from Eastwood's. It may be similar to POR-15.
When the paint is dry, reinstall the parts; don't use stainless fasteners on
mild steel parts. The paint will pop off the fasteners and a half-inch
circle around each hole will rust from underneath the paint.
Put another coat of rust stabilizer on all sides of the fasteners, nuts,
bolts, washers, exposed threads, etc.
When that's dry, spray the fasteners on all sides with aerosol undercoating.
It's black, sticky and messy, wear old clothes
Now you're done until next year
Next May, crawl underneath and touch up the areas that lost their coating
In this neck of the woods, all you can do is slow down corrosion, not stop
it entirely
Neil
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:03:21 EDT