Replacing Rocker Buttons

[Big T]

That is probably WHY you have the money- you are smart enough to not blow through it all like I do!

Like me trying to justify those $400 headlights the other day. My excitement calmed down and I will not be buying them. When the cash is in my hand- I am faster than quick draw McGraw. Yes, i want those roller rockers but can’t justify them. If Leroy had a store I would have walked into when they first came out- I will admit they would be in my possession. I purposely have my wife do all online purchases for me and have to remind her to make me justify economically to her the purchase. Because before I met her- man you guys should have seen my 69 Camaro smoke the tires at 100 mph and literally pop the back window out from the bass.

The Hummer was bought after the crew cab 3500 almost slid off the side of a mountain with her and our oldest boy still in diapers about 18-19 years ago. My buddy that ya ked the kid out of the truck at the edge of the cliff later that day says “Will, if you had that Hummer you keep talking about, this wouldn’t have happened!” Trying to harass me. My wife found the Hummer for sale in the paper- not me. Does that sale fall under “fear of loss?” Hahaha

Truth^^^.

I grew up wanting a Porsche 911. I drove VW Bugs.

I restored a 1964 VW Bug, only to have it stolen out of the garage. Never again. Cars are simply tools.

I can buy a McClaren or a Ferrari, but why would I put that on the road in Southern California? My first ever new car was a 1994 Honda Accord and it got hit 7x by uninsured motorists including a drunk driving his parent's motor home who rear ended me at a stop light. My wife was rear ended in her Mercedes SLK by a big rig truck on the Freeway. Nothing survives here. The old Suburban is a proper beast for this shit.

The key to building wealth is to keep your money and to properly invest and building over time. If you're impulsive and spend, you will never get there. Don't piss away gobs of money on depreciating assets. I would much rather remodel a home than have the most conspicuous car on the road.

 

[MrMarty51]

@Will L.
Yes it does. Fear of loss and that purchase was perfectly justified. At least in My opinion.
I too once would spend every dime I didnt have. CC to the max. I now have somehow found some self control. I do owe the CC but it is for stuff that keeps the vehicles a rolling. I do not go out and put things like fishing poles and stuff that I already have plenty of. Only components to keep the cars and the truck on the road, and then, the wehicle has to be on the verge of being totally busted down before I will go out on the limb for parts. I get it laid totally off before considering purchasing through the card again.

 

[Big T]

"I get it laid totally off before considering purchasing through the card again."

Same here

 

[Big T]

Seriously, the only debt I have is the mortgage on the Montana ranch home and it is not big. Given the price appreciation since purchase and our rapid pay down, the Loan To Value (LTV) is less than 25%. Other homes are paid off. No debt on any vehicle. Not buying a new vehicle every 3 to 5 years because I can keep them going.

 

[MrMarty51]

What really sucked about My situation, I wanted 9 more years with the DOT. I would have been 66 and been totally debt free, house, vehicles, cards, everything totally paid off and been bankrolling money.
As it was, back got messed up, had seven more years left to hit my 9. DOT could no longer use Me, return to work light duty, no room for a light duty mech in the shop. Told me to load up my personal gear and go home, work comp will now take care of You. HA, funnneee.
I could see what was going to happen so, pulled out the retirement one lump sum, paid off house, vehicle and CC. Debt free. Struggled along, got settlement for WC and it then was time for a newer vehicle for the wifey, she was going to be going on the road for her work, 2000 Buick about ready to crap out its cooling system. Got Her a 08 Malibu, that was 09. It had about 20,000 miles on it.
I did get kn SSDI until I was 65.
There is no such thing as spare change. It is a payday to payday struggle and we do not do anything extravagant.
So when a wehicle needs parts, it is onto the card and then hope nothing else breaks before we get that, or those, components paid off.
Like that one old song, thats just the way it is baby.

 

[jrsavoie]

Something I don’t see in your list for the two rigs is harmonic balancers.
I am hoping you did them already and about due for being done again if you didn’t do fluidamprs already.

Stock balancers on a hard worked truck usually pop the crankshaft/ block around 225-250 and easy driven ones around 300-325. We learned same thing most other shops did- just do them everywhere 100k miles. And you do the drive pulley at same time. If they haven’t been done jump on that asap. Search history on this forum and I am sure you will find the broken crank shafts and broken main cap webs. The balancer isthe biggest contributing factor you can control without rebuilding engine.

Conservatively-AC Delco is good for 100k, doorman 30k, fluidampr basically forever. Leroy’s billet pulley is obviously for ever. Under no circumstances would I ever double that. One and a half that is where fine cracking in block starts.


keep an eye on the blow by. All that extra junk in oil adds to wear besides the lost oil out the tailpipe. Cleaner oil starts really counting at 325k. Consider the better oils or additives - this sloppy engine is not a Toyota. Using those expensive oils means catch can to save that oil pays for itself.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your ds4 collection. Thats a lot of miles - you really better have top notch water separator and the pressure gauges in place on both. iirc didn’t you already loose one ip to water?

What really sucked about My situation, I wanted 9 more years with the DOT. I would have been 66 and been totally debt free, house, vehicles, cards, everything totally paid off and been bankrolling money.
As it was, back got messed up, had seven more years left to hit my 9. DOT could no longer use Me, return to work light duty, no room for a light duty mech in the shop. Told me to load up my personal gear and go home, work comp will now take care of You. HA, funnneee.
I could see what was going to happen so, pulled out the retirement one lump sum, paid off house, vehicle and CC. Debt free. Struggled along, got settlement for WC and it then was time for a newer vehicle for the wifey, she was going to be going on the road for her work, 2000 Buick about ready to crap out its cooling system. Got Her a 08 Malibu, that was 09. It had about 20,000 miles on it.
I did get kn SSDI until I was 65.
There is no such thing as spare change. It is a payday to payday struggle and we do not do anything extravagant.
So when a wehicle needs parts, it is onto the card and then hope nothing else breaks before we get that, or those, components paid off.
Like that one old song, thats just the way it is baby.

Sounds very familiar. We were paid off at one point in time. When I had heart and other issues starting in 95, I missed a lot of work.

I kept thinking I would get better, I bounced up and down, got a little better, but never back to what I was the time before. Ended up way in the hole from lost income. Should have had work comp on the right shoulder, but I was ill advised and done wrong by the doctors that said it was just sore withour looking at it.

After 4 years he finally did an arthrogram and decided it was about to fall off. Said I had to quit work immediately.

After the last time I worked I missed a few great welding jobs that I was called for. 7/12s. Several years worth of work missed.

 

[Big T]

People whom I work with ask me why I'm still working (I'm 59 going on 60), given my financial status. The answer is real simple. The one uncovered risk I would have is healthcare. With my employment I get a CIGNA PPO healthcare coverage and in 4 years I will get that for life at the Federal Reserve Group Rate. The way our healthcare system works: those who have money pay; those who don't make those who do, pay.

 

[jrsavoie]

People whom I work with ask me why I'm still working (I'm 59 going on 60), given my financial status. The answer is real simple. The one uncovered risk I would have is healthcare. With my employment I get a CIGNA PPO healthcare coverage and in 4 years I will get that for life at the Federal Reserve Group Rate. The way our healthcare system works: those who have money pay; those who don't make those who do, pay.

Benefits are huge.

 

[Big T]

I worked for the FDIC on a two-year term appointment from 2009 to early 2012. As we finished up last assignment, my friend accepted another 2-year appointment with the FDIC in their Jacksonville, FL office (he's from Peach Tree, GA). It was December 2011 and he only had a verbal from Jacksonville. He was having issues and went in for a colonoscopy because colon cancer ran in his family. They found cancer and had him in for surgery the next week. All sorts of complications from the surgery starting with blood clots. He basically disappeared for a month as they put him in an induced coma in the ICU. Total cost of that medical event was $700K. Fortunately, the FDIC medical insurance covered it, even though he hadn't started the next position. It is events like those that can ruin you. My friend is still with us.

 

[Will L.]

Rich enough to know I am poor, smart enough to know I am dumb, had enough problems to know life is good. Almost died and should have more times than I can count-three times this year and once since Thanksgiving even, so no real complaints here! Haha

I figured buying the hummer was not a smart choice. I know the smarter choice would be get it running with the gm engine, shiny paint and interior, sell the optimizer and good parts separate, and send the hummer packing to some rich nut job over seas for 100k.

But then I loose my excuse to bother you guys! Haha

Rough deal with your friend, Glad he is ok though.

 

[Big T]

Rich enough to know I am poor, smart enough to know I am dumb, had enough problems to know life is good. Almost died and should have more times than I can count-three times this year and once since Thanksgiving even, so no real complaints here! Haha

I figured buying the hummer was not a smart choice. I know the smarter choice would be get it running with the gm engine, shiny paint and interior, sell the optimizer and good parts separate, and send the hummer packing to some rich nut job over seas for 100k.

But then I loose my excuse to bother you guys! Haha

Rough deal with your friend, Glad he is ok though.

You know, I was on the verge of parting out Colby's '94 Suburban after failing with the other IP last summer. Vehicle may be worth $3,000 running. I had spent $1,200 on the GMT 800 brake upgrade and felt like we needed to get our money's worth out of that, so we kept at it. Worst case, if Colby didn't want it, I'd use it for a plow truck in MT.

 

[MrMarty51]

But then I loose my excuse to bother you guys! Haha

Rough deal with your friend, Glad he is ok though.

Dont You dare go leaving us. That would be a terrible day.
Yeah, on the friend part from here too.
I too was about a goner, two years ago labor day, heart attack.
Life flightsd to Billings. Takes about two hours to drive that road one way. Helicopter was in MC in 45 minutes. 45 minutes later I was in Billings and in the hospital getting tests done.

 

[Will L.]

Just posting link to a similar but different method of the rocker arm retainers being done.

DIY SS Riveted Rocker Retainers (With Pics and PN's)

The stock 6.5 rocker is held in place by a nylon button. I had one break on me, now I'm replacing the piston rings in cylinder 6 because of it. No way I'm putting nylon in again. I could have gone with expensive HS roller rockers, or the bolt method, but I thought I'd try something similar to...

www.thetruckstop.us