Well, the Monty is at the shop having a brake job. I had them check the alignment and was told that everything was just fine in that regard. The brakes (at an estimated 13,000 miles) were getting pretty worn out so I'm having them replaced (new backing plate, pads, magnets, etc.) Also, one seal had been blown and there was grease inside the brake assembley. I suspected that as one brake would squeal really badly at times. I'm also having them remove the grease zerks from the spindles. I wasn't planning on using them anyway. In addition, the shop manager warned me that the biggest problem with the greasable hubs is that it tends to fill the hub completely. You need an air gap inside the hub to allow the grease some expansion room when it gets hot. If you don't have the air pocket, then when it gets hot the grease will force its way past the rear seal and.....
I also wish that Ford could build a front end that will last longer than 60-70,000 miles. Had to replace all 4 ball joint$. Gotta be the weakest part of that truck.
The weather has settled down long enough now that I'm painting the used TrailAir pin box that I got a few months ago. It was scratched up more than I thought it should have been especially on the bottom of the lower jaw. That will be done this week and then I'll get some help swapping it in. I'm really looking forward to seeing just how much difference it will make.
I'm also repainting the (new) PulRite (non-slider) hitch I got last November. I'm really disapointed with the paint job the factory did on that. It already has rust bubbling up under the paint really badly. I wasn't able to remove the paint and rust like I wanted to so I'm anticipating that this paint job won't last very well. In that case, next year when it starts looking crappy again, I'll have the sucker bead blasted and just start over from scratch...
Still haven't put my new water pump in yet. Haven't looked for any local sources of material to use for my secondary isolation mounts. It is on the short list so I'll be looking soon. I want that in place before July 4th.
Eric