Body Pads

J

jerry sitzlar

New member
Mar 6, 2013
185
0
0
I'm in the middle of replacing/installing body pads and have run into a problem. I removed the four donuts at each end and the two clamps on each
side. I jacked up the left side right behind the generator with my bottle jack about one inch, cleaned with acetone and glued and screwed a new pad
into place. I moved over to the right side and tried to jack it up but it started lifting the frame with the body. I looked at every thing I
thought maybe could still be holding them together. I had earlier removed my Ragusa step. The black tank is fastened to the frame and the body can
be lifted about three inches before the drain pipe interferes. QUESTION: What am I overlooking?

Thanks,
Jerry
--
Jerry Sitzlar..... 77 Eleganza II, Twin bed, dry bath......
Lenoir City, TN
 
I found the problem........me. I glued both sides of the rubber pad and it set up really fast. I should have only glued one side. The glue holds
so well that using a 12 ton bottle jack would not separate the body from the frame. The glue (Liquid Nails Fuze-It) feels rubbery to the touch but it
is strong. Now to cut that first pad free. Live and learn.

Thanks,
Jerry
--
Jerry Sitzlar..... 77 Eleganza II, Twin bed, dry bath......
Lenoir City, TN
 
Jerry,

You may have shot yourself in the foot; however, sharing your mistake will help others!

Plus Liquid Nails Fuze-It is a great tip; the pads ain't movin'!

Regards,
Rob M.
Sydney, Australia
AUS '75 Avion - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
USA '75 Avion - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
USA '77 Kingsley - TZE 267V100808


-----Original Message-----
From: Gmclist [mailto:gmclist-bounces] On Behalf Of Jerry Sitzlar via Gmclist
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2017 8:43 AM
To: gmclist
Cc: Jerry Sitzlar
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Body Pads

I found the problem........me. I glued both sides of the rubber pad and it set up really fast. I should have only glued one side.
The glue holds so well that using a 12 ton bottle jack would not separate the body from the frame. The glue (Liquid Nails Fuze-It)
feels rubbery to the touch but it is strong. Now to cut that first pad free. Live and learn.

Thanks,
Jerry
 
I've replaced body pads on three GMC's in the last 14 years. Never loosened any of the body mounts. As the pads are under a half inch. And your just putting the body back to were it originally was. I just raised the body with a floor jack. Just enough to slid the replacement pads in. Put them in dry. No glue. Never have had any of the pads move on any of the three GMC's. Took just over 90 minutes per GMC.

Bob Dunahugh

78 Royale.
 
> I've replaced body pads on three GMC's in the last 14 years. Never loosened any of the body mounts. As the pads are under a half inch. And your
> just putting the body back to were it originally was. I just raised the body with a floor jack. Just enough to slid the replacement pads in. Put
> them in dry. No glue. Never have had any of the pads move on any of the three GMC's. Took just over 90 minutes per GMC.
>
> Bob Dunahugh
>
> 78 Royale.
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org

I did mine the same way, but screwed the pads to the aluminum cross members with self tapping screws. The one pad that I did not screw in place has
since turned about 30* on the frame. Next time I have the coach up I'll turn it back and add a couple screws. JWID
--
Larry
78 Royale w/500 Caddy
Menomonie, WI.
 
We supply lot of them, and the feedback is always good. We encourage people
to screw it down. I think Bob D makes sure the frame and body is clean
before placing them.
Don'y forget to loosen the side step as lot have broken them in the process.

> > I've replaced body pads on three GMC's in the last 14 years. Never
> loosened any of the body mounts. As the pads are under a half inch. And your
> > just putting the body back to were it originally was. I just raised the
> body with a floor jack. Just enough to slid the replacement pads in. Put
> > them in dry. No glue. Never have had any of the pads move on any of the
> three GMC's. Took just over 90 minutes per GMC.
> >
> > Bob Dunahugh
> >
> > 78 Royale.
> > _______________________________________________
> > GMCnet mailing list
> > Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> > http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
> I did mine the same way, but screwed the pads to the aluminum cross
> members with self tapping screws. The one pad that I did not screw in
> place has
> since turned about 30* on the frame. Next time I have the coach up I'll
> turn it back and add a couple screws. JWID
> --
> Larry
> 78 Royale w/500 Caddy
> Menomonie, WI.
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
 
> I've replaced body pads on three GMC's in the last 14 years. Never loosened any of the body mounts. As the pads are under a half inch. And your
> just putting the body back to were it originally was. I just raised the body with a floor jack. Just enough to slid the replacement pads in. Put
> them in dry. No glue. Never have had any of the pads move on any of the three GMC's. Took just over 90 minutes per GMC.
>
> Bob Dunahugh
>
> 78 Royale.

I did the same thing. Only I did glue one side of the pads to keep them from shifting. I did not loosen or remove the donuts and hold downs. Jack
up on each one, pull out the old and install the new. Sometimes one jack point will allow replacement of more than one pad. I can not see any
problem gluing both sides.
--
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
 
GM glued the pads in to start with. That didn't work well. Larry's self tap screws is good extra protection. And not messy.

Bob Dunahugh

78 Royale.
 
I found that the self drilling screws that are used to attach metal roofing to metal supports work very well.

Emery Stora
77 Kingsley
Frederick, CO

>
> GM glued the pads in to start with. That didn't work well. Larry's self tap screws is good extra protection. And not messy.
>
> Bob Dunahugh
>
> 78 Royale.
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
 
Bob,

I bought two sets of 3/4" thick body blocks from Bert & Faye Curtis; that's what was installed in Double Trouble and will be
installed in The Blue Streak.

Faye is not in the vendor list on Bdub's website any more.

Regards,
Rob M.
Sydney, Australia
AUS '75 Avion - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
USA '75 Avion - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
USA '77 Kingsley - TZE 267V100808


-----Original Message-----
From: Gmclist [mailto:gmclist-bounces] On Behalf Of Bob Dunahugh
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2017 11:46 AM
To: gmclist
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Body Pads

I've replaced body pads on three GMC's in the last 14 years. Never loosened any of the body mounts. As the pads are under a half
inch. And your just putting the body back to were it originally was. I just raised the body with a floor jack. Just enough to slid
the replacement pads in. Put them in dry. No glue. Never have had any of the pads move on any of the three GMC's. Took just over 90
minutes per GMC.

Bob Dunahugh

78 Royale.
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
 
Ok so I know you guys had no trouble at all using a a jack of ones choice to lift each body joist up off the frame and replace the pads. For the rest
of us who were not so lucky, here is my account / instructions on replacing the body pads.

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g5800-isolation-pad-installation.html

--
Bruce Hislop
ON Canada
77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
Hubler 1 ton front end
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
 
Good Pictures and narrative.

Thanks Bruce.
--
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
 
yes thank you for the photos and the how to.

Now I assume the pads help keep the coach from rattling/vibrating down the road. How do you know you need to change them?

kelly
--
1978 Kingsley
Putney VT
 
Kelly,
To check them just look underneath the body to check the ones you currently have. Many are mashed down to nothing or even missing altogether. If you
are lucky, a PO has recently changed them and you are good to go.

Some mention they do not change the donuts at the front and the back. My feeling is, now you have new ones in the middle of the coach the end donuts
are likely not carrying any weight or making the ends sag. I did not change my donuts but instead I removed the center bolt and added large flat
washers under the donuts to make up the height difference.
--
Bruce Hislop
ON Canada
77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
Hubler 1 ton front end
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
 
Faye's info on bdub

http://www.gmcmotorhomemarketplace.com/curtis-unlimited/index.html

Dennis

> Bob,
>
> I bought two sets of 3/4" thick body blocks from Bert & Faye Curtis; that's what was installed in Double Trouble and will be
> installed in The Blue Streak.
>
> Faye is not in the vendor list on Bdub's website any more.
>
> Regards,
> Rob M.
> Sydney, Australia
> AUS '75 Avion - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
> USA '75 Avion - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
> USA '77 Kingsley - TZE 267V100808
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gmclist [mailto:gmclist-bounces] On Behalf Of Bob Dunahugh
> Sent: Monday, July 24, 2017 11:46 AM
> To: gmclist
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Body Pads
>
> I've replaced body pads on three GMC's in the last 14 years. Never loosened any of the body mounts. As the pads are under a half
> inch. And your just putting the body back to were it originally was. I just raised the body with a floor jack. Just enough to slid
> the replacement pads in. Put them in dry. No glue. Never have had any of the pads move on any of the three GMC's. Took just over 90
> minutes per GMC.
>
> Bob Dunahugh
>
> 78 Royale.
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org

--
Dennis S
73 Painted Desert 230
Memphis TN Metro
 
I'm going to disagree with Bob on just jacking it up and ignore the sounds the body makes. I did that and heard a loud BANG, which I believe from the
sag of the body and the ripples in the side-wall skin... was a body weld or 2 breaking.

Easy physics here... You have a frame sitting on torsion bars and air bags pushing up on the body. The only way the body is going to lift from the
frame is either A) you lift the body until the suspension hits its limit (maybe 4-5" and you are now carrying 1/2 the body weight on a single
stringer.. hence the noise) or B) you bend that stringer up at which time will it return to normal??.

After the BANG! I re-examined this from my farm-boy mechanic viewpoint. So I disabled the suspension from pushing up on the body by jacking the front
up and setting the frame on jack stands and setting the rear onto my blocks under the bogies and releasing the airbag pressure. Now when I lifted the
body, the frame stayed put. Then I lifted one side of the body up using several jacks front to rear and installed the new pads. Then I did the other
side.

I put large body washers under the front and back donuts to compensate for the new pad height.

Unfortunately I still have the sag and ripples in the side panels.
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6922-frame-sagging.html

--
Bruce Hislop
ON Canada
77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
Hubler 1 ton front end
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
 
Like so much we post here, the negatives and difficulties dominate.
Through all of this thread I haven't seen anyone proclaiming how GLAD they
are that they went to the trouble! Let me start the GOOD JOB ball rolling:
DO IT! You'll love the results. You'll wonder what happened to all the
squeaks and rattles you hadn't even realized you had. How did your old
Chevrolet suddenly become a new Cadillac?

JWID,

Ken H.
 
Thanks Bruce,

After using your installation instructions the rest of my pads went in very easily.

Jerry
--
Jerry Sitzlar..... 77 Eleganza II, Twin bed, dry bath......
Lenoir City, TN
 
You are right Ken, many of mine were missing and some were replacements. The replacements were hard, more canvas than rubber stuff of an industrial
nature. I don't understand the Hockey puck pad replacement promoted by some. As a Canuck I can tell you a hockey puck is a very hard material, no
shock absorption from them.

Also, maybe this is the cause to the bowed floor syndrome. The floor stringers have been bent upwards during pad replacement. Just telling my
experience.

After the new pads were installed the coach quieted way down and rode like on a cloud. One of the best things I've done.

--
Bruce Hislop
ON Canada
77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
Hubler 1 ton front end
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Get your shine on at www.cruzingear.co
GMCMI Fall 2026 Rally

Share this page

Share this page
Top Bottom
Back