What's new
By:
Filters

2000 Ford F-550 Build

wgPwilpl.jpg


t37Ijw9l.jpg


A2wiRfVl.jpg


Attached are some pics, Hummer is loaded and took it for a drive, I can touch base on that drive later but she's still moving post drive!

I scraped the CA stickers off since I am going to CA for KOH. The top sticker was 15 for 15k, when the truck was a CA truck it had a 30 on it for 30k, that is pretty high.

Lastly, the company who did the work I am assuming...
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
He (is supposed to) have a S135, but the housing is the same for S135, S110, S130. He could pull the S135 diff out, and slap in a 4.30 diff+axle shafts from any 05-16 F550.

Regearing the front is a pain, but IMO worth it. I looked at doing a brownie box type thing in my truck, but in the end it was not worth the extra expense. Regearing was cheaper and easier.

https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/ho...ck-up.2610730/
Click to expand...

I do have a random question, are the s135/110 tone rings pressed on to the ring gear or are they machined into the carrier or ring gear. I haven’t worked on an axle this size and wasn’t sure how it’s setup
 
The tone ring is pressed on. Hard to tell if it's pressed onto the carrier or onto the ring gear itself, but you can buy them separately. For example:
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...na-s110-33214/

Also, I took the hall effect sensor out of my S110 diff and put it right into my S130 diff so that I didn't have to wire a new plug. The speedo is spot-on which I didn't expect, so this tone ring is more than just a ABS sensor.

EDIT: I won't clog your thread with my pics. Pics of the tone rings are in my mayhem build thread in this section.
 
06h3 said:
I do have a random question, are the s135/110 tone rings pressed on to the ring gear or are they machined into the carrier or ring gear. I haven’t worked on an axle this size and wasn’t sure how it’s setup
Click to expand...

If it's anything like literally every other Ford and Dana axle the tone ring is pressed (more like snugly fit) over the carrier with a tooth and notch to keep it from falling off or spinning.

Because the tone ring is on the carriers (i.e. after the ring gear reduction) the speedo won't care about gear ratio changes.
 
Thanks guys. When I was going down this “what do I do?” road with my gearing situation a few months ago, I did find a 4.44 S135 ratio and the guy said he won’t sell it to me because it isn’t a ford application, since I had that response I thought the carrier was machined for it or something.
 
You don't need a S135 specifically. The housing is shared between the S135/S110/S130. All you need are the diff and axle shafts from any of those three, then reuse your old ABS/VSS.
 
Muckin_Slusher go to post 212 and 213 to see wheelbase comments, I think my setup is a one off. Maybe I’ll call that company that did the work.
 
06h3 said:
Muckin_Slusher go to post 212 and 213 to see wheelbase comments, I think my setup is a one off. Maybe I’ll call that company that did the work.
Click to expand...

16' beds definitely are not common, especially in a crew cab. Usually the F450/550s are single cab 12' bed, crew cab 8-9' bed or crew cab 12' bed. I've seen single cab 16' beds, but I think yours is probably the only crew 16' bed I can think of ever seeing.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
16' beds definitely are not common, especially in a crew cab. Usually the F450/550s are single cab 12' bed, crew cab 8-9' bed or crew cab 12' bed. I've seen single cab 16' beds, but I think yours is probably the only crew 16' bed I can think of ever seeing.
Click to expand...

There's a concrete company around here that runs a bunch. Maybe they're 14ft but they're sure not 12ft.

Definitely not common like a 10' or 12' flatbed or dump is though.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
He (is supposed to) have a S135, but the housing is the same for S135, S110, S130. He could pull the S135 diff out, and slap in a 4.30 diff+axle shafts from any 05-16 F550.

Regearing the front is a pain, but IMO worth it. I looked at doing a brownie box type thing in my truck, but in the end it was not worth the extra expense. Regearing was cheaper and easier.

https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/ho...ck-up.2610730/
Click to expand...

4.30s are still going to be kinda deep for 70+, although I wouldn't want much taller with his weight. Like I said, I think the 4.88s will be better for everything but open highway. The brownie is the equivalent of 3.54s iirc.


Has a tranny cooler been addressed? I hear a factory 6.0 Ford trans cooler is killer.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
4.30s are still going to be kinda deep for 70+, although I wouldn't want much taller with his weight. Like I said, I think the 4.88s will be better for everything but open highway. The brownie is the equivalent of 3.54s iirc.


Has a tranny cooler been addressed? I hear a factory 6.0 Ford trans cooler is killer.
Click to expand...

Agree on both counts. 4.30 is a hell of a lot better than 4.88 for highway speeds, but keeps enough RPM for the weight.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
Agree on both counts. 4.30 is a hell of a lot better than 4.88 for highway speeds, but keeps enough RPM for the weight.
Click to expand...

Yes, but 4.88 to 4.30s is only 300 RPM at 75.

Brownie box is 700 RPM.


For those who haven't used this, it's pretty handy. The "more specific" works good for messing with different OD's or r&p ratios. You can just put the brownie box ratios into the crawl box spot.

https://www.marlincrawler.com/java/getspd_calc.html

​​​​​​​Remember it's actual tire diameter, not sidewall. Usually a 33, is more like a 31. Measuring from you hub to the ground x2 is the most accurate way.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
This one is even easier:
https://spicerparts.com/calculators/transmission-ratio-rpm-calculator

Yeah, it's only ~300rpm, but 300rpm is a big difference to me. Truck drives way different. 700rpm would be ~2000rpm @ 70, I wonder if that would be too low.
Click to expand...

Did this truck go T4 turbo I can't remember now

Edit: I remember now it was a T4 S3XX turbo right? So how does it run on the highway now? EBP and Boost pressures at the various RPMs?

2200 at 70mph would be pretty sweet I think unless it makes a lot of powa at 2000.
 
Yeah, I went the T4 route, 364.5 .91 Housing, EBP and MAP on my phone app show closer to 1:1 then 2:1. I can get more specifics but I was happy to see EBP wasn't that high, I was concerned of that.

One thing I did notice on highway driving is that at 2500 rpm with the factory setup it felt like it didn't want to push past that rpm and stay at that RPM. This new setup doesn't seem as taxed running at higher rpm for extended times. With that said, I have 50 highway miles on it so far, I am leaving for KOH tomorrow and will get 850 highway miles one way. I will be hitting many grades, I am not sure if I can go at normal speed though, snow is hitting the west coast starting tomorrow and I am sure chain control will be in effect.

As I progress with this truck I will be curious to see what I like RPM wise but unfortunately I cant find that out without spending money. This truck will have numerous setups and I think numerous ratio options would be ideal
1) is empty, empty I know I can go 80+ all day with confidence.
2) a rig on the back, my buddy said it is dangerous to go over 70 mph but honestly, this factory leaf spring setup is kickass, you dont get much sway and you dont really feel the rig up that high. I think I could go over 70 mph if the conditions are right.
3)rig on the back and a 20-30 ft bumper pull camper behind it. I would imagine with this setup 65-70 max and when in CA 55-60 due to speed limits, 4.88s will be a benefit as I can hopefully pull in OD and with high ratios I would be in between 3-4 gear.
4)rig on the back and a trailer pulling a rig (may not be possible with that much weight on grades)

My biggest concern is the aux box spinning that fast, its from the 60's I doubt they were designed to spin at 80 mph.

Lastly, I didn't tell the story from this weekend pulling a grade outside of Marsing, ID to Jordan Valley, OR. It was my "test" loaded with my rig on the back, it's a steep grade and it was only 40* out, I had the fan off as I was doing some last minute things to the truck and figured, its 40* and probably less going up the grade and didn't put it on like a dumbass.The truck got hot and had to pull over, I was kind of shocked, I figured at speed the fan doesn't do crap and really only helped low speed but maybe that isn't the case? I let it cool off, drove it back home, put the shroud and fan back on. I also took the degas cap off and drove it around with the cap off to make sure I had no air trapped in the system. We will see tomorrow as that is the grade to hammers.
 
Highway miles towing is the best way to figure out if you want more/less RPM at your chosen highway speed.

If you think you want less, reduce your speed (in OD) to whatever your target engine RPM is, and try to take grades at that RPM. If you feel you have enough power at that RPM loaded, then IMO you're safe to regear or add an aux box.

As for getting hot, agree that your engine fan isn't going to be doing much at highway speed. Couple questions:
1. What EGT were you at going up the grade? it's an indicator of how hard the engine is working and how much heat it's producing.
2. What MPH were you going? Lower speeds (<50 probably) the engine fan is going to be much more important.
 
I was on a daily tune (probably should have been on medium tow or heavy tow) I started at 65-70 mph, hit EGTs around 1100, I got fucked when I didn't downshift immediately when losing speed. I did get under 50 mph after the delayed downshift.
 
06h3 said:
I was on a daily tune (probably should have been on medium tow or heavy tow) I started at 65-70 mph, hit EGTs around 1100, I got fucked when I didn't downshift immediately when losing speed. I did get under 50 mph after the delayed downshift.
Click to expand...

So, safe to assume that your EGTs went up a bunch when your speed reduced. Engine was working pretty good already before that.

Next time, don't drive around with the cap off. The system will burp itself while sealed (to some extent), but running with the cap off actually reduces the efficacy of your cooling system. The coolant will boil off way, way faster if not under pressure.

Put the fan on, change the engine oil, top up and burp the cooling system, then run it. Only time will tell if you've hurt the engine, but my guess is that you're probably OK if you pulled before it started puking all of its coolant.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
So, safe to assume that your EGTs went up a bunch when your speed reduced. Engine was working pretty good already before that.

Next time, don't drive around with the cap off. The system will burp itself while sealed (to some extent), but running with the cap off actually reduces the efficacy of your cooling system. The coolant will boil off way, way faster if not under pressure.

Put the fan on, change the engine oil, top up and burp the cooling system, then run it. Only time will tell if you've hurt the engine, but my guess is that you're probably OK if you pulled before it started puking all of its coolant.
Click to expand...

I did puke some coolant but I changed the oil, and drained the coolant, no oil in coolant, no coolant in oil so I think the engine isn't hurt, when I drove it home it didnt lack power one bit. I think it's ok. Fan is back in, same with the shroud and will pay close attention to the oil and coolant temps when I hit this grade. I was kind of shocked, I have read 7.3s don't overheat often but again I am an idiot with no fan and possibly air in the system.
 
Yeah the fan will be balls out on most grades of any length, especially in the heat.
The simplest most flexible setup seems like the AUX box and 4.88's but finding info has been tough.
You might try contacting Spicer directly to see if they can help on propshaft speeds and capacities.
My research shows a rule of thumb that the box's are rated in torque by their series, 5xxx = 500 lb ft, 6xxx = 600 ,7xxx = 700 etc.
 
Towing 20K through Colorado, mine gets warm but not hot. Will maintain 60MPH over just about anything. EGT's are about 1100 max. Fan sounds like a fucking tornado.
 
It was mentioned earlier but the 6.0 trans cooler is well worth the money as trans temps will get HOT with a 4r100 pulling heavy.
I bought the much cheaper Dorman cooler and had no issues with it.
I also kept the radiator cooler in the mix, you will hear reports that it is foolish to do so but I expect most people don't understand thermo-dynamics as well as the oem engineers.
 
Perfect, I have trouble keeping up with you, Java and the mayhem builds :grinpimp:
 
CarterKraft said:
Perfect, I have trouble keeping up with you, Java and the mayhem builds :grinpimp:
Click to expand...

It is pretty cool that there are three different F450/550 "builds" going, from three different generations of the truck, with fairly different uses. It's neat to see how they compare.
 
CarterKraft said:
It was mentioned earlier but the 6.0 trans cooler is well worth the money as trans temps will get HOT with a 4r100 pulling heavy.
I bought the much cheaper Dorman cooler and had no issues with it.
I also kept the radiator cooler in the mix, you will hear reports that it is foolish to do so but I expect most people don't understand thermo-dynamics as well as the oem engineers.
Click to expand...

I ought to do that with our 2002 F350. Don't often tow heavy, but it had about 14k (between the trailer and the tractor on the trailer) behind it last week.

Aaron Z
 
ZF6, no cooler needed. After my 97, an auto was a no go.
 
bdkw1 said:
ZF6, no cooler needed. After my 97, an auto was a no go.
Click to expand...

FYI, 6.0 powerstroke ZF6s did have a factory transmission cooler. Not sure if it's the same as the auto trans cooler, but it does have one.

IIRC, the ZF6 trans cooler in my truck is inside the radiator, not a separate one in front of the radiator. Would have to go back through my pics to verify.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
FYI, 6.0 powerstroke ZF6s did have a factory transmission cooler. Not sure if it's the same as the auto trans cooler, but it does have one.

IIRC, the ZF6 trans cooler in my truck is inside the radiator, not a separate one in front of the radiator. Would have to go back through my pics to verify.
Click to expand...

All Ford ZF S6-650/750s (7.3L included) use a cooler that is integrated in the radiator. GM application ZF S6-650s do not use a cooler but are also only rated at 26,000 LBS GCWR vs. 30,000 Lbs. GCWR for the ford trannies if I recall correctly.

The fan absolutely is critical for cooling at highway speeds :laughing: Pulling grades on the highway is about the only time I ever hear the fan on mine engage.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
FYI, 6.0 powerstroke ZF6s did have a factory transmission cooler. Not sure if it's the same as the auto trans cooler, but it does have one.

IIRC, the ZF6 trans cooler in my truck is inside the radiator, not a separate one in front of the radiator. Would have to go back through my pics to verify.
Click to expand...

Exactly, it may not need to be big but it still needs it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh