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What did you do for your ford today?

holdmypocket said:
Started pulling the 74 f250 parts truck apart that I bought for it's frame and title (to make my 78 F150 smog exempt here in CA) and realized the cab is in WAY better shape than the F150's. This changes my plans drastically:
since I don't need the F150 to be smog exempt until I swap the motor out (current plan is a Godzilla 7.3) I'm going to continue building on the F150 (all I have planned is the 1-ton swap and related upgrades), strip the F250 down to the frame, keep the cab/hood/fenders/ frame (shorten it for the F150's short-bed), box some areas, prep it for the 4wd and 1-ton swap, sandblast/paint, and then store it until I have money to do the engine swap.

When the time comes I'll paint the cab & bed and move it all to the F250 frame which is actually thicker than the F150 frame and smog exempt, and finish it off with the engine swap for what is basically a frame-off restomod rockcrawler I guess. A lot of sleepless nights and days obsessing to think out all of the possible approaches to this and this makes the most sense to me.

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Hadn't been to the shop in a couple of weeks to work on the 67 Bronco but went this past Thursday: did a power steering conversion to it with an F150 box which was a huge win (since my GF will be driving it), got the column in.

Next up is: install 23 gallon fuel tank, put a steering wheel on it, install master cylinder/prop valve (already have new lines/hoses in place), finish mounting the dash/gauges/wiring, then I can focus on starting it up. Super close to getting this thing moving under it's own power.

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I'm entertaining that as well, for my Bronco.:smokin::beer:
Along with a Torqshift 6sp, or which ever Ford trans Advanced Adapters has an adapter for to mount an Atlas 4sp.
 
I think I fixed a rattle in the driver door that has been ongoing for years in the Explorer. I only remember it when it starts rattling when on the highway or down a graded road. I usually just turn the stereo up but decided to see what's what. I found a few rods for the door latch mechanism that were loose. I used a few heat shrink tubes on those to tighten them up and get rid of metal-on-metal contact. I think the main rattle was from the rear part of the window guide. It was loose where it pushes up into some tabs that are supposed to hold it in. That makes sense because it gets louder when the window is up and there is no pressure on that rail from the glass. I stuffed some foam tape in the gap to see if the rattle goes away. If it goes away, I will probably wait for it to start back up again before pulling the glass out because it's a pain in the ass.

I'm still waiting on the coil overs to come back from Radflo to see if my death wobble issue is gone.
 
I blew it up :(
I finished up the cam phaser lock out today, had to install a new fuel filter and decided on putting in a new air filter. Started it up, backed out of the garage and let it idle for a bit, look for leaks etc. Headed down the road, was going to go around the country block, made it about half way and I heard a screech almost like air brakes bleeding off and then bam the motor quit. I coasted as far as I could. Luckily we got a ride home and I went back and pushed it home with my tractor. The motor only turns a tiny bit at a time when you hit the key. I'm going to pull the drivers side cam cover off in a day or two and see what is going on. I can remove the oil fill tower and reach in and see that the chain is on on the passenger side.
I have way too many new parts in this thing to give up on it. I am going to start looking into crate motors, I hate the thought of putting in another used one.
 
POS OEM replacement starter went to the next level PITA.:mad3:

Went to start the Bronco; nothing.
Ok; wiggle the starter wires; again, nothing.
Ok; wiggle the solenoid; starts up.
Time for a new performance (non-OEM replacement) starter.:shaking:🙁

Backstory:
Older son and I replaced last OEM starter in Fall '19.
In Spring '20 (6 months later) it started acting up; so I replaced starter/battery cables.
End of Summer started acting up again; so I replaced starter relay, nothing changed.
Wiggled starter wires at the starter; Bronco starts up.
So; since the Fall/Winter of '20, about every 6 weeks, I have to wiggle said wires to start the Bronco.
 
Well I pulled both cam covers off and everything in the valve train looks OK
Next step is I'll pull the plugs and see if I can get it to rotate while using the breaker bar and listen for creeks or groans.
 
Installed the new tie rods/adjustable sleeves.

Used grade-8 washers to space castle nut at cotter pin holes/torqued said castle nuts 65 to 70ft/lbs as per shop manual.
The tie rod end/ball joint that bolts to pitman arm didn't need a washer/spacer; after castle nut was torqued down, cotter pin hole lined up with said castle nut.

Test driving; steering was much tighter, much tighter!
Apparently; it was looser than I thought.:eek:😬
 
CDA 455 II said:
Installed the new tie rods/adjustable sleeves.

Used grade-8 washers to space castle nut at cotter pin holes/torqued said castle nuts 65 to 70ft/lbs as per shop manual.
The tie rod end/ball joint that bolts to pitman arm didn't need a washer/spacer; after castle nut was torqued down, cotter pin hole lined up with said castle nut.

Test driving; steering was much tighter, much tighter!
Apparently; it was looser than I thought.:eek:😬
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Good to hear and thanks for plugging the tq spec. Last of my steering parts will be here monday
 
67 Bronco: Installed F150 power steering box, pump, now she has power steering. Decided on power brakes so that's up next and that'll finish off the disc brake conversion/new lines + hoses. Next up is dash electrical and get the motor running.

78 F150, drove it around the hood after not starting it for a few weeks. Reliable as ever. Love that truck.

74 F250 buyer for the engine backed out.. will pull it anyway.
 
Not sure what is going on, I charged the battery as it was weak, put the cam covers back on this morning and installed all of the coils and hooked up all the wiring, turned the key and it fired right up, has a tick but doesn't sound like a rod knock but who knows.
 
Adjusted the toe-in; actually got it near spot-on.:smokin:🤡

Noticed passenger side adjustment is approx. 65% closed/contracted, while the driver side is 65% open/expanded.🤔
When I installed the new tie rods, I installed the adjustable sleeves with both TREs at max closed/contracted position.

I'm taking it for a front end alignment next month.
I need the camber and caster adjusted.
 
Went for a drive today. Found this cool flexy spot.
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I am fairly certain I figured out what the bump I have been feeling is in the suspension. I have Duff radius arms. They have bushings between the arm and the head unit so it doesn't bind. I always thought the tabs were spaced out to far and they would bend in when tightening the bolts. One of the tabs was contacting the head unit, so metal on metal. I put in a thin spacer and the noise went away. Picked up thicker spacers to redo it right while on the drive.

It's still doing the wobble, but its seldom, of short duration, and much less severe. It's also definitely coming from the steering. The only thing I haven't changed on that suspension is the tie rod rod ends. Order is on the way from RuffStuff. I think I will be upgrading to one ton TRE steering soon.

The new Eibach springs are much smoother than the worn out Vipers. Going a little lighter on the upper spring rate and compression valving made a huge difference. I'm also not getting nearly as much body roll with slow speed turns on pavement as before.

Limit to the shock droop is due to the front drive shaft binding. If I could get one that could deal with that angle, I could get a few more inches droop and longer limit straps. I can't point the pinyon at the tcase because its a high pinyon D44 and I'll lose 4" of up travel. Needs a NWF iBox. It would lengthen the front shaft 4", and it's a doubler which could really come in handy.
 
BDK said:
I have Duff radius arms. They have bushings between the arm and the head unit so it doesn't bind. I always thought the tabs were spaced out to far and they would bend in when tightening the bolts. One of the tabs was contacting the head unit, so metal on metal. I put in a thin spacer and the noise went away. Picked up thicker spacers to redo it right while on the drive.
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A long time ago someone was making derlin spacers to go in those bushings, it takes a lot of the slop out of those radius arms.
I was never a fan of that style, but I also understand it was designed for a bolt in appliacation.
IMO, sell the duff arms and build you own radius arm / 3 link.
 
My 0.02

i have a set of Cage radius arms, for 16 years now, basically the same as the Duff arms. I burn thru those bushings pretty quickly. There's a 3-link coming in my future.
 
I recently changed those bushings, and the rod ends, after 9 years of trails, highways, freeways, and more trails. The bushings were worn out, one rod end had a little slop. There is a shop nearby that made me some Delrin bushings for another application. I'll see how long these last. I modified the arms by bending / straightening the mounts to take most of the side pressure off the bushings during the initial install. The arms are made for numerous applications and don't line up on the frame rails, which creates a lot of side pressure on the bushings. No plans to basically redo the entire suspension when it works for me.

Edit: I did some mild reading and it seems the issues with the bushings blowing out are high horsepower, torque. The weld on ends for the Cage arms force those little bushings to take thebplace of the C bushings. The new set of black bushings I got from Duff are much harder than the old blue set. Maybe that's where I'm getting more road vibration felt through the wheel. Man, it never ends with a multipurpose trail rig.
 
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Changed the power steering fluid in the 03 f150. Finally checked the alternator after having the battery light on occasionally. Alternator dead 😑. Looks like I have that to look forward to this weekend.
 
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