Big Blue's Transformation

A week or so ago I refrained from making a comment about what those crackers did to Vern.

But if you keep un-#@©£!π* what they did to him he'll be a virgin by the time you're done with Big Blue.

It is easy to see why Vern wanted to get out from under Big Blue.  And imagine what his wife was thinking!  They'd sunk countless thousands of dollars into what appeared to be a bottomless pit. So when the engine, that took 4 years to have built and which leaked oil profusely when "done", hydro-locked that was the last straw.

And what they probably didn't know is that the bypassed safety system on the fuel system, coupled with the bypassed resistor to the fuel pump, were a major problem.  The oil leaks from the engine's main seals might have been caused by the gas in the oil, but the leak at the rear of the intake wasn't.  The exhaust system was touching a tire occasionally and against a spring at all times, plus the welds are so porous that they leak exhaust from the front to the back.  The headers are against the frame.  The fuel system was dangerously close to the header.  The crossmember, radiator support, and grille were all butchered.

I think I'd have bailed long before they did.  But underneath there are good bones.  So with some work and more money I think BB will be one stout and capable truck that will ride decently and can go 'most anywhere.  

Oh, I'm sure you will do it right.

I see this in my work every day.
It takes FAR longer to undo what has been done than to have done it right in the first place.

"There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it twice" was a motto in my union days.

I hope I do it "right".

And now I have all of the parts with which to do the brakes as today the last two pistons and the rotors came in.  So tomorrow I hope to powder coat the hubs and then put them together with the new rotors by pressing in the studs.

In addition I hope to assemble the calipers.  But that raises a question: do I use brake fluid to lube the pistons and seals?  Or is there a brake-fluid-soluble grease that should be used?  I get mixed results from all the Googling I've done.

Anyway, here's one new and one old rotor:

I've always just used brake fluid.
Can't go wrong.

Like Marge the Palmolive lady said "You're soaking in it"

Ok, that's what I'll do.  Hopefully tomorrow.  

And, I did use brake fluid today to assemble the calipers.  But I was suprised how much force it took to put the pistons in.  Not a huge amount, but just more than I could do by hand.  So I used a c-clamp and pushed them in.

I also discovered the the boots shouldn't be lubed with brake fluid when installing them.  That's 'cause the first one I installed uninstalled itself.  So I had to clean it with alcohol and re-install it.  

Then I tried to install the pads along with the clips into the calipers.  But I didn't get it figured out, so I guess I'll wait until it is time to install them on the truck.

Anyway, here's what they look like.  Like the Ford Blue pads?  




And, I got the hubs powder coated and then mated with the rotors.  Oddly enough, one rotor is painted black in some areas and the other isn't, but both are the same brand, Rabestos, and same model number.

I don't think the boots need to be lubed at all. In fact I don't know that they would be resistant to glycol.
They might swell.
They certainly should never be in contact with it under proper operating conditions.

The Raybestos rotors are probably all jobbed out, and as long as they meet spec....
Besides, you bought them from Rockauto, didn't you?
So that's going to be orphaned parts from any of the last four decades.

Looking good though!
Things are coming together for Big Blue.
Your planning and attention to detail really shows.  

Good points.

And thanks.  I want it to be "right", and I think that takes planning.  Don't have much time with the g-twins here, but when I do get time it is nice to see things come together.

They'll only be this age once.
Enjoy your time with them. (even if it can be frustrating when they don't listen)

I DO like the pads.
It's like the little bit of bling that just sets something apart.
(a woman whose shoes perfectly match her dress or the way the right band can make or break a watch)

**I wanted to add, the calipers came out great! I'm glad you decided to rebuild them yourself.  

Jim - Yes, I like the bling.  Just enough.  And I do like the calipers.  Thanks for the suggestion.  I had no idea how easy they are to rebuild.

I think the front brakes are going to be very good.  New calipers, pads, and rotors.  And, they are the bolt-on calipers that will slide to center themselves.  Plus the rotors are a bit bigger.  So with the hydroboost addition Big Blue should BRAKES!

Also, yesterday we had a family reunion and I spent quite some time talking to my nephew.  He's really into trucks and offroading, and they just got back from Moab with their RZR's.  So I asked if he thought Big Blue could do Moab, and he was sure it could.  No, not some of the optional and difficult stuff, but the main trails.  And, there are thousands of places to camp, so it would be a wonderful overlanding destination.

However, one issue is water, so we'll have to figure out how to carry water and how much to carry.  Another is a toilet, but I have the Thetford toilet that was in the boat so we can use it.

Then we got into the bits and pieces for Big Blue.  I asked how he'd do on-board air, telling him that I have a York long-stroke A/C compressor that I was thinking about using.  He said he would have agreed with that plan years ago when air tools were the thing to carry, but since battery-powered tools are so capable now he'd recommend just going with an electric compressor.  That way there's no problem of oil in the air, which is a significant problem with the York.  And, it is just all around easier.

That brought us to the subject of charging the batteries for the tools, and he didn't think that would be necessary given how long they last.  However, it would be easy to include a small inverter just in case and he'd recommend a pure sine wave one just to make sure it would work with everything.  I just checked and the smaller Ridgid battery charger I have is rated at 110W, so a 400W inverter would be plenty.

And, we talked about air bags.  He runs them on his dually Chevy diesel and likes the bigger 2600# ones over the smaller 2400#-capable ones as they have more volume and, therefore, more air to compress.  He says they give a better ride.  But, he never attaches the bottom of the bags to the truck.  Just lets the steel bottom of the Firestones ride on the axle.  Has done that for years with nary a problem.  But, he does see the benefit of the Daystar cradles.

And while he has his bags plumbed separately, he thinks for what I'm doing I should tee them.  That way when one wheel goes up on a rock the other will go down.  But, as I think about it, it would be easy to put a ball valve between the two and have a way to separate them if needed.

That led to a discussion of sway bars, and he suggested I not connect them.  Since I won't have anything tall that will cause sway there isn't a need.  And, it'll ride better and have better articulation w/o them.

Well you seemed to have a very instructive conversation with your nephew.    
Glad to hear you have someone you can trust to go to for advice.

I might suggest finding a small compressor to refill tires and adjust the airbags before you decide on an inverter.
Most 12V ones are just for emergencies and really leave a lot to be desired.
If you don't mind screwing around for 15-20 minutes per tire I suppose you could go with the cheapest lighter plug-in crap from Walmart....

Gary Lewis wrote

...
However, one issue is water, so we'll have to figure out how to carry water and how much to carry.  Another is a toilet, ......That led to a discussion of sway bars, and he suggested I not connect them.  Since I won't have anything tall that will cause sway there isn't a need.

I'd suggest an IBC tote:



and a surplus entrenching tool, but that much water in the bed without baffles would definitely overpower the sway bars even if you had them on.

If he has run those air bags without a problem, I think I would too. Can’t catch rocks as easily that way!

Jim - When I see those I think "swimming pool".  

A couple of years ago when we were visiting our daughter and family in Nicaragua she wanted one of those totes as a swimming pool in which to cool off.  Her husband and I drove over an hour and bought one, but on the way back stopped in the local Ace to get something and discovered a true swimming pool for half the price.  A quick phone call and we bought it as well.

As for the entrenching tool, we'll carry one of those as well.


Dane - Good point.  It has worked for him quite well.  But, I'm not sure what kind of a spot there will be on top of the axle for the bag to hit.  And, I like the idea of having something besides metal-to-metal contact.  Perhaps a rubber covered pad?

Gary Lewis wrote

....  they just got back from Moab with their RZR's.  So I asked if he thought Big Blue could do Moab, and he was sure it could.  No, not some of the optional and difficult stuff, but the main trails.  And, there are thousands of places to camp, so it would be a wonderful overlanding destination....

We're taking my Bronco to Moab this September!  It'll be my first time there.  We won't be overlanding though.  We'll be staying in our motorhome in a campground in Moab.  But i'll be sure to report on that trip after it happens!

Gary Lewis wrote

....  I asked how he'd do on-board air, telling him that I have a York long-stroke A/C compressor that I was thinking about using.  He said he would have agreed with that plan years ago when air tools were the thing to carry, but since battery-powered tools are so capable now he'd recommend just going with an electric compressor.  That way there's no problem of oil in the air, which is a significant problem with the York.  And, it is just all around easier....

I've never had a York.  I have had a few decent electrics.  Not necessarily the best you can get, but a huge step up from the WalMart ones that plug into a cigarette lighter.  It seems like you're spending well north of $200 to be able to air up 4 tires in under about 15 - 20 minutes.  But it's certainly possible to be faster than 15 - 20 minutes per tire with electrics.  (That's my tires, 33/10.50-15, airing from 15 psi up to ~30 psi.  Bigger tires or higher pressure will take longer.)

Gary Lewis wrote

....  And while he has his bags plumbed separately, he thinks for what I'm doing I should tee them.  That way when one wheel goes up on a rock the other will go down.  But, as I think about it, it would be easy to put a ball valve between the two and have a way to separate them if needed....

The ball valve isn't a bad idea, but personally I think I'd just leave them separate, figuring that any time I was looking for the articulation I wouldn't have enough load to need the bags and they'd be essentially deflated so they wouldn't really be a factor on uptravel (and if they weren't connected on the bottom they wouldn't restrict down travel either).

If I were going to run them with pressure on the trails I think I'd want to use pretty big plumbing for the crossover.  Air flows pretty fast, but I'd want to minimize that restriction.  Of course that would give less sway control, so maybe a more restrictive line would be the best of both worlds?  And then there's the fact that the volume of air in the lines needs to be compressed too, so the bigger lines you have essentially the lower the spring rate will be.  So I probably didn't help anything here!

When I look at one I think 'i could make a nice Surco **basket** out of that...'

Too bad they don't make one 1/4 height.
Though 70 gallons is still a lot of weight.

I've used a lot of small compressors.
If you're just installing a kitchen, quiet and not popping the breaker is paramount.
But even then 400w is only 3A @ 120v.
Maybe you have a better idea for a 12V one. IRDK everything available.

Jim - It would be a 12v compressor.  I looked at some today in 4wd Parts that would work.  But we are up around $400+ and that doesn't include the air tank.

Bob - I'll look forward to your report!  You know what I'm looking for, so you can tell me what you think I can do in/with Big Blue.  

As for the ball valve, you are probably right that I won't even have air in them when on the trail.  If so, there's no need to interconnect as it won't matter.

Concerning the size of the line, my nephew said that some run "accumulators" on the air bags.  My understanding is that's a piston in a cylinder with a spring or air pressure on one side and the pressure from the bag on the other.  In other words, you have an air chamber that changes size depending on the load.  And it has built-in adjustability.  I doubt that I'll need that, but it is good to know that such systems are available.

Anyway, I did get to talk to Robert at 4wd Parts today about the Daystar cradle and the Firestone bags.  He said they use that combo all the time on Raptors.  They aren't rated to tow much due to the really soft suspension for handling off road, so they add the air bags and cradles to keep the rear end up.  And they don't have any problems with them.

So he thought that combo would work very well for Big Blue.  And he knows quite a bit about Big Blue.

I never thought of an accumulator with gas on both sides.  
Usually liquid/gas Like a well tank or Extrol for a heating system.
Or a steam accumulator for an aircraft carrier.
Or a reservoir shock.

You already have one for Big Blue in the hydroboost MC.

12V air pumps with any volume and reliability aren't going to be cheap.
**and I'm sure that in the Bullnose age (before 3G alternators) this is why you see so many repurposed AC compressors**

Most medium duty vehicles I know with onboard air use the engine (e.g. Mercedes W900)
How much volume and pressure do you intend for your frame mounted tank?
Stainless, aluminum, steel?

Reading this thread makes me feel like I'm back in the days of Eff Tee Wee with the microanalysis of every little thing that goes into this truck.