My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

On today's to-do list!! Operation remove-sloppiness! I just removed the old steering gear, and man that's a heavy chunk of iron to lower out of there with a bum shoulder.



This thing has been sitting on my bench all wrapped up in the original box since November, or whenever that last sale was...Thanksgiving I believe, or maybe Christmas.

I hope your box is a tight as the RedHead I put on Dad's truck.  There is absolutely NO slop in it.

Have fun!  And, while you have the box off, check the frame for cracking.  

Maybe consider bedding it to the frame liner?

Your truck looks fantastic!  Great job!

I know front and rear are reversed, so you need to move the lines around.

Have also heard, anecdotally, that thread pitch changed to metric.

LARIAT 85 wrote

Your truck looks fantastic!  Great job!

I am interested in the later brake booster with the plastic master cylinder from a 1990s truck you put on your truck.  I still have the stock-style cast iron version, and it is rusty and a pain to check the fluid level.  

Is this a direct bolt-on?

Thanks Rick. It's coming along, slow but sure.

Yes sir, I understand about the master cylinder. I installed the later one solely to get away from the rusty cast iron original.
It is pretty much a direct bolt-on. I was running all new brake lines anyway, so that part wasn't really an issue for me, but as noted above, the ports are reversed from the original Bullnose master cyl. As for the year, I believe I asked for a 1991 master cylinder.

I did have to adjust the pushrod in the new booster slightly, but I don't think that had anything to do with the master cylinder swap.

Couple small things to note: I also did away with the original Bullnose proportioning valve mounted on the frame, and therefore needed one of the integrated valves that attaches directly to the master cylinder. I went to the junkyard for this, and I actually grabbed two of them...one to use and one for a spare. I think they were only a couple bucks each. I also grabbed a couple plugs/pigtails from the later master cylinders. So, I cut the plug off that was on the original proportioning valve and connected the wires to the new master cylinder. With this my Brake warning light will light up if my brake fluid level gets too low.

PS: Now that I think of it...you DO need the proportioning valve for the later master cylinder as without it the port will not be correct for a brake line fitting. I also went with the later style front left brake flex line, which causes the front hard lines to be routed differently.

Overall I'm very happy with the swap. I have to give credit to Steve83 on this one since it was him that suggested it to me in the first place.





I'm pointing at the proportioning valve here...in case anybody goes to the junkyard looking for one. They do not come with new replacement masters.

Rembrant wrote

the ports are reversed from the original Bullnose master cyl. As for the year, I believe I asked for a 1991 master cylinder.

Couple small things to note: I also did away with the original Bullnose proportioning valve mounted on the frame, and therefore needed one of the integrated valves that attaches directly to the master cylinder.

1) my truck is '87 and has this.
Any Bricknose should work.
2) That is the residual pressure check valve.  This keeps the springs from fully retracting the rear shoes.

Rembrant wrote

They do not come with new replacement masters.

Some rebuilders include the RPV; others don't.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

This keeps the springs from fully retracting the rear shoes.

No, the RPV isn't nearly strong enough for that.  When everything is working right, the shoes will always return to rest against the anchor pin.  The RPV simply "preloads" the rear brake line with a tiny bit of pressure to bias the brakes slightly back to the rear - probably to make the ABS work better, but it doesn't hurt non-ABS since that's how ABS behaves 99.9% of the time.

Steve83 wrote

Some rebuilders include the RPV; others don't.

OK, good to know. I only came across new ones both locally and online, and none of them came with the RPV.

Rembrant wrote

On today's to-do list!! Operation remove-sloppiness! I just removed the old steering gear, and man that's a heavy chunk of iron to lower out of there with a bum shoulder.



This thing has been sitting on my bench all wrapped up in the original box since November, or whenever that last sale was...Thanksgiving I believe, or maybe Christmas.

By the way, I'm really pleased with the RedHead steering gear. I got it installed yesterday and followed the instructions to the letter regarding the priming part. I was a little disappointed at first...I think I thought that the steering was going to feel like a brand new truck...lol (A 2019 truck). Now it feels like a new 1984 truck! Anyway, the steering is much tighter than before. Once out on the highway and on the back roads, it felt great. The steering in this truck is as good as it is going to get...there is nothing left to replace in the front end. I still have a swaybar to install, but I'm going to wait and leave it for a winter project.

I tore the drivers front fender off the truck today. What a pita job that is when the majority of the screws are rusted/seized in place. Some of them were easy...the rest not so much. Pulled the fender liner to clean it all up as well. I have a new set of fenders and stone guard or whatever it is called I'm going to get it all installed before taking it in to the body shop for paint. If all goes well I'll be dropping it off a week from Monday so they can get started on it.

Yes!  Tight steering!  Makes a wonderful difference.

No, these trucks aren't modern, meaning they never drove as well as a modern truck.  But, they can drive very well.  Dad's truck did on an old steering box, so I can only imagine what it'll be like with the RedHead box and all new ball joints, tie rods, etc.  And, no crack in the frame.  Oh yes, polyurethane bushings.

All this talk about tight Redheads....Gary I thought this was a family forum.....

Anyway, since we are talking about modern steering....I drove the kids to the pool saturday in the tahoe. It rides so nice, and the steering is so spot on....I had an idea.

I got my tape measure out when I got home. A 2009 Tahoe has the same wheelbase as an 82 flareside......hmmmm........117" exactly on both.

Ray Cecil wrote

..Gary I thought this was a family forum.....

....I dropped the kids at the pool saturday....

You realize the connotation, right???  

Gary Lewis wrote

No, these trucks aren't modern, meaning they never drove as well as a modern truck.  But, they can drive very well.  Dad's truck did on an old steering box, so I can only imagine what it'll be like with the RedHead box and all new ball joints, tie rods, etc.  And, no crack in the frame.  Oh yes, polyurethane bushings.

Gary, I have now done it all...rebuilt steering column, all new ball joints and tie rods, tie-rod ends, etc. New axle beam bushings, new radius arms and radius arm bushings, and now a new tight steering box.

The truck still wanders a little bit, and there is still a little play in the steering wheel. However, I don't think its the truck's fault. The wide rubber I'm running on the front wants to track with the ruts in the asphalt, and then a lot of the rural roads are excessively (and inconsistently) high centered, it makes the truck want to wander a little bit. If I was to switch from the 275/60/15 tires to something a little more road friendly like a 225/75/15 or a 235/75/15 (or the 215/75/15 that came on the truck) it would track much better on the road. Still, I did find some nice smooth and flat asphalt on the highway the other night, and the truck really did track/steer nicely with only one hand.

I know a steering stabilizer is considered to be really unnecessary on a 2wd truck, but I'm wondering if it would help my truck be less sensitive to the ruts in the asphalt. For the price of a kit I may give it a try sometime...but it is low priority at the moment.

The new rear swaybar has made some difference in the handling as well. The truck doesn't roll in the turns as bad as it did before. I think once the front one is installed it will help.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Ray Cecil wrote

..Gary I thought this was a family forum.....

....I dropped the kids at the pool saturday....

You realize the connotation, right???  

Jim, you are a master....you picked right up on it.

Cory - Sounds like your truck is just about "there" with regard to steering and suspension.  However, have you tried increasing the front tire pressure a bit to see if it changes the tracking?

Back in the 80's we had a Chevy Citation, aptly named because it had citations running all the way across the radiator support for all the recall programs it had endured.  Anyway, it was the X10 model with wide tires from the factory.  And it liked to track with the ruts and grooves.  But I found that by increasing the tire pressure a few lbs it took most of that out.  My guess has been that it caused the center of the tire to take more of the load and the edges quit grabbing the ruts.

Jim/Ray - No, I don't realize the connotation.  Do I want to?  

No, no you don't.

(but we DO have an emoji for it now)

Dropping the kids off at the pool...

Taking the kids to the superbowl

Pinching a loaf

I will stop there........for now

<quote author="Rembrant">

Gary Lewis wrote

The truck still wanders a little bit, and there is still a little play in the steering wheel. However, I don't think its the truck's fault. The wide rubber I'm running on the front wants to track with the ruts in the asphalt, and then a lot of the rural roads are excessively (and inconsistently) high centered, it makes the truck want to wander a little bit. If I was to switch from the 275/60/15 tires to something a little more road friendly like a 225/75/15 or a 235/75/15 (or the 215/75/15 that came on the truck) it would track much better on the road. Still, I did find some nice smooth and flat asphalt on the highway the other night, and the truck really did track/steer nicely with only one hand.

Cory, my truck rides on 215/75X15 [original]. It rides and steers well.

Gary Lewis wrote

Cory - Sounds like your truck is just about "there" with regard to steering and suspension.  However, have you tried increasing the front tire pressure a bit to see if it changes the tracking?

I run 3 PSI more in the front tires.