Steve83

Since all these trucks use the same heater core, it doesn't matter what the engine is. The hose is always sized to fit the same 5/8" heater nipple, so the engine nipple must always be 5/8". And since the tube is always that size, the threaded fitting is usually about the same size. I've found the Haynes manual to be FAR better than Chilton's. But for these trucks, you have to find an early red-cover edition (preferably the one with the 3-digit PN). https://supermotors.net/getfile/449785/thumbnail/hayneses.jpg

Got a pic of what you need?

This is the link to send a letter to the editor: https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&to=editor@popularmechanics.com&su=Letter%20To%20The%20Editor Like what? AFAIK, it's just the cargo floor, rear seat, tailgate (except the glass), rear bumper, and rear axle/suspension.

Are you talking about the AD saying that's the 1980 body style? Or are you asking about the TRUCK?

#14 is just the normal inner wheel seal.

I guess so. I've been talking about '80s pickup trucks. You're probably right. But that's not what we're discussing. We're talking about how a hobbyist mechanic working on his own antique vehicle can produce a reliable joint in a battery cable. And I'm also talking about how he can repair or modify it later as his needs change. Not really. Any plastic is VASTLY more-elastic than Copper. So the wire inside will strain long before the plastic shrink around the adhesive around the soft insulation ever takes up a significant load. When what you say is different from what you draw, I can't know which one you meant. I guessed the words because what you drew is very complicated and failure-prone, relying on several new parts & MANY new connections. It's a lot more complex than that. It's like the difference between taking an antihistamine for an allergy, and taking adrenaline/epinephrine. They accomplish the same goal, but not the same way; so you can't simply substitute one for the other. You & I might know how, but many others following this thread could create dangerous situations if they attempt to convert a fusible-link-protected circuit to a fuse-protected circuit. That's why I'm discouraging it. I don't think ANYONE is ever going to try to parallel a 12V cranking battery with a 6V aux.batt. in a 12V vehicle. That would almost instantly cause at least one of them to explode. What most people mean when they talk about "unmatched batteries" is two 12V batteries with at least one difference from this list: - brand - model/construction/chemistry - production date - group size - CCA rating - RC/RM/Ah rating - history of use (e.g.: one fresh off the shelf, and the other having been used for some time) That's what I was talking about in what you quoted. I'm not sure where you got that. At 77°F, a standard wet-cell Lead-storage battery is dead at 11.89V, and fully-charged at 12.65V. http://www.batteryfaq.org/ Only parallel. In series, they don't directly affect each other's voltages.

That's exactly why that experience isn't directly-applicable to common vehicles like these old trucks. The vibrations from fan turbojet engines will fatigue a solder joint on a wire that has a few unsupported inches because it will make as many high-amplitude oscillations in 1 flight as these trucks experience in a lifetime. So the same solder joint on an unsupported wire or cable on these trucks will last the rest of their lives (which can't be another 30 years, given the way laws are going regarding gasoline-powered vehicles). If you HAVE those, then you might want to use them. But they're VASTLY more expensive than a propane torch & a roll of solder. And once you crimp one, that's it - if you goof it, or need to change something, the crimped connector AND the wire inside it are trash. With solder, you can re-do it any time you feel the need, without losing any wire OR the connector. Some people claim that solder is inferior to crimping because, if the battery terminal gets hot, the wire can fall out. I see that as a BIG ADVANTAGE. If either of my battery terminals ever gets hot enough to melt solder, I WANT the cable to fall out before the battery explodes. But being such a complete mechanical AND electrical connection, it's very unlikely. Even if there was THAT much resistance between the post & terminal (which is exactly as likely with a terminal crimped onto its wire), the soldered joint will conduct that heat into the (heavy) cable much better than the crimp will, thereby dissipating the heat before the temperature gets that high. The solder (when done correctly) seals the joint from air, water, and battery acid, so it never corrodes at all. A crimp might, but you can only know that by destructive inspection, or when it fails. The alternator CAN put out more; it doesn't ALWAYS put out more. And even when it's putting out its max, that has no effect on how much current the aux.batt. is drawing. If the aux.batt. is going to draw 120A, it'll do that regardless of what alternator is installed, or what that alt. is putting out. If it can't get it from the alt, it'll get it from the other battery. So don't worry about it. Just design & build your circuits properly, and you can run any alternator. If it's too small, it'll burn out, but that won't affect your circuits. If it's oversized, it won't ever reach its max output, and everything will still be fine. That's a popular mythconception. That happens if the VOLTAGES are different, which is exactly as likely to happen between "identical" batteries of the same age, as it is between any two Lead-acid batteries (regardless of size, ratings, or age). But since the batteries aren't actually in (constant) parallel, it's moot. You can run batteries of different chemistries (with intrinsically-different voltage) without problems. You're talking about a film of alloy a few microns thick with a difference in coefficient of thermal expansion on the order of 10^-7; it will never experience enough temperature change to induce enough strain to exceed its yield strength. Maybe on a deep-space probe; but never on an old pickup. Why would you ever take it OUT? That makes your primary battery's state-of-charge dependent on this new relay. And you won't know the relay has failed until it's too late. Keep the critical circuits reliable. ...be much more-complicated & failure-prone than just moving those lighting circuits to the aux.batt. side of the (ONE) aux.batt. relay. It already does. You're just complicating the circuit, and then adding more complications to make some things work the way they did before. If you want a voltmeter for the aux.batt., add one. That's the purpose of the 2-color LED in my diagram. It's simpler & cheaper than adding a voltmeter, and draws less current. The way my diagram shows the simple additional switch, either battery can be used for cranking. Bad idea. Fuses don't work the same way as fusible links, and the circuit design is different for them. You should never replace one with the other, unless you're prepared to re-engineer the affected circuits.

It's cheaper, easier, & at least as-effective to simply abandon the unneeded vacuum fittings. For the vacuum tree, just cap the unneeded nipples. The most-durable cap is a short piece of appropriately-sized silicone vacuum tubing (thick-walled) plugged with silicone sealer longer than 3x the inside diameter.

Because it's more expensive & difficult for mass-production than just melting the Lead into the battery cables. But that's not as safe or practical for one person working on one vehicle as solder. Yes, as long as you make good splices, and NEVER disconnect the big one (even accidentally, as by a poor connection failing) while there's a heavy load on the aux.batt. Not exactly; current will flow through both, based on the total resistance along each path between the points where you splice your new cable in.

It WAS a website & forum suggestion, Mr. Miseryguts. The site found my old '83 VIN, and the few details it shows are accurate for how it was originally built. But when I tried the embedded decoder here, it turned the page blank & grey.

Solder is MUCH better than crimping in this application, for several reasons. I don't remember, but it's in the 1st diagram I posted above. SMN is down for maintenance at the moment... Not if you use ANY of those while the engine is running (alt. working). In that case, the current to those loads could be expected to come from the aux.batt., the main batt., the alt., or any combination at any moment. So the connecting wires between those 3 voltage sources should be sized for the peak load (probably the winch). Only if you NEVER use a load larger than that Yellow wire can handle while the engine is running. Yes, if you ever expect to pull substantial current INTO the aux.batt. or the circuits connected to it.

https://www.decodethis.com/custom_decoder

I'm having a hard time imagining where you mean. Can you post some pics showing the point of interference?

https://supermotors.net/getfile/905422/thumbnail/battrelayaux.jpg The support arm is riveted to the later tray, so it's easy to move the support to the other side. There are 2 styles: flattened tube, and flat strap: https://supermotors.net/getfile/1077418/thumbnail/battrays.jpg https://supermotors.net/getfile/1077571/thumbnail/battrayz.jpg But it's not nearly as easy to separate the lower bracket that's spot-welded to the bottom of the tray. I think you might have to reverse all its bends to make it LH; or just copy it in reverse, and fabricate your own. Either way; the base clamp is superior to the bullnose J-hook clamp. Especially if you get the long clamp bolt. https://supermotors.net/getfile/829927/thumbnail/enginebay93rhf.jpg https://supermotors.net/getfile/975094/thumbnail/34batt.jpg

Entirely the owner's discretion; there's no accounting for taste. https://supermotors.net/getfile/72675/thumbnail/diamondbarflf.jpg https://supermotors.net/getfile/637342/thumbnail/86nug.jpg https://supermotors.net/getfile/72709/thumbnail/motorhome.jpg