Gary Lewis

Yup. I knew. How much H2S04 is going to be created from the H2S? What will that do to the un-anodized aluminum where he makes the vents? Is this a good application for a plastic tool box?

That will work. You could put the divider in and just vent that part of the box.

Sounds like quite a to-do list. Hope you get it all done and get to drive the truck on Monday.

Yes, it got a little side tracked didnt it Jim. Thanks, we are having fun. We are deep in the woods in the appalachains. Heard banjos and chainsaws last night...... Have fun! But, I don't think placing a battery in the tool box is a good idea. I know you put batteries in a battery box, but there's nothing else in there. But you'll have tools and a winch in yours - while the battery is being charged. There's no problem under the hood where there's all kinds of air flow, but in a tight tool box I'm afraid the collected gas could damage the tools and be an explosion risk. I know charging batteries gives off hydrogen. And I'm pretty sure there's some hydrogen sulfide as well. Hydrogen easily can explode, and hydrogen sulfide will go into solution with any moisture to create an acid that will corrode your tools. And there will be moisture that condenses on your tools from the changing temps they will see. I think the battery needs to be outside the tool box. Perhaps in a separate battery box below the tool box where it isn't easily seen?

That would be an awesome project! Please share it with us. Start a thread and update it as you go. We'd LOVE to see what you do.

Dave - I don't understand your question for sure. But I think you are asking what the before measurement was on Scott's rod. If so, the answer is that we didn't measure it. But we didn't have to turn the rod out very far for it to make a big difference. However, we found the adjustment critical as just a teeny bit too much had the brakes dragging, then then heated up and dragged more, so they got hotter, and pretty soon they stopped the truck. What book has .9998"? The .995" comes from the 1985 factory shop manual, but I compared it to the 1981 FSM and it was the same. So I believe it, and I wouldn't go the extra .005" your book suggests. At the time we did the adjustment we used my dial calipers to attempt a measurement, and that wasn't easily done and we did go a bit too far.

Dave - The rod between the booster and the master is a major player in this, and its adjustment is critical. WelderScott's '78 had the pedal almost to the floor and an adjustment of the rod fixed it. But, I will say that you do not want to make the rod too long, as we did that initially and the brakes started dragging. The adjustment is described here: Documentation/Driveline/Brakes and then the Master Cyl's & Boosters tab, then the Push Rod Adjustment tab. Also, on the same page, go to the Overall tab and then the General Brake Service tab. There are several things to test there, but I think this one may be key: Power Brake Function Test 1. With the engine stopped,eliminate all vacuum from the system by pumping the brake pedal several times. Then push the pedal down as far as it will go, and note the effort required to holdit in this position. If the pedal gradually moves downward under pressure, the hydraulic system is leaking and should be subjected to a hydraulic leak test. 2. With the brake pedal pushed all the way down, start the engine. If the vacuum system is operating properly, the pedal will move downward. If pedal position does not change,the vacuum system is not operating properly and should be subjected to a vacuum system test.

I've never seen one, other than in adverts like that, but not in real life. I wonder why they quit making them?

I can't find them in the 1986 accessory catalog, and it is the most thorough, nor the MPC, nor the 1986 price list. But, I only tried calling them a "tiedown", "tie-down", "tie down", or "anchor". What else might they be called?

Damn good guess Gary. Just sold for $9088 and is heading to a new home in Nebraska (In case you haven't seen the discussion on FB). I haven't seen the discussion on FB. Which page? I'll go look.

Yes, "the shop" is at fault, as is Transamerican - not OX as it turns out. I had that conversation with the owner of the shop, that his guy should have made sure that he was installing the right part. Turns out the guy that did the work is a friend of his that runs another shop, but they are parting ways ASAP because of things like this. Hopefully his friend will agree that it was his fault and do the work at his own expense. Anyway, the guy that I've been dealing with is a nice guy and has been good to work with on this. So I hope that he comes out "whole" on it.

Cory - That's not far from me at all. And, it is nice, although it does have some dents. But, at $8K I think it is seriously over-priced.

Well, the cover was well and truly ON and didn't want to come off. But I got lucky and found the part #'s by looking through the fill plug hole and rotating the diff. And sure enough, what I already knew was confirmed - they sent a 30-spline setup. And "they" is Transamerican Wholesale, which is owned by 4Wheel Parts, and not OX. They've admitted their mistake and are going to send the right parts. But, the question is what parts. The guy running the shop was thinking the whole locker setup. But I think they can just swap out the side gears, which appears to be what the axles spline into. (I have no clue how hard it is to swap out the side gears though.) Anyway, they are to get the parts to him next week. Meanwhile I have a logistics problem I need to solve. I've been using Blue's bed as the holding spot for the short-block. But now I need to put the D60 in there again. So I need to move the short-block to the engine stand and the D60 into the bed. Fortunately tomorrow is to be "the" nice weather day here for the next several. So all that moving around needs to be done tomorrow. And toward that end I dropped the D60 out and put it on the skates, again. Sure seems to be the wrong direction. But, as previously said, there's a silver lining in that now the axle tubes can be properly cleaned. I explained that while I wasn't going to mention the crud in the axle tubes that wasn't cleaned out, while he has the diff out I want the tubes to be cleaned thoroughly. And he fully agreed. So the plan is to take the axle in next Friday, which is Janey's birthday. I think I can sneak a trip to the shop in between two movies (The Good Liar and, of course, Ford V Ferrari) and dinner. And while it is being worked on I'll turn to the engine.

Well, the 2nd battery idea was mine 'cause he was originally placing the winch on the trailer. And, even 6' cables needed to be #6's according to his destructions. So it seemed like the better thing to do was to have a 2nd battery on the trailer rather than run really heavy cable a long way - through expensive connectors. Then the winch went to the rear of the truck. Then the battery went into the bed of the truck. Then the winch may have gone to the front of the truck. Then the 2nd battery may have gone to the front of the truck. So, it may well be time to rethink the whole thing. And one battery will work if the winch is up front as that keeps the wire run short, but he will have to be careful and not drain the battery.

Which "whole job" do you mean? Installing the new 460, EFI, ZF5, SORD kit, as well as installing the new gears in the D60 along with the OX, then the u-joints, ball joints, tie rods, etc? Or just the SORD kit, as well as installing the new gears in the D60 along with the OX, then the u-joints, ball joints, tie rods, etc? Which "whole job"? Where do we/you draw the line? I'll submit that if they didn't check that the part OX sent was the right one then I don't think I want them to install anything else. For instance, they'd have bolted in the SORD kit and found that the springs wouldn't fit. Not sure that's a good plan, Stan. Yes, I may be in a sarcastic, frustrated mood. I just took off the tie rods I'd installed yesterday so I can get to the front cover of the diff and pull it so I can read the part # on the OX. But the cover is seriously glued on and doesn't want to come. And I know when I get it off it'll confirm what I already know - it is the wrong part. Then I'll have to put the cover back on and take the whole axle off and take it back to them to be done, again. So, what I thought was light at the end of the tunnel is actually another locomotive.

Ray, This thread has morphed into how to wire for the winch in the receiver mount at the rear of your truck. But if you're still interested in mounting a winch at the front, how about putting a receiver at the front of the truck? Add another electrical connector off the main battery and you can plug your winch in at either end. Plus as Gary and I have learned, it's REALLY nice being able to push trailers around off the front of your truck. It's SO much easier to carefully position a trailer that way. And going back to the wiring... When i put the receiver-mount winch on my Bronco I put quick-connects at both ends of the Bronco, but I also put one on my winch cradle. Then I made a short "jumper cable" with quick-connects at both ends. That way when I'm driving I can have the winch in the front receiver where it's pretty much out of the way but not have it wired in ("just" tossing it in the bed isn't much of an option with a Bronco like it might be in a pickup). Not saying you should do it this way, but something to keep in mind. Here is the winch in the front receiver. You can see the red quick-connect on the back side of the winch. The jumper is not hooked up here. And here it's in the rear receiver with the jumper plugged in I agree - a front receiver is a MUST for placing a trailer. And it is a good solution for Ray as the winch can be there and you can have short wires to the battery. In fact, perhaps you could put the 2nd battery under the hood? Oh, I forgot, it is a Chevy. Maybe they don't have that option like a Ford does.

Yep. Understood. And, want to hear/see another reason? Apparently the wrong OX locker is in it. Tried to put the driver's side axle shaft in and it wouldn't go. At all. Finally measured the inside of the splines on the axle and got 1.400" Then I put sockets on extensions to measure the the ID of the splines in the axle. The driver's side will accept a 1.173" OD socket but a 1.250" won't go. However, the passenger's side will take a 1.333" socket. But, the axle won't go into the splines on that side. Called the guy that did the work and we are going back and forth on what the problem could be, but we agree it has to be something with the OX locker. Then I counted splines on the axle shafts and got 35, which is what I'd told him and what his records show. But in this pic of the driver's side I count 30 splines. How big of a hammer do I need? I guess there's a silver lining - the diff has to come out so I can easily clean the axle tubes. Took a shot of the passenger's side splines, below, and I count 30. Talked to the guy that runs the shop where the locker was installed and he checked his records - he ordered a 35 spline unit. So OX supplied the wrong part. He's gone back to them to get this sorted. But I'm NOT a happy camper.

Looks good, Bill. Did you have to prime? You weren't going over the rust?

Roger - You are now on the map. Check it out: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/members-map.html As for what I'm asking is for you to put some of the info that you just outlined about your truck in a "signature". A screen shot of mine is shown below so you can see for sure what I'm talking about. To create a signature do this: - Click on your name right above your avatar on the left of the message - Click on Account Settings - Click on Edit Your Signature - Type in what you want it to say You might want to look at what others have done with their sigs, but basically the pertinent points about your truck so we don't have to ask questions. For instance the "1983 F350 6.9 w/a C6, 3.54 gears" bit would be a big help. The dually and regular cab would help as well.

Yep. Understood. And, want to hear/see another reason? Apparently the wrong OX locker is in it. Tried to put the driver's side axle shaft in and it wouldn't go. At all. Finally measured the inside of the splines on the axle and got 1.400" Then I put sockets on extensions to measure the the ID of the splines in the axle. The driver's side will accept a 1.173" OD socket but a 1.250" won't go. However, the passenger's side will take a 1.333" socket. But, the axle won't go into the splines on that side. Called the guy that did the work and we are going back and forth on what the problem could be, but we agree it has to be something with the OX locker. Then I counted splines on the axle shafts and got 35, which is what I'd told him and what his records show. But in this pic of the driver's side I count 30 splines. How big of a hammer do I need? I guess there's a silver lining - the diff has to come out so I can easily clean the axle tubes.

Bummer! It was 27 degrees here this morn, and we are ~250 miles south of you. Bet that was COLD! There's a fusible link that has probably blown. I've pasted the pages from the 1985 EVTM below, but you will want to get to the whole EVTM over time, and it is at Documentation/Electrical/EVTM/1985 EVTM. And these pages come from Charge & Power Distribution - Gasoline Engines. In the second diagram you can see that AC/Heater uses Fuse 9, and that circuit goes through the ignition switch to Circuit 31, which is a yellow wire. Then go to the top diagram and you can follow that wire to Fuse Link I, which attaches to the starter relay. HOWEVER, I included the pages for a truck with no ammeter, meaning one with a warning light. If you have an ammeter then you need pages 17 & 18, and it is Fuse Link M that is probably blown. And it connects to the shunt for the ammeter, so is probably near the can or round ball below the jack. A fuse link is a smaller wire than the rest of the wiring and serves as a slow-blow fuse. It has special insulation on it that won't catch fire. But when it blows you can usually tell by pulling on it and since the wire is burned through internally the insulation stretches. So that's where I'd start - the fuse links.

Yes, I saw the same difference. But 175 amps is more than Ray needs, so those should be perfect and let him disconnect the winch from the battery w/o having to unbolt it every time. Speaking of that, Ray you might want to get a battery with studs on it. Sure makes it easier to put two connections on, and you'll have the wire coming from the relay on the truck and the wire going to the connector and then on to the winch to deal with.

Good point, Jim. I guess I assumed that they'd pull the tape and clean the whole thing. But that was my tape and it hadn't been removed, so they obviously didn't.

I'm partial to Explorers. Bought a new one in '72, and the '82 white one I had was an Explorer. Plus Big Blue is as well. And the paint scheme does set them apart, or at least does that one. It would be a special truck if restored.

Jim - Perhaps I need to put up a thread/post in Tools about the ball joint press I have and the adapters I've made and why? Anyway, glad the trim made it safely. I made the "box" as a triangle for the max stiffness and, as you'll see, there's more than one layer of cardboard in some places. Didn't want it to bend. Cory - I don't know about flat spots. I didn't think they did any more, but it might depend on the tire's composition. Sure would be a pain to change out the wheels and still have the problem.