Gary Lewis

Emailing the section would be wonderful! Thanks!

There shouldn't be any differences. Do you have a pdf program? I do and can "export" a page range into a new file. If you could.......

I grew up with glass packs. But, perhaps because of my antiquated status, I don't like them any more. Big Blue has them - for a while. But when he has a trailer in tow the bark is quite sharp and everyone turns to look - and not in an admiring way.

My book goes from 15-10 to 15-34. Looks like both a typo and an omission.

You are on the map. (By the way, does the "46" suggest that you are a year older than I? I'll turn 72 in 10 days or so. )

Really! That's a true bummer. Guess we'd better be really happy with Bob's later one.

Dave - Your truck hates you. Want me to head that way? No, really, you probably have the wrong cables. The system is kinda crude, but it works pretty well when the right parts are used.

The Dana 60 front axle wasn't used until 1986 (the F-350 had the Dana 50 TTB from '80 - '85), so you'll probably need an '86 or newer FSM. I have the FSM for my '97 F-250 (includes F-350). I can try to get the Dana 60 section out of that if you want something that far removed from the '80 - '86 generation. Bob - I think any D60 front axle section will do. Or, be a million times better than nothing. So PLEASE! And THANKS! It looks like the '85 FSM was getting ready for the monobeam that was introduced in 10 of '85.

When I want to use a factory shop manual section I like to cut it out of the manual, scan it in, and post it here on the website so it is available to me and to everyone. This evening I was going to do that on the Dana 60 as I'm in the process of tearing one down in order to install it in Big Blue. But, while my '85 FSM shows it in the listing, as shown below, that section is not in the book, and never has been. It goes from Section 15-34 to Section 15-40, with nary a 15-36 in sight. So, does anyone have an FSM that does have that section? If so, would you be willing to cut it out and scan it? Preferably at 600 dpi?

Jim - I sure hope you are right that the "f-350 front end is miles better in compliance than the 250 and doesn't bottom harshly. Then add the RSK. Then the superduty springs." I like the sound/feel of that! On the damping, I've been looking at the Bilsteins that Sky carries. Sky's website says: But, their tab on Ford 85-97 Sizing says: I think from what's been said that I'll have less than 2" of lift - over a '95 F350's height. Is that correct? If so then I'd need the 10" shock. But, I want Sky to tell me, so I sent them this:

yep heat wave! I got 98* at my house and 95* in Raleigh @ 6pm! Wife said I left my garage side door open before I went to work this morning so I went in to check if everything was still there and checked the temp, it was over 100* Dave ---- Here's the Dorman part: But I don't see anything quite like that in the MPC, which is shown below. What am I missing?

I actually had forgotten that. So the numbers we've been quoting are capacities. Thanks for reminding me.

Let me know what you find, please, as I may want to source one or two of those. My brother is going to be running the Eddy I built him so could use a metal-stemmed pump.

That should pretty much be it. Of course "remove the spring" can be a nightmare with rusted bolts, but that won't be an issue with springs that were just installed. And I'd recommend replacing one spring at a time so everything pretty well stays in place through the process. Yes, one spring at a time is the way to do it. And on the driver's side it isn't going anywhere since the panhard rod will still be on, although since it connects to the passenger's side bracket it will have to come off when that spring comes off. And, the plan is coming together. I talked with Brent Lumbert, who runs the salvage, and he said he will remember me, so go ahead and try those springs and then come back if they don't work, even many months down the road. Plus I heard back from Erik at Sky, who said: Looks like we have a plan!

The towing specifications can be found here: Specifications/Towing. Jim is right. Further, if you were to get in an accident that looked like it was your fault due to an equipment failure they might check how much you were towing for liability. But, I don't know that it has ever happened. It is just something to think about.

fords4life - That was luck getting the trim off w/o breaking it. That plastic is brittle and easily broken. But bad luck on the brackets. I'll keep my eyes open. In fact I know a couple of salvages and will check them. Jim - The accelerator pump bore on my AVS measures .808 - .810". And, The Carb Doctor says that carb takes pump #100, but when you click on that link you get "Sorry, no item found Call 253-833-4106 for more information" Hope that helps.

I can't say for sure, but one is "Diesel_Brad" from the FTE forum. While I don't think he does any "overlanding", he certainly uses his trucks like trucks. And I'm not so sure that the two are that different anyway. While a lot of people use to go overlanding in buckboards, that doesn't mean that modern overlanders should aspire to have vehicles that ride like buckboards. Yes, the suspension needs to be capable of carrying the weight, but it really shouldn't have a huge safety margin on weight capacity because that leads to a harsh ride, which is hard on vehicle and passengers. And for front springs especially, the extra gear for long-term camping isn't really a factor since that's almost all on the rear axle anyway. So it's just a question of whether the front springs can handle the empty weight of the truck. Which in Big Blue's case isn't insignificant... See above, but no, I don't know specifically what everyone was running (although I'm sure Diesel_Brad had at least a 460 if not a 7.3L PowerStroke). As far as whether it's better to err on the light or heavy side, that's up to you. I think I'd lean toward the light side for the (not overwhelming) reasons I've already given. But that doesn't mean that's the right choice for you. But do keep in mind (as Jim already pointed out) that you DON'T want to match the TTB spring rate. As already discussed, the solid axle springs will seem much stiffer than the TTB springs due to suspension geometry. So compare to other solid axle vehicles. Ok, I have a LOT to learn on this. So, how 'bout this approach? I'll call Brent and see if I can get a rain check on the swap. I think he'll be fine with that since he knows my brother and both his boys. In fact, one lives less than a mile from the salvage and is there about every other weekend. If he's cool with that, or even if he'l want a bit to trade, then I'll try these springs and swap if needed. Surely swapping springs isn't that hard once everything else is done. Put it on the lift, come down lightly on the safety stand under the axle, and remove the spring. Right?

The 300 is said to pull anything, just not all that fast. It is a strong truck engine, and if you put the right tranny and differential behind it it'll serve. If you don't care too much about MPG then the 3.50 gears might be what you want, and they are very common. You aren't going to be zipping down I35 at 75 MPH, but it'll pull pretty strongly at more reasonable speeds. But let's see what the others suggest...

You are now on the map.

Ahh! Now I see. If you have the 5 x 5 1/2 bolt pattern then you should have a 9" rear axle. There are lots of them out there, and you can either swap one in with the axle ratio you are looking for, or just swap the differential itself, frequently called the "pumpkin". But before you can settle on the "right" gear ratio you should think a bit about the transmission. The C4 isn't the strongest out of the box, but can be built fairly strong. On the other hand the C6 is quite stout but isn't the most efficient. However, they share the same gear ratios. Speaking of gear ratios, you might have a play with our calculator (Driveline/Calculators) and see what it would take to get your engine's RPM up a bit. But, with a 3-speed tranny you are in a bind as you need a fairly low ratio to tow, but that will hurt the fuel economy. A 3.50 ratio is pretty standard for the F150's of the era, but with reasonably-sized tires that will net you ~2800 RPM at 65 MPH in Drive. That's great for towing, but is a killer for MPG. Basically, you need an overdrive gear to be able to tow and to get MPG. So, are you wedded to the auto? If so, you could consider the AOD, which does have an OD, but isn't the strongest tranny out there. If not you could consider one of the manual transmissions that have an OD. Anyway, maybe this will start the discussion flowing?

Welcome!!! Glad you found us. And, I love father/son projects. Where's home? We have a member's map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map on the menu) and I'd love to add you to it. Just need a town/city. You've come to the right place for support. We are a small, but helpful group. The others have lots of experience and I'm learning - slowly.

The spring pack on the front clip measures 1.255" thick. And that doesn't seem to correspond to anything I see in the MPC nor in the ATS listings. Anyway, there's 1/2" of threads sticking out, so it would probably be fine to go with a pack 1 1/2" thick with those u-bolts. Having said that, the u-bolts on Big Blue are 10" long and have 4" of threads. But the ones on the '95 clip are only 8" long. Both appear to be the same diameter and spacing, so I should have whatever u-bolts I need.

Wind noise is a big problem with these trucks and can easily be louder than the noise coming through the floor and other sources. Let us know what it is like after solving that problem.

Bob - Do you know what accessories or engines those folks had? Or what they were going to do with the truck? I ask because the 460, winch and bumper, and auxiliary battery really put a lot of extra weight on the front compared to what a stock truck with a 351W would have. An issue I have is that by the time I get this thing together and test the springs I'd be surprised if Brent would want to trade. So I'm thinking that beefing up a little bit would be better. But, that assumes he can find the right springs. Jim - I'll check the current spring pack on the D60 and see if the u-bolts would accommodate a thicker pack. And, for grins I'll check the u-bolts that are on Big Blue as they are much too long, so there's a remote chance they'd work.

Looks good, Kevin! And that one build sheet looks to be very intact. So how much quieter is it with the sound deadening in?