Gary Lewis

Ok guys, I need some help. I can't find replacement c-clips for the u-joints. Or, at least I'm not sure I can find them. The u-joints are Spicer 5-760X, and everywhere I look online those should come with c-clips. But Vernon appears to have removed them and replaced them with the full-circle snap rings, which cannot be used w/o machining the shafts to accommodate them. I've found online Dorman 81025 that has 4 c-clips and 4 of the clips that go in the end of a yoke to retain the cap externally. But, even Dorman's site doesn't say what size they are. Instead it says they are "universal". Unfortunately O'Reilly's didn't seem to have them to check size, although I didn't have the part number at the time so maybe overlooked them. If the weather allows the local parts places to open tomorrow, which is iffy, I'll call around to see if anyone has them and check for size. But do any of y'all know of a source for the c-clips themselves?

It may be a good idea to think about it for a bit. The right truck and a trailer might not be more expensive that a complete RV.

Dave - I like the outboard location, assuming you are lining things up with the turn signals and the headlights. But, as you said, you'll need to do some work to make them point straight ahead. Will you make a shell that lines them up straight and lets you bolt in the lights? On the grille/center support question, I'd vote for reworking the support so a stock grille can be used. Anyway, you are making PROGRESS!

Bill - 11 1/2' camper in an F150? My 9 1/2' was a good match for my F250, which was rated at ~9000 lbs if I remember correctly. (With a QJet on a 390/C6 combo.)

Glad I could help (in spite of not knowing how I was helping)! You and Steve suggested pulling the stub shaft, and while this one is a bit different than the one you were thinking of it came out fairly easy. So now I can put the freshly-painted u-joints in. Here's what the stub shaft looks like on the early D44's. You can see the ring that holds it in with three bolts. And, here's what the painted u-joints look like. (You should have seen the amount of tape I used on the outer axle shaft.) I'm going to let the paint set up overnight before I press them in. And, here's what the whole front driveline looks like. Just put a diff between the two inner splined ends, and add another spindle to the left plus 3 more u-joints. And note the plastic slinger on the left/inner shaft, which is supposed to be 5" from the end of the splines. And, here's the way I think the outer shaft, slinger, seal, and spacer go together: Last, while I was waiting for paint to dry I did a bit of touch-up on the frame as well as the spindle studs. Here they are after a couple of coats of paint to ensure they don't rust. However, I will have to touch them up after the spindle goes on.

Congrat's! That's an easy, but very worthwhile upgrade. I was driving Big Blue thinking "I wish it had delay wipers" and then tried turning the knob counterclockwise. Sure enough.

Dad's is a 1981 and has the D44 that uses a retaining ring. In other words, there's no clip inside the diff. You can read what I found on that topic on the Front Axles & Differentials and then the Dana 40 tab here: Driveline/Axles & Differentials. But, you've pointed out that I should be able to pull the stub shaft out by pulling those three bolts - which I just torqued down yesterday. So, assuming I don't have to resort to the same pulling techniques I did originally, as written up on the above tab, it should be able to remove it, install the u-joint and next shaft, and easily re-install it. Thanks!

That U-joint was likely the original, and the truck was 19 year old, with about 190K miles, and about half of that in the rust belt (Indiana before Minnesota, but New Mexico for the first half of its life). So it takes awhile to get that bad, but they will rust! Even the caps on that one were pretty ugly. So I think with the effort you are putting into the rest of the "ugly" parts of the truck that you're going to want to do something with them. (I just slathered the new caps and retaining rings with anti-seize. I'm not so worried about them being pretty,but I don't want to have to cut them out in another 19 years.) Yeah, I don't blame you there. The coffee has run out and it is time to quit procrastinating and get started. But, taking the diff out is the LAST thing I want to do. I had bruises on my thighs for days from sitting that thing in my lap before I could get it hoisted up and into place. If I have to do it again I'll see if I can devise some way to lift it with the tranny jack. So, I'll update y'all after a bit on the efforts.......

I agree that rectangular lights match the style of the headlights and turn signals. And, I like the idea of lights integrated into the bumpers. So much wasted space there that could be used. I'm still considering integrating lights and tow hooks into the Warn front bumper on Big Blue. But, I'm watching on Facebook a couple of guys show their efforts to reinforce a stock bumper and add a winch behind it. As for drilling and cutting the bumper, you'll have to go slowly in order to ensure you don't turn the chrome blue. That can usually be polished out, but not always, and that would be a shame.

Dave - Now I understand what you are thinking of doing. Thanks for the explanation. I'll be curious to see what you come up with. As for the surf/tea exercise, that is something I like to do, but with coffee. My mornings include catching up on the forum, checking on the stat's on the website for the previous day, looking at facebook, and drinking two cups of Starbucks. Then it is off to the shop where I try to put the energy to work. But, as you point out, the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse here as well. Rain, sleet, and snow are to move in tonight during the night and continue tomorrow morn, so we are on the cusp of canceling church services tomorrow. If that happens I'll probably sit here on the porch and drink coffee, watch the weather, and surf a bit longer. And thanks for the feedback on the site and trucks. I do enjoy what I'm doing, and find that a mix of things is better for me than the same thing day after day. I like to set goals and then work to reach that goal. So I'll set a goal of getting the suspension on Dad's truck and then take a break to work on the website, with a goal there as well.

Actually I agree with that except for two things. The kicker for me is needing to bring my '71 Bronco with me. So I either need to be able to haul the Bronco with the camper or tow the camper with the Bronco. I don't want to even drive the Bronco on long trips much less tow with it, so that leaves with toy hauler trailers and motorhomes. A toy hauler that can carry a Bronco is too big for my '97 F-250, and I don't want to go that big (trailer or truck) anyway. So I'm stuck with a motorhome. For anyone that doesn't have that restriction, the other thing is that it is nice to travel in the camper where the fridge, beds and ROOM is. Is it nice enough to offset all of the downsides you mentioned? Probably for some, but not for everyone. A toy hauler big enough to handle an early Bronco would be huge. My nephew just bought one to handle a couple of RZR's, and it was big enough that he had to buy a bigger truck - a DRW. As for RV vs trailer, we had a 9 1/2' self-contained slide in camper back in the 70's and a '72 F250 to carry it. We went a lot of places and it worked for us as we had trail bikes and towed a trailer with them on it. But there was always the issue of having camp set up and then needing to go someplace. So if we were to do it now we'd go with a 5th wheel trailer. Maybe a smaller one so that we wouldn't need a DRW truck.

Gary, both of the retaining rings you show are "outside types" in that they both go over the outside of the piece with the groove that holds them. (edit to add: ... inside the yoke) The U-joints in the front axle of my '97 F-250 have "inside type" retaining rings that go in grooves inside the yokes (outboard of the bearing caps). The retaining ring on the right in your picture is often called a full circle retaining ring (at least when people are talking about U-joints). It's considered a more secure way to retain them, but the yokes need to be machined to accept them (and they need to be installed differently obviously). Some aftermarket axles will be able to accept them, and some people modify axle to use them. But most people just use the "C" clip like you show on the left. As to a better way to install the center U-joint, you're not going to like what I have to say. When I had to replace the U-joints in my front axle I removed the diff so I could do it on the work bench. So I'd suggest doing that U-joint before you install the diff. Since I'm too late with that suggestion I've heard of people using a balljoint press, but you see what space you have to work with... edit to add: To be complete, with the front diff removed I then also pulled the right inner stub out of it so I was just working with the shafts when removing and installing the U-joint. But that part's trivial, it's getting the diff out that's a job. And here's a picture of one of the U-joints I got out of my F-250 front axle (you can see that it was overdue). I was not able to get a lot of the "inside type" retaining rings out due to rust, so I had to cut the cross and then drive the caps inward. After that I could get the retaining rings loose. And the red "drawing" on the rag to the right of the U-joint shows the shape of an "inside type" retaining ring. On the seal, I think I understand. As for the retaining rings, my bad on the terminology. Ok, "c-clips" are what this is set up for. I'll have to find some. And, that is one rusty u-joint. YUK! That seems to be reason enough to paint these. Ok, back to the drawing board. And I do NOT like the idea that I'll have to pull that diff to get the u-joints in. I'm going to do my best to get them in with it still in the truck. It was way too much of an ordeal to get it in to even think about doing it again.

Again, I missed this yesterday! As for comments, I went to get ear phones so as to not bother Janey since I thought you'd have comments. So I'll comment that there were no comments. In fact, as you were installing the front one the music came on and when it quit there was a little noise, like something wrong with the audio. Then I realized it was the noise you were making installing the nuts. Did you pick the music and when it came in? Anyway, on to my questions: Do the tires rub now? Did it fix the problem? How do you like them? Or, maybe how do you like how the truck looks and handles? I think they make the truck look ..... tougher. More capable. But I suspect they'll also change the alignment, so need a road report.

So how did the other one turn out? Did the colors separate any cleaner? Bill - That makes sense, but it seems contrary to what the FSM says. Unless I am reading it incorrectly. So, let me ask - which way do you think it means when it says "Install a new seal with the seal lip directed away from the spindle." What is "away from the spindle"? As for painting the u-joints, I don't know that I want to bother. As Jonathan pointed out, they don't tend to rust. And the synthetic grease I'm using doesn't come off easily. Jonathan - The second one came out about the same. They are acceptable, but to me the problem isn't the parting line but the uneven surface that the tape created on the black. I've not seen that before, so don't really know what happened. Perhaps it was because the black was actually in the oven three times, although the 2nd and 3rd times were at a lower temp and for less time. All - No comments about the snap rings? How 'bout a better way to install that center u-joint?

And, we can record the measurements here.

Shaun - That's really good info. Especially about the bed. That makes interchange much easier. Thanks! Now I have to find time to update some things.....

Jonathan - It is hard to tell, but it does look like there was a change in '83. The reason it is hard to tell is that they changed the colors frequently, but we can use "black" as the one to track for a regular cab w/a bench seat: 1980 before GG0,001 E0TZ 10611B60-A 1980 after GG0,001 E0TZ 10611B60-A 1983 E3TZ 10611B60-F

Bill - Thanks, but you didn't tell them to use a drift to get it out the last little bit when the bearing hits the screwdriver. As for the impact, I'll give that a try. Now, for a few questions for y'all. The factory shop manual (Driveline/Axles and Differentials and tabs Front Axles then Instructions) says "Install a new seal with the seal lip directed away from the spindle." The pic on the left shows the bearing installed and the seal laying out, and then the pic on the right has the seal installed. Is that "away from the spindle"? In other words, is that correct? Next up, u-joints. I installed one of the u-joints and reached for the snap ring, only to find they are the outside style, as shown on the right, below. As you can see below, I installed one of the inside style, shown on the left, just to get it in. But, these u-joints obviously have the grooves for the inside style. What am I missing? Also, how many demerits do I get for not painting nor powder coating the u-joints and caps? This is getting crazy, and to be able to paint them they'd have to be degreased, which is quite a task. But powder coating would be a lot more work. Where do I draw the line? Next, the u-joint for the center joint, as shown below. I think I can do it with a large c-clamp, but is there a better way? Last, I actually did get something done today. The front diff is fully torqued in, including the ID tag.

Oh wow...I have no interest in paying that kind of money...the kit for sale locally is like $50 bucks, which is why it caught my eye. If I have to spend real money, I'll just buy a Rostra CC kit that I'm familiar with and know works well. Maybe Steve83 will comment. I seem to recall him talking about these CC retrofits...could be wrong though. I only posted that link to show what they are selling for elsewhere. As for Steve83, he surely knows more than I do, so hopefully he'll chime in. Here's what I found he said with regard to "speed control": http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/My-1984-F150-2wd-Flareside-Project-Blue-Mule-tp4515p19974.html

The pinouts are in Fuel Systems/Carburetors, Chokes, & EFI/EFI. (Boy, I need someone to help me rationalize the layout thereof!)

There's another of these things on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1992-1993-1994-1995-1996-FORD-F150-F250-F350-BRONCO-CRUISE-CONTROL-ASSEMBLY-KIT/392070148041?hash=item5b4933afc9:g:cQ0AAOSwv0tVTXXy And, I added the pages from the 1996 EVTM here: Electrical/Speed Control. It does look like the speed control module takes its input from the Programmable Speedometer/Odometer Module (PSOM), and that gets its input from the rear axle. But I don't know if you can substitute the output for the module plugged into the tranny for the rear axle's input and make it work. But, the steering wheel controls look to be the same as the Bullnose controls. Perhaps Bill knows as he's been into this?

Welcome to the forum! I don't know any more experience with SD vs MAF than you, but I have read that it doesn't take much of a cam change to get the SD outside of its map, and then it doesn't run well. And, my understanding of going to MAF is that you have to change out the ECU to an EEC-V, which takes a different wiring harness, both for the ECU itself but also to the injectors and to accommodate the additional sensors. Unfortunately, between the time of your truck being built and the advent of EEC-V systems in the mid-90's the power distribution wiring changed significantly, with a power distribution box being implemented on the driver's side, and the ECU wiring emanating from there. So I don't think it is as straight forward as it might seem at first. HOWEVER, I've not yet done the wiring, so I may be wrong. Let's let those that know more about it chime in.

I'm not a one-ton expert, but I do have some experience with vehicles that have sat for some time w/o being driven. So I'd enquire as to the last time the vehicle was out on a reasonably-long run - something like 100 miles or more. I say that because when we moved to the UK we left our van with my parents with the agreement that they would drive it frequently. But that didn't happen, and when we got back and started driving it lots and lots of problems cropped up all at once. I don't know if it was because it hadn't been driven that it had so many problems. Or, if all those problems would have come up during the time it was supposed to have been driven, and they just cropped up all at once when we did drive it. But I have more faith in a vehicle that has been driven frequently than one with lower miles but is rarely driven. And another thing I'd find out about is the rear axle. I should know how to figure out what it should be, but that process is escaping me at the moment. Anyway, there was some discussion recently about certain rear axles and how difficult it is to change the brake shoes on them. So I'd find out what it has to understand how easy it'll be to maintain.

I don't think it will work as it doesn't have the speedometer cable input like the ones for our trucks. I think that one is set up for the electronic speedometer. However, you can add the electronic module to your truck and wire from it to the cruise control. I have a one of those modules, and it goes into the transmission/transfer case where the speedo cable goes. Your speedo cable still connects to it, but you also have the digital output. With that, it might work. But let me do some more sleuthing when I get to the shop. I have the 1996 EVTM and it'll show how that thing is wired and we will know if it needs the EFI.

Yep, it was the highlight of the day. And this reminds me that I need to do the route again with the 750 on Big Blue. And not turn him off at the light.