Gary Lewis

Dave - I thought I'd replied to this, but apparently haven't. Anyway, glad you found the leaks now. Otherwise you could have had serious on the road that could have been expensive. Not cheap now, but more so than later. Bill - Good catch. I'm debating what to do for Dad's truck as I put it back together. The bearings look good, but I'm wondering if I should replace them anyway. However, I will have the rotors turned.

No disappointment on my part. I think the truck will ride better on the rubber bushings. I've wondered about using them on Big Blue since he rides so poorly, but I think the real problem is the rear springs. Anyway, you have a lot of work to do! Have fun, but I'm sure it will be.

Welcome! Most, if not all, of these trucks are a work in progress. Some of us, like me, move at a snail’s pace and others are really fast. But it is rare to be “done”. However, take it easy on the “old” bit. I’m 71 and there’s at least on other that is older than I. 😉

At least you found it now before you got away from home and overheated. That could have been a serious problem. On the lights, are you using T12's, T8's, or T5's.

The rod between the booster and master doesn't change the feel. It just takes up the slack in the system. So, if you adjust it too small you'll have slack where the pedal will go down a ways before it hits the master cylinder's piston and braking starts. But from there the feel will be the same. However, if you get it too long the brakes won't fully release. A friend of mine and I did just that and the brakes were apparently dragging some. As he drove the brakes got hot and expanded, causing more drag. And after about 20 miles they locked up. So, you want to be on the shy side of the adjustment. But tomorrow I'll try to remember to find the true dimension from the factory shop manual and put it on the website.

Tom - I don't have that info on the website, yet, but here 'tis from the parts catalog. But, that is the whole pedal assembly, including the pedal and pad. Apparently that's the way they come from Ford.

Ahhh! That might have been $500 well spent. And, by the way, you are now on the map.

Welcome! $500 for an electrical issue seems steep, but if it is fixed that's good. And glad the site is helping. That's what exactly what it is for. In addition, the folks on here will be a big help as well. Gilbert, AZ? We have a member's map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map). Would you like to be on it?

Looks like many of the body panels are bent. That would be a lot of work or expense to repair. But if you just want a beaten beater, then it might be a good buy.

I got the spring and shackle bushings all removed this morning. I've been looking at the Energy Suspension kits, and there are three versions for the F150. 4.2114G "w/Common frame shackle bushings" 4.2122G "w/Plastic frame shackle bushings" 4.2140G "w/Molded in frame shackle bushings" I thought my original rearward bushings were rubber until I got them cleaned off and removed. They are a hard white plastic. See below: The front leaf bushings are the typical metal sleeved ones, but the rear leaf and shackles are these hard white plastic. I assume this means I'd need the Poly kit 4.2122G for plastic frame shackle bushings (if I decide to go with Poly). Darin/Oz is right, some of those kits expect you to use the existing metal shell. But since yours is plastic that must be why they now have a kit for the plastic ones. And, I think you'll want the poly bushings rather than rubber. But get them in black, and use lots of their lube.

Yipes! No fun to have to do it, but hope it works out easily.

Would be just right on a 300 six.

I may have it in some of my dealer lit, but it will probably be Sunday before I can check.

Since I only have the one small swb fuel tank, I know little the dual tank set-up...but it would seem to me the dual tank set-up would be the lesser of two evils, no? Isn't the rear tank huge (or there is a huge option)? What is troublesome about it?>..The plumbing and wiring, or?.... The downside is you lose the space for the underside spare. I guess it depends on your angle. If you have the time and ability to fab a custom dual tank in one (sort of), then maybe that is preferable over the factory dual tank set-up. I would find the plug and play part of the dual tank an easier install personally, but like I mentioned above, I've not studied the system, so I know little about it. I'm running with no spare underneath, and I'm OK with that locally. If I were to go on a trip, I'd throw the spare in the bed. I'd like to have more fuel capacity, but my current range (I believe around 400 km, or 250 miles) is about as far as I want to drive without a break anyway...in the truck at least. In any case, if you do build a custom tank, it will be interesting to see how it works out. First, on the wiring diagrams - I have the 1985 and '86 diagrams on the website (Electrical/Wiring Diagrams) and would be happy to add your 1980 diagrams to that. But, and this is a big "but", I've learned that they have to be in pdf and at least 600 dpi. They really aren't legible when you get them on a computer screen, so you have to be able to zoom way into them to make them useful. But, if you can do that I'd love to have them. As for the fuel tank, the concern I have with a tank on both sides is the problem it creates with where you run your exhaust. But, if you can get around that then perhaps it is a viable option. Another single-tank option is either a 33 gallon Bronco tank or the 38 gallon upgrade to the Bronco tank. In either case you won't get a spare tire under the rear, but it would be a much simpler fuel system.

I suspect it was the radiator as the fan will, as you described, fling it all over everything. As for the two types, the inlet on the driver's side is for the 300 six, and the one on the passenger's side is for all other engines.

So, which is it? I doubt you'll be disappointed in either.

What kind of networking? Did a bit a LAN with Token Ring, including via fiber optics. In fact, I taught British Telecom how to do that so we could have TR on two campuses that were blocks apart in London. Also did ethernet, but w/o fiber extensions. And, did WAN - both the underlying carrier using TDM, as well as networking PBX's/PABX's and IBM's computers and peripherals.

That's strange. But, if it works.....

They REALLY look good!

Happy Thanksgiving to y'all!!! We have so much for which to be thankful, and I hope you will take some time to reflect on that today.

Happy Thanksgiving to you! But, what if I already wobble? Can I still gobble?

If you drive the truck very far you'll saturate the clutch with oil. So it is advisable to seal those bolts up ASAP. And if you are going to do that with Loctite blue you will have to get those threads in the crank very clean. I'd use a Q-Tip saturated in alcohol or brake cleaner to clean each one thoroughly.

That blue one in the brochure looks to be 4wd. So Centurion was doing 4wd conversions to the dually trucks? Or dually conversions to 4wd trucks?

If you find their literature I'd be happy to put it up as well.

I don't see it as a fuss, but just thinking of easy ways to prolong the life of a DS-II module. The fact that several of us have had them fail or the potting run out suggests that it might be prudent to provide some insurance against having that happen again. I wonder if Ford made a mistake when they moved the module from the metal fender in '79 to the plastic inner-fender nearer the engine and exhaust in '80. That both upped the temp the module would see and, at the same time, dramatically reduced its heat sink. Further, might the same team that made that decision be the one that thought mounting the TFI module on the distributor was a good idea? It wasn't, and they had to move it to the fender - right back where the DS-II module was in '79. In other words, full circle.