Gary Lewis

I use 190's, but newer engines are continually increasing the coolant temp. Seems the manufacturers have found that increasing the temp increases the economy because there's less rejected heat. What I don't recommend is a cold thermostat, like a 160 or a 180. The colder the coolant the longer it takes to get the engine up to temp so the moisture boils out of the oil. Cold 'stats and short trips are not a good mix.

Good one, Vinny! And I forgot the "which ones to give a miss" part of the question. That would be Mr. Gasket. I won't use their parts on anything.

I would go with a Motorcraft, but if you want to go aftermarket I'm hearing better things about NAPA Gold ignition parts than anything else other than Motorcraft. The part number I'm seeing here (Elecrical/Ignition) is D5AZ 12029-A and the Motorcraft # is DG-314.

It is possible that your coil is shorted internally and drawing too much current. So replacing it is probably a good idea.

Haven't heard the story, but did that melt the "goody" out of the modules? I can see that happening.

Good plan, Stan.

Bill - Welcome! On the truck, I'm not quite sure what you meant to say, but I think you meant that you got the truck from a friend as payment for doing a ball joint job on his 1988 truck. Right? If so, that seems like a good deal. But, the '86 has no spark. I have a EEC-IV Diagnostics page (Electrical/EEC-IV Diagnostics) that has a troubleshooting process in it for just such a condition. I would follow those steps slavishly and I'll bet you find the problem.

LOL! Yes, I'd call those zombie apocalypse bumpers. They aren't my favorite either. On the Warn, the chrome is very thin, as said. So much so that the day we picked it up my brother said "I think the first thing to do is to paint that bumper black." and with the to-be black rear bumper I think it will sorta beg to be black. A bit of looking says that I can replace the rivets in the front spring perches with bolts and use them as part of the mount for the tow eyes/bumper mounts, although the eyes would be bolted to the bumper holes in the very front of the frame as well. Cut neat holes in the bumper (my friend Ben, that will build the rear bumper, has a laser cutter), slide the bumper over them and weld it on. Blast it and powder coat it to match the rear bumper. But, the design of the bumper isn't that complex, so it wouldn't be very hard to draw it anew and incorporate the tow eyes that way. However, I don't know if Ben has the ability to replicate the smooth curve on the outer end of the bumper, so it might look more like the one in the first pic.

I wondered if butchering that bumper was a sacrilege. The chrome is quite thin anymore, but it is serviceable. I'd better get the rear bumper plan finished before I worry about the front. But, I'm pretty close on the design. Glad you like it.

I had one leak in my shop and get goo all over things. And the shop wasn't hot, so I don't know why it leaked.

The fact that you still had coolant in the engine suggests you didn't do like I did and blow a radiator hose and lose everything. That is when an engine gets really hot and, in my limited experience, is when the real damage is done. But, your gauge did show that the engine was hot, and you had steam, so there was a problem. And the engine stalling was probably due to the clearances getting too small and the friction overcoming the minimal power output at idle. So, it does seem like a stuck thermostat is a possibility. Another is that you threw a belt and the water pump wasn't turning. So I'd check things over externally, like the belts, and if they appear to be in place and the water pump will turn, change out the thermostat. But I don't know that I'd worry about doing a coolant flush there at the arena. As for damage to the engine, with coolant in the system there shouldn't have been serious overheating and, therefore, I doubt there will have been serious damage. Good luck!

I'm seriously considering modifying mine. Part 1 would be to replace the existing brackets between the frame and the bumper with 1" thick tow eyes that would pierce the bumper and be welded thereunto. Part 2 is to powder coat it black, just like the rear bumper will be. What do y'all think? Is the Warn bumper too precious to modify? Would it be better to have one built like the to-be rear one?

That bumper is very similar to the one on Big Blue, which is a Warn:

I grew up with PC's (built microprocessors from the chip up), but carry an iPhone X and wear an Apple watch. (One of the absolute best things about the watch is that when someone's phone rings during church it isn't mine! ) And, I still have an iPad but I never use it.

I haven't used this brand, but I have used a similar product. It worked well, but the metal had to be clean before using it. I can't really recommend it as I don't know what other options there are. I have used POR15 extensively and find that it works, but since you need to topcoat it w/i a certain timeframe or you have to sand it to get the topcoat to adhere, that that can be difficult. Some have recommended Silver Bullet and others Rust Oleum's Rusty Metal primer. So I'll hide and watch to see what the recommendations are.

That being the case, please check out 30.3 AA-AZ and BA-BZ as opposed to CA-CZ. I've now changed those two to embedding the pdf's from my One Drive account, and CA-CZ is embedded from my Google Drive, so they are slightly different. I think I like the One Drive better from my standpoint as it is easier - and because I have more storage on the One Drive than the Google Drive. So, if it works for y'all then that's the way I'll go in future. Another advantage is that when you open it in another page you have several options, including one to find things in the document. The Google approach has the function, but it isn't as easily found. And, the Google approach allows you to zoom in further, although I'm not sure that's needed. Anyway, input please!

I'm looking at Sept 14th, 2019. BE THERE!

Steve - The Dana site must be down as that link doesn't load. I'll try again in the morning. Grumpin: The 30.1 tabs, both A-M and N-Z, have screen grabs in jpg of closeups of the master parts catalog. I was zoomed in at 200% and I had to take a bunch of grabs to get all of the info. The 30.3 tabs: - A-Z is a high res png file that is much smaller than a jpg, but doesn't have the "cleaness" that the 30.1's do, in my estimation - AA-AZ and BA-BZ are pdf's inserted using SCRIBD. Pretty easy to do on my end and comes out quite crisp and clean for the user. But you sometimes have to move the cursor in the box to initially get the display to pop us, and it is funky to open a new page and really zoom in. - CA-CZ is a pdf via my Google drive and is embedded on the page. It seems easier to use to me as it always comes up immediately and you can zoom to your heart's content by popping the page out into a new browser page. This is, like SCRIBD easy and clean to do. 30.4 tabs are lower res png's. Fairly easy to do but not as crisp, in my opinion as the higher res ones, and not close to the pdf's. So, I was really wondering what y'all thought about the various methods. The pdf approach is easiest and seems quite clean and readable - to me. The png's are easier than the zoomed in screen grabs, but aren't as clean and clear. Thoughts?

Wow! That looks DIRTY!

I think I saw the speedo before, but it is cool nonetheless.

Good deal on the wires. But that's EXCELLENT NEWS on the clips! Do they appear to be strong enough? What material did you use?

I put a ton of info on today regarding front axles. Covers all Bullnose F-Series and Bronco 4x4 front axles: Driveline/Axles & Differentials. It is a complex issue to work through, but the info is there - for the original axle on the truck. Also, I used several different methods of placing the parts list info on there, and I'd like feedback as to which list you like best.

Bummer! I hope you prevail. As for the 3G, it doesn't need to be a 302. Even Bill's 460 should work for pics. But, doesn't this drawing on the 3G page do it?

I forgot the pics taken at the house. Didn't seem like they should be in the Truck Show pics, but I forgot to post them. And, by the way, one of these vehicles came a lot further to get here.

Yippee! That worked really well.