Gary Lewis

The easiest thing to do is to check for spark. If you have spark and if you have some pressure at that valve I'd see if there's power to the injectors. If power to the injectors then see if you can detect the injectors opening, and to do that you could put a trouble light across an injector. If the injector is firing you should be able to see the light glow dimly. Or put your DVM across there and you should see the voltage go bonkers.

You are on the right track by checking for spark. But if you have it you should then check for fuel pressure. By '86 I think the EFI system had a Schrader valve which you can depress to see if you do have pressure. If not, then you need to see if the fuel pumps are running. As for grounds, Page 10 of the 1986 EVTM shows a special ground for those trucks with the ECA. (My version has it called out.) You might check that.

Wow! 2 1/2 years in as many posts?! Lotsa progress. And, I have to agree that Jonathan is one of the good guys. What transfer case do you have behind that ZF? Looks big.

Well spotted. I missed that. Apparently it is an early '85.

Might be a good tow vehicle. But it needs work. And after reading what Jonathan's written I'm not sure placing a turbo on an early diesel is the best approach.

I can't wait for the other shoe to drop. Or, what next in this "snowball". So, I assume the D60 is 3.54 gears? And what about the ZF5 - did you keep it or was it swapped off? I guess I missed something in that.

Glad you got it fixed! The rubber hoses on these trucks don't like ethanol and I've seen them leak air when the engine was running and ooze gas when the engine was off - right through the sidewall with no apparent holes in them.

And less to go wrong! Very true. But, some things are just really nice to have. Like those courtesy lights when you open the door at night. Or the intermittent wipers, that I got to use yesterday when it was just spitting rain every once in a while.

I'd forgotten about that one. When I think of The Boss I usually remember: And, in looking for those lyrics I learned something - Glory Days was written in '84 and was released on a single in '85 - the B side of which was Stand On It. Seems quite fitting for Bullnose trucks in general and Big Blue in particular.

Ohhhh! It might well be worth the risk! But, a new engine is gonna be 'spensive. However, that's a nice looking truck. Hmmmmm......

Dave - I missed your post somehow. Sorry! But I can imagine what it is like to sand a piece of paper flat. It has to be frustrating. Is the adhesive not holding the skin to the ribs? As for what I did to/with my truck today, I slid it sideways. Was driving Big Blue to a friend's house and we had a little shower come up. Just enough to raise the oil and dirt in the pavement. Turned a corner and touched the gas and gave those stopped at the intersection quite a show. She went past 45 degrees sideways and I came off the gas and steered into it. Got it lined back up and gave it a bit of throttle and it walked sideways again. Apparently those Torsen/Detroit Trutracs are quick to lock up in slick conditions. So, with one in the front and one in the back, Big Blue may be a handful in snow.

It looks great!

I was surprised about it as well. All I know is what I read in the publications. Or, was that newspaper?

Thanks again to Vinny, we have a second official Ford publication on the 4180C. But this one includes the generic 4160. Check it out here: Fuel Systems/Carburetors, Chokes, & EFI/Holley 4180C. Thanks, Cuz. And, note that the file is OCR'd, which means you can actually search for a term within the document. Hopefully some day Google will find all of the info there so an external Google search will find it as well.

Is it set up for a plow? As for the brakes, it sounds like it might have blown a hose or something else that rendered the front brakes inoperable.

There are more modern overdrive units, like a Gear Vendors or Doug Nash. Jonathan has one of each of those and is trying to figure out which he wants to use with what transmission. As for the ZF5, they are rugged and are a true truck transmission. The syncros are a weak point, so you don't want to hurry them in shifting, which is why that recently rebuilt ZF5 isn't going in Dad's truck and, therefore, is available for Big Blue. And the low 1st gear and tall 5th gear do work out very nicely. I ran that tranny in Dad's truck, prior to the rebuild, for several thousand miles and loved it. Oh yes, thinking of it one way there are three versions of the ZF5: the small block bolt pattern one that does have an internal clutch slave cylinder; the big block bolt pattern unit with an external clutch slave; and a diesel unit with an external slave. But the gas versions have a wide ratio gear set and the diesel has a close ration set of gears, so that's another way to differentiate. And then there's the ZF5-42 vs the -47, which have 420 and 470 ft-lb ratings respectively. As for the T-19, there are a few versions of those. Jonathan and I had a discussion about them in this thread recently. You might find it interesting given your engineering background.

I'm having fun hanging out with a great bunch of people. And, I like to tweak things to make them better, so the name change/addition seemed to fit right in. But I'm not sure how the Facebook like/share icons are going to work out. My thinking was that people would "like" or "share" the place and their friends would see it and check it out and perhaps stay to join in. We shall see what happens.

I like it! Brings out both names! Grumpin - Not sure I understand. I've changed the title to: So, is that what you are liking? That's #6, and I wanted to see what it looks like "up in lights".

Ok, I found the Upper Case switch and turned it off, so now we can have bible vs BIBLE. Carry on Nurse. No, I mean carry on voting. (Only the Brit's will get that. ) Cory - I added #6 because I can now do lower case, so you may want to re-vote.

I just voted for Bible, but because I like it in addition, just like it is now. It doesn't look like I can change the poll, even if I wanted to and I shouldn't since y'all are/have voited. And I cannot add a poll to an existing thread/topic. But, we now have options that weren't in the original poll, so let's try this again. Tell me which one you like best: Or, some other combination?

Not only does the wind resistance hurt the MPG, but the lack an overdrive hurts as well. Big Blue has that 460 spinning at 2500 RPM @ 65 MPH, which works out very nicely when towing but seriously unnecessary when cruising. And that is with 33" tires and 3.55 gears! So I have a ZF5 that'll go in to replace the T19 this winter, and that will drop the RPM to 1800, which is much more reasonable.

You're doing a great thing here Gary. It will only get better from here;). Instagram is OK. The Bullnose Obsession thing is just pictures, and people can like or comment on them. That's about it. There is a place to comment, but it's rarely used. Thanks! We are almost one year old as a forum and have 162 members, having added three yesterday. But part of that growth is due to connecting the website to Facebook as there are lots of people out there that don't know the website nor forum exist, but could benefit from either or both. So, if anyone wants to "like" us please do so as it may bring some awareness that will help others.

You sound a lot like me. I did the math and physics because I transferred schools and the new one didn't have engineering. But to me math and physics are just the theoretical part of what I love - hands on real things. As for the MPG, you are really doing well with your truck. Those are excellent numbers for real-world driving. These trucks are worse than the proverbial "barn door" since they have all sorts of recesses that trap the air. And even those that have an air dam, like David's, have such a small one that it is not nearly as effective as the recent ones. All of that adds up to speeds north of 65 MPH causing huge drags that kill the MPG.

That worked, but I don't particularly like it as I think it'll cause problems with Google searches. Right now "gary's garage mahal" is the top thing that is the top thing that is found on the site, but I'm afraid that the quotes in Bullnose "Bible" will through Google off. However, we can leave it that way and see. Meanwhile I'll do more research on what is causing the site name to be all caps. There some CSS coding somewhere and if I can find it I should be able to modify it. That would let me do Bullnose bible.

You are going to fit right in. I spent 2 years in EE at K-State, but finished up at a school in OK and the closest I could get was a degree in math and physics. But, I've been accused many times of being an engineer. Dad would have said "If that's a complement then I thank you." But, I'm not sure. Did some graduate-level work and one course was on parallel systems, meaning how you can model a mechanical system with an electrical system. It is interesting how a capacitor works like a shock absorber. As for the truck, what kind of MPG are you getting? David's six is getting close to 20 if I remember correctly, but he keeps the speed down and you might not want to do so on such a long trip. Anyway, glad you found us!