Gary Lewis

You've done a LOT of work on your trucks. Any plans to change them more?

You may also want the correct engine wiring harness. Assuming that you have a DS-II ignition system on the truck, the various wires to the distributor, temp sender, and oil pressure sender will be the wrong length to get to the appropriate places on a 302. You could shorten/lengthen them to fit, but if you have a stock tach you'll also want to add the ground to the black/light green wire shown here that tells the tach to work in 8 cyl mode as opposed to 6 cyl mode.

Why not the Slant-6?

Evan - The springs were replaced by the previous owner, and I don't know exactly what they are. However, my measurements say they are the right size for the GVWR of the truck. But, that doesn't mean that I like the ride. So, I'm wanting to pull some leafs out, but then either install overloads or air bags. Bill - I fully agree that Blue Jeans is softly sprung. In fact, it really needs air bags in the rear to do the best job of towing, but it gets the job done. But it isn't a serious truck like Big Blue is. MOPAR flathead six? I grew up driving one of those in a '54 Plymouth. Not too strong, but you couldn't hurt it no matter what you did to it. Poly 318? You are the only one I know that would build one of those.

Evan - Welcome! My guess is that the welcome wagon will be sparse until Monday as many are gone over the weekend. But, we welcome you nonetheless. Wow, that doesn't look like an '82 F100 Flareside. Styleside bed, 80/81 grille and early clear turn signal lenses, etc. Or, maybe that's the '81 and it is sitting on 44's as well? By the way, this forum is unusual in the way subscriptions work to get an email notification to new posts. I've explained how that works in the thread called, oddly enough, Subscriptions. Also, we have a Member's Map to help people know where others are. So if you are interested just give me the city in which you reside and I'll add you. (We don't get more precise than the city, for security reasons.) Again, welcome!

Looks like it is wearing quite evening, Bill. But, what are those curly things in the pic? Doesn't a "real truck" have the buckboard style leaf springs? Seriously though, why did Ford think a 4wd F250/350 needed leafs and a 2wd could use coils? I've never understood that when that wasn't the case in the F150's. Was the radius arm not up to the task of keeping a heavier front axle in check?

The way the EB parts are priced I'd be afraid they'd want an arm and a leg for a rusted out one. Good luck!

There is a mention on here of an adapter, made in Queensland, that moves the shifter. The post is here, and the outfit that makes it is Mal Wood. And the DS-II boxes aren't engine-specific. In other words, the same box works on an engine without regard to the number of cylinders. It just fires when the reluctor in the dizzy tells it to do so.

If the round vacuum reservoir is still properly connected but you lose vacuum and high throttle then either the check valve isn't working or you have a significant vacuum leak in the HVAC system. You can test that theory by turning the blower on with the engine running, and then pulling the vacuum line that is going to the check valve. The easiest place might be the plastic manifold on the firewall. If the theory is correct you'll hear the doors move almost immediately, but if everything is working correctly it'll be maybe a minute or longer before it moves. Or, you can sit in the truck after you turn the engine off and listen. Or turn the key back on to run the fan. If all is well nothing will change for several minutes. But if you have a problem it'll change almost immediately. On the rough running, if you didn't get a good seal where the Coke can is then you can have a vacuum leak there. And the leak could change as the engine warms up with expansion of the parts. That would be a good place to check.

Yes, the distant view does help. I like it!

Yup, 2680 SRW vs 2470 DRW. But you still have 620 lbs/tire of reserve.

So, a lawsuit would be groundless? Good one!

I thought fender = wing in Brit speak? As for weird "translations", my lift's instructions said the green wire must be connected to the "floor". I guessed that they meant "earth" or "ground", but that looked like a huge liability problem for the vendor.

That's my thinking as well - separate fills so it gives as much roll-prevention as possible. And, that allows for inflating/deflating one side when crossed-up on the trail to get traction. But, for that to be effective you have to have soft suspension. As it is, Big Blue's suspension is so stiff there's little movement. The bags I'm looking at have bump-stops in them, but that might be a limitation as it minimizes the available travel. So, if I could rely on the stock bump-stops then I wouldn't need the top-of-the-line bags. And, there's the stock spacer that comes on the 4x4 trucks, which I might take that out depending on how much the truck sits down with softer springing. I say that because Air Lift says there needs to be 5 - 7" between the brackets, and 7" is better than 5". I'll have to check, but right now I'm sure there's more than that.

I didn't realize that the same tire used in DRW applications is rated less than in SRW app's. Perhaps that's the 115/112 bit?

Oh, a drink rather than an injection. That sounds better. Glad it is helping.

Welcome back! Wheat grass shots? Ouch! But I do ingest a fair amount of distilled water. We use it in our Keurig to keep the calcium buildup down, so I get it with my several cups each day.

Good point on the tighter seal Gary. That may very well be the case. I didn't replace any hard parts, no. I bought the transmission used, supposedly with approx 100k miles on it. It came out of a light duty F250 2wd w/302, but that is all I know of it. I replaced every seal in it, and even replaced the rubber plugs in the top cover with pressed steel plugs (a common mod for the M5OD). Now that I've had a little time to drive it, it is clear that the trans is not 100%. It is fine for what I need for now, but it's a notchy shifter between 1-2, and 2-3 unless I shift it very slowly. 3-4-5 is as smooth as new. I won't be breaking any 1/4 mile records with it...lol. I know that feeling. The ZF5 I had in Dad's truck had worn synchronizers and it needed to be shifted slowly into most gears. And Big Blue's T19 is getting that way in 3rd. But I've had the ZF completely rebuilt and it'll go into Big Blue this winter, so that should resolve that problem. Anyway, if you didn't have hard parts replaced then it shouldn't be needing to wear in, so I'm surprised that it is pushing lube out on short trips. You might want to slide under and see if you can find a hot spot after a trip.

I'm pretty sure you need the truck rear sump oil pan and pickup. I don't think there's much clearance between the truck pan and the crossmember below it. Yes, I agree you need the rear sump pan. But I have no info on the T5. However, on the 302/351 debate, I'm a big fan of a longer stroke to get torque. But a lot depends on what you are going to do with the truck. If you are just cruising and want to get decent MPG with the truck then the 302 might be the better choice. And that's especially the case if the one you have is serviceable and you are trying to keep costs down. But if you are going to have to have an engine built it doesn't cost more to build a 351 than a 302 - at least here. And especially if you are searching for power and are considering a stroker kit then the 351 is a better starting point. So, what's the plan for the truck?

Yes, I hear some noise. It isn't bad, but it is there. And while Oz is right that you have extractors/headers and they tend to also give that sound, it does sound like valve train. But, the fact that it is even from side to side suggests that all the cylinders and doing it. So that means that there's not something wrong. And, having broken it in on the dyno you know it isn't something that is about to break.

I just thought of something else... I really haven't gone anywhere with this truck since installing the transmission. I've put about 200 miles on it, but just running around locally within the city really, and some short rural drives (I live 10 miles outside the city, on a road where I can barely do 45-50 mph). I've been on a half a dozen drives with it, maybe 30 miles each time. I guess my point is, I wouldn't think that the transmission fluid would have had any opportunities to get very hot. I could see steaming along the hwy at 60-70 mph for a while, but I've only been on a few little drives with this thing. Maybe it would get hot anyway, I dunno. I can see them expecting a tranny to vent through the shifter seal. But when it is new and tight it probably takes more pressure to escape there than it does out the speedo cable hole, so it pushes some out there instead. As for getting hot, did you replace any parts or just the seals? If you replaced parts, like bearings, they'll take some time to wear in and during that time they'll be creating some heat. Assuming the VSS is on order then I'd try it first. But another approach would be to slip a straw in the shifter seal to try to create a vent. But if it fits really tightly then it'll probably mash it shut and defeat the purpose.

Those are LR E's with either a 2380 or 2680 lb rating, and you have far more tire than you have rear axle.

Bill - I agree that something is amiss. There should be a vent which keeps it from pushing fluid out.

Gary, thank you very much kind sir! You are awesome...it is so nice to so quickly remove all doubt on buying a part;). Thank you for the details. Having found a thread where this cured the problem, I think it's a cheap solution to try. Must have something to do with the design of the M5OD combined with the watery thin Trans Fluid;). Welcome. Yes, it may have something to do with the transmission design as well as the thin ATF. I think the key is the o-ring I've circled on the adapter, below. It keeps lube from going outside of the adapter, and they apparently block the fluid internally, so it is contained. As you say, a cheap solution.

Yes, that's the guy. And your cable should plug right into it just like into the transmission. But you do have to move the driven gear as you said. Here's what I've found. First, the catalog says it looks like this: Second, here's a snippet from the calibration parts list for '87 and '88 trucks. Note that the part numbers match the Rock Auto listing.