Gary Lewis

That would make it a lot easier. But your grille has to clear that as well. Lots of things to consider. Good luck!

Yessir...that sounds like it. So it would go in the trans, but I could still attach my original speedo cable to it, am I understanding that correctly? Yes. But, that begs the question of if the oil continues to come out, and if not why not? And if it does, where does it go?

I'll check it, but I didn't think there was any way to overfill it? The truck was on level concrete floor, and I put the fluid in the hole until it leaked out. Interesting. I found a thread on FTE where this happened to another guy that swapped an M5OD into an 85 Bullnose. He said he installed some kind of speed sensor adapter "in front of" the cable...whatever that means. I replaced every seal in the trans...it's tighter than a frog's butt and doesn't leak a single drip otherwise, so I was sure it was a venting problem, but the guy on FTE said he added a vent and it didn't fix it. What a stupid problem...lol. If you filled it through the filler hole on level ground then it is at the correct height. I've never heard of that problem, but then I've not been around an M5OD either. The adapter is probably the later one that goes into a regular speedo gear hole and provides both the mechanical speedo drive as well as the electrical one that the computers want.

Yipes! I'll bet your speedo runs smoothly. Check to see if your tranny has too much fluid in it?

David actually beat me to it on the vacuum issue. And, if you get to drive it to the show both he and I'll get to see it. As for the baked beans can vs sphere, both were used and it doesn't really matter which you have. The can appears to hold more, but the sphere gets the job done. However, the key is the check valve. On the rough spot, that sounds like a problem with the accelerator pump. Make sure you have two streams of gas shooting into the carb when you open the throttle - with the engine off. And, make sure you don't have much clearance between the linkage and the accelerator pump with the throttle closed. If you have much clearance it delays the pump's squirt until you've opened the throttle quite a bit.

I haven't looked, but will that require moving the striker/latch as well as the hole in the hood for it? This sounds complicated.

Glad the PCV valve and grommet helped so much. You are peeling the onion, but have a few layers left to go. Tell us more about when the flat spot occurs. Is it just as you start to open the throttle? My guess on the blend door creaking is that you don't have the vacuum reservoir and check valve. They are shown on this page (Underhood/Vacuum Systems/Vacuum Reservoirs), but there's a screen grab from it shown below. And, in that the top red circle shows the tee/check valve combo, and the bottom is the reservoir. However, if you read the text on that page you'll see that the reservoirs came in can and ball styles. What is supposed to happen is that vacuum from the intake manifold gets stored in the reservoir. The other side of the tee goes to the HVAC system through the grommet in the firewall. And when you floor the throttle the vacuum drops in the engine, but the check valve prevents the HVAC system from losing vacuum. However, w/o either the check valve or the reservoir the system loses vacuum and the door closes.

David - Pun intended. Jonathan - Interesting! So we have the following with the same spring code "K": '85 F250HD regular cab rated at 5922 lb GAWR w/a 6250 lb axle and LT 235/85R16E tires '86 F350 crew cab rated at 6084 lbs GAWR and with a 6250 lb axle and LT 235/85R16E tyres An '86 F350 crew cab DRW rated at 7400 GAWR and with a 7400 lb axle and 4 215/85R/16D tyres Turns out that LT 235/85R16E tires are rated for 3042 lbs, and two of those would get you 6084 lbs, which is what yours is rated at. But Big Blue is only rated for 5922 with the same axle, tires, and main spring pack, so apparently the overload is standard on an F350 and boosts the spring rating to over the rating of the tires - to at least 3700 lbs given Darth's rating. But Big Blue is running LT285/75R16E tires, and they are rated for 3750 lbs, so with the right springs it would be limited only by the 6250 lb axle. Given that, if I downgrade the main pack and then install F350 overloads or air bags I'd be there. Right?

Wow! That really changes the look of the truck. Can't wait to see what the changes to the hood do.

Thanks Dyn! I've had a lot of fun working on this truck, and I am far from finished, but I'm finished this chapter as it were...lol. Mechanically, the truck is tip-top now! I have to drain and fill the rear diff, but that's a pretty easy task as old truck tasks go;). I'm really pleased with the truck, and I'm having a blast driving it. It's not very pretty currently, but it's fun, and it works good. That was kind of the whole point. I'll make it pretty as time and money allow. That's winter project stuff. This time of year, I just want to drive it. "Just drive it and enjoy it" was the advice my paint/body man gave me re Big Blue when I got him. And that has been excellent advise. I've taken him places that I wouldn't have had he been "pretty". So, enjoy!

Yes, Big Blue has leaf springs in front, and that doesn't help the ride any. But we've watched (felt?) and the biggest jolt on bumps is when the rear axle hits. So I'm hoping to soften the blow(s) some with de-springing him a bit. But, that isn't going to happen very quickly as I have a ton of things to do first. However, I will get it done.

It would help if you could get a better quality picture. That one is really hard to read.

Cool! I'll bet the Magnaflows will sound louder as you forget what that replaced. But, which ones did you use?

That's a nice truck! But, I think it is over-priced. However, I hope he gets it.

Interesting. Darth has a 7400 lb axle and Big Blue has a 6250 lb axle. But both of them show spring code K for the rear springs, and in both 1985 and 6 spring code K called for E3TZ 5560-T springs. But, in 1985 the catalog shows that those were replaced by E7TZ 5560-A's, although the catalog doesn't say they were for 1986. If General Spring is correct and K's are 3100 lb springs, then your overloads must be good for about 600 lbs each to get the total pack to 3700 and match the axle. Does that make sense?

I've tried decoding the two build sheets I had available to me, as shown here: Specifications/Build Sheet Interpretation. As you will see, I didn't get too far. But, with your help we might be able to make some progress. To do that I need the best quality pic you can take with the thing flattened out as much as possible. Or, better yet, scan it in and the scanner will flatten it if you work with it gently and lay the build sheet on the glass. And, I'll also need a good pic of your truck's certification label on the driver's door jamb - as shown here: Specifications/Certification Label. However, do you know anything about the history of your truck? In other words, are the engine, transmission, and other major components original? If so then we should be able to get some info off of it.

Yup. Our handy dandy decoder (Interior/Instrument & Radio Bezels) says the one that says E0TB-10045C90-D on the back is "gas, w/integral AC". And, that looks exactly like what it is. And, it is a good price, for sure.

Is that the opposite of "another clueless seller"? Exactly. Not only did s/he not call the number on the part the "part number" (I just love the obtuseness of that ), s/he knew that it is the "engineering number". Switched-on. Clued-in.

Hard to say. Wasn't used in the trucks, but might fit. Did you notice that he posted both the part number and the engineering number? Would Bill say "clued-in"?

Good memory! It was Free Wheeling "B".

I really don't know if it was the front or the rear sway bar that stiffened Big Blue up so much, but one did for sure. But once I remove a couple of leafs in the rear I'll put that link back to see. I think where the sway bars are really needed is when you have a tall load on, like a camper.

I would like to find the overload setup for Big Blue as that should be just the right combo. But your story reminded me of much the same experience. Back in probably '73 we had a winter storm coming into Wichita, so I took my '72 F250 to the quarry to get sand. It was cold enough that the sand had frozen together, and when it finally let loose the whole scoop dropped into the bed. It wasn't as much as you got, but it was a lot and the suspension was well into the overloads. This was in the days of 16" split rims with skinny tires. I could twist the steering wheel back and forth and the sidewalls would take all the flex. In other words, the truck would turn but the tire patches didn't, and we kept going down the road straight for a bit.

I added illustrations for the front sway bars to the existing rear sway bar illustrations, and then added the part number info for both. Then, realizing that it was now a "Sway Bar" page instead of a "Rear Sway Bar" page, I moved the page out of the Suspension & Steering/Rear Suspension section and put it in Suspension & Steering/Sway Bar. (Yes, Chris, I know that changes the URL and that people who have links to the Rear Sway Bar page wouldn't be able to find it, so I created a re-direct from Rear Sway Bar to Sway Bar. The joys of being a webmaster. )

Hmmm... Gary, I wonder how much of this "harsh ride" is due to the recently discussed extra leaves [leafs?] in Big Blue's rear springs? Dunno. But I do know that disconnecting the sway bars made a big difference in the ride. Both Janey and I were amazed at the change. Ken recommended it as it really helped the ride on his F250 as well. However, it would be easy to hook them back up once I soften the springs to see if they still make a big difference. I just removed one end link on each sway bar, so it is easy to put back.

I think you'll like the sway bars. Dad's truck felt really "planted" in spite of the steering being worn a bit more than Rusty's.