Gary Lewis

Ok, this guy explains a bit more, but... He highly recommends the closed-barrel pins. And he says that IWISS 14-18 crimper is all he every uses. BUT, it only does 14 - 18 gauge, or maybe to 20 gauge if you really use 20 gauge. However, it doesn't do 12 gauge, which takes a different crimper. Nor does it do 10 gauge, which takes a different crimper. And now you are into more like $100. And those are very special crimpers. They don't work for other types of terminals. So, why doesn't he recommend the open-barrel pins? If you went with them you could use a standard crimper.

John - The thread in the first link didn't do much for me, but this post by desertspeed33 in the second thread is gold! One of the issues I've had is that there are soooooo many options. But that post cuts through things and helps me understand which brand and model to use for what. Having said that, with the ability to run the circuit through two pins to get to 24 amps on these Chinese connectors, I think I can get most things done with them. And I have the right crimper. But the Delphi Metripack 150 Series that goes to 30 amps sounds good. And my crimper should work on them. On the other hand, I'm confused about the Deutch connectors. That post doesn't get into the types of pins. But that video does, and the open-barrel pins look like they'd be fine in my crimper. But the closed-barrel pins take the mega-dollar crimper. So which terminals do you need?

Yes, it does look pretty good. And it is priced nicely. There are advantages and disadvantages to an F250 w/a 460 and 2wd. Everyone I've talked to that had that combo said you can be stuck on wet grass. On the other hand, it has coil springs and a decent ride. Go with 4wd in the same truck and you won't be stuck as often, but you'd better have a good dental plan.

I used to think that a carb supplied fairly steady AFR. Not so. Big Blue was all over the map when driving. I had it tuned so that at 65 MPH and no wind and level ground it would be around 14.5. But let the wind pick up or a little bit of an incline arise and it would go above 15. A little more hill and I'd see 16+ before the needles lifted and the power tips came into play and it would drop to 13+. And that was driving gently. However, that makes it sound like it was nice and steady with gradual changes. It wasn't. Even the slightest change of throttle sent it up or down quite a bit from ~13 to even 17. That's a big reason I'm looking forward to EFI. I think getting the AFR to be in the mid-14's on a steady basis is going to help the MPG noticeably.

That makes sense. The dash support runs diagonally up to the firewall from just inboard of the speed control mount, and it is causing a bit of a problem with the way I was trying to mount it. But if I turn the ECU up/down and fore/aft then it might slip right up the side of that support. And, that would work better with the wiring as that will put it pretty well lined up with the hole in the firewall. Installing it the way I was trying to meant more turns, but this would make it easier. I hope to check that orientation out tomorrow. Thanks.

Ya, I meant hammering the two steering shaft sections apart. They get seized together something awful. There's a flat metal spring in there that breaks, and causes the shaft sections to become sloppy. I've tried making new pieces for the spring material, but never did have great luck with them. On my '84, I ended up welding a couple nuts on the steering shaft tube and then used a couple set screws to keep them tight. It worked like a charm. I've taken several of those steering shafts apart, and I found two of them with that spring metal in about 3-4 pieces inside, completely busted up. Thanks, Cory. Mine sure isn't busted up. That spring is keeping things very tight. Initially it didn't even want to slide but I lubed it and got it to slide, hoping that I could slide it fast enough for it to come apart. No dice. So, does that spring lock it in? Or is it maybe possible to use an impact hammer to jerk it apart? I learned on the D44 for Dad's truck to put it on a tire dolly, chain one side to the lift, and roll it rapidly across the floor. When the slack came out it came apart.

Bill - Thanks, but I'm so close to having this thing mounted that I'm not, yet, ready to give up on this approach. However, while I tried to put the computer in vertically with the plug down, I only did it with it sideways. Maybe it'll go in fore/aft? Anyway, I'll keep trying before looking for a factory bracket. (Maybe I'll start looking for one for Dad's truck.) But I'm looking through the MPC for an illustration showing how they mounted it, and haven't yet found one.

The only "trick" is to raise the bed. And that's not always easy to do as the nuts are usually seized on the bolts, causing the bolts to turn in the bed. And then things get "fun". I don't remember what truck you have (hint: put info in a signature) but the basic ones have two lines - the fuel hose and the vent hose which goes to the charcoal canister under the battery. But some have a return line as well. If you can get the tank low enough to reach in there you can pull the hoses. However, you may find that the hoses are sticky, gooey messes. They were designed for the ethanol we have in the gas now, and it really messes them up.

It is a tough job, but I'm happy to take it on. And I declare that today is the Saturday before Sunday! Seriously though, I'm glad you found a camper so you won't have to rebuild Bullwinkle. But you could put a post in that thread to tell everyone what you are doing. That will kind of close off that thread, although there's no need to delete it. And I think the extra time achieved by buying the camper will be well spent on things like the brakes and the winch.

I thought so, but wasn’t sure. Thanks, Dane.

Well, the best-laid plans and all that. I did cut the plate out, drilled it to take the screws to the case, and also drilled it to take the speed control's mount. And I "made" a couple of 4mm x .70 studs by running a tap down some #10 screws to get it cobbled together as shown below. But when I got it all together it wouldn't fit up into the dash. Close, but no cigar. So I need to spend more time with it to figure out why it went in before and won't now. But Ill get it figured out.

Knowing John is galavanting for the evening I'll ask - hammer what out? That thing in my pic? Which way do you hammer it?

Are you sure that truck hasn't been in Florida? I really looks like had his way with it. But you'll get it sorted. And the brakes will work great for a long time - including the parking brake. As for my weekend, I have six Saturdays and one Sunday. The hard part is knowing which Saturday is the one before Sunday, and I think that's today.

That's great! And it is a good price.

Have a safe trip.

Mine has what looks to be a tab that retains it. But I've not been able to get it apart even trying to depress the tab.

This shield? It came off like this. Yours if you'll come and get it.

As said, I'm now working to mount the ECU under the dash, and I think I found a way to do it. But I tagged Bill 'cause he has some experience in this stuff. And, I thought he might like seeing his harness in the pic. Thoughts, y'all????? In this first pic you can see the speed control bracket taped to the ECU - and Bill's harness. But, with a bit more looking I think I'll spin the ECU 180 and point the connector right as there's more space under the dash in that direction. My plan is to cut a piece of rigid aluminum I have to the same size as the ECU and bolt it to the ECU using the corner screws. You can see the upper right screw is out and I've found that it is a 4mm-.70 by 30mm. But I think I want to put studs in, run a nut down on them to space out due to the recess you can see, then put the plate on and another nut. So these studs need to be at least 40mm long. And here you can see that the ECU can't really be seen tucked up there. But in this shot you can see why I'm thinking I'll spin the ECU to put the connector to the right. There's a lot of "stuff" under there, some of which moves.

Yep, you peel and cry, peel and cry, etc. But some day you'll have enough to have a Bloomin' Onion!

LOL!!! I know the feeling. But yes, you need the steering shaft. However you could put the PMGR starter on and run one #10 wire and be in business. As for "Gary" time, that'll happen - after we both get some other stuff done.

Quit typing and start wrenching! Enquiring minds want to know!

Our guidelines say that, among other things, we are "Constructive: No talking down nor "yelling" at others.". And we've banned people for not following them.

Good thinking! That's the best problem-solving approach: Divide and conquer.

Good luck!!! Hope everything goes really well. And glad you caught the things you did. Lack of RTV in those places would surely have caused a leak.

Chad - Which kit did you get? Do you have a link? And do you have to use a different crimper? What's the current rating for the pins?