Gary Lewis

That should make for a very nice rear axle. I really like the TrueTrac in Big Blue.

Johnny - Wow! Well done! However, it isn't as likely to get found in the New Members Start Here folder as in the main section. So would it be ok for me to move it there? Second, we could make it even easier to find if I were to put it on the web page in Documentation/Interior/Door Locks. I'd create a tab for it and copy it lock, stock, and barrel. And, move it to the main section as well. Ok?

Looks like you did the job well, and safely. And you were wise to get the engine leveled as that could cause fitment problems with the headers. Looking forward to the report on the headers and the full exhaust system.

Welcome, Ryan! Glad you joined. Nice looking truck. I'll bet it can haul the Subie's.

Ryan - No problem. Just wanted to make sure that you've seen the guidelines. And you are now on the map.

That might have been the point, but I don't think it was one of Ford's Better Ideas. Else why did they get away from it so quickly. And the 85/86 versions are pain to fill with their little rubber stoppers and itty bitty hole. Another reason why I like the '87 and later versions. Coolant is about 1/2 out of the radiator, with not too much mess, and then I'll swap to the much better petcock with a hose fitting and pull the coolant reservoir out and see if the later one can be made to fit. Well, I got the coolant drained and the petcock replaced. That let me check the fit of the later reservoir. In the pic below it needs to go 1" farther inboard for the hinge to miss it, but to do that it needs to go 1/2" farther forward. And there's just enough room to make that happen by moving the PDB closer to the battery. So I pulled the trigger on a new Dorman reservoir and the flowable RTV. Hopefully the Dorman is sealed at least as well as the Ford unit is and I can finish it off with the RTV.

Sam - That's a cool camera setup. That would be fun to have. But I'm not looking for anything as fancy. I'm thinking that a rear view mirror that has a video screen on the full width would be adequate. And a front an rear camera. I think I'll call Crutchfield and see what they have. As for the cooling system, the coolant is drained and the !@#$%^&* Champion petcock has been replaced. But not without a bit of a mess and wasted coolant. Here's a shot of how I drained it, and you can see the small stream coming down from the petcock into the funnel. But you might have missed the drip from the radiator support, so I circled it in red. And about the time I put the camera down that drip became a steady stream. But once I got things drained I was able to check out the space available for the later reservoir, and it will JUST fit. In the shot below the reservoir needs to go 1" farther inboard to be missed by the hinge, but to do that it needs to come 1/2" farther forward to miss the receiver/drier. Fortunately there's just that much room available, so I can make it fit. And given that, the Dorman one is on order from Amazon and is to be in Tuesday. We are running errands tomorrow so I'll move the PDB on Tuesday and start laying out the bracket that will be needed for the new reservoir.

That might have been the point, but I don't think it was one of Ford's Better Ideas. Else why did they get away from it so quickly. And the 85/86 versions are pain to fill with their little rubber stoppers and itty bitty hole. Another reason why I like the '87 and later versions. Coolant is about 1/2 out of the radiator, with not too much mess, and then I'll swap to the much better petcock with a hose fitting and pull the coolant reservoir out and see if the later one can be made to fit.

Jim - I said "glue" because there's some stuff that came out of the joint. But I don't know that it is glue. I'll check in a bit to see what texture it has. And you are right about the grit. Hadn't thought about it between the two tanks, but that makes sense. My worry was in not getting it all out of either tank and causing problems. So here's the plan, Stan. I'm going to drain the radiator in a bit and swap petcocks. And I'm going to pull the reservoir and prove to myself I can get the old one in between the PDB and the receiver/drier. If that works out I'll order the Dorman replacement awa the flowable RTV and re-make the bracket to fit.

Ahhh! I got it. And welcome to the forum! I assume you know the guidelines, but it would still help if you were to introduce yourself in the New Members Start Here folder.

True, they may not increase the traffic. But they should make it easier for someone on the street to find us. As they point their camera at the sticker to take a pic they'll get the popup to be taken here. Anyway, one of the sites I found which had guidelines for logos said "In the quest to get noticed by customers, strive to be different!" And the QR codes for tires and the word "Forum" morphing into a differential seem to fit that.

A Bassani exhaust should sound really sweet! And I agree, the engine compartments are the same size up through the years, so unless there is a difference in the inner fender, the fender liner, they should fit.

That fall apart in your hands thats what happened to the one I installed in my truck. Went to top it off and it came out about half way up, right where the level was!Are any of them sealed between the 2 sides?Maybe take your scope to the junk yard and give a look see on the newer ones and go from there, get new or used if you have to mod to seal.Dave ----ps, easy fix is dont go so crazy off road Shaun - I have the one off of Dad's truck and when I picked it up yesterday I put my finger through it. The plastic is that bad. And I noticed that he had tried to seal it at the top as he'd run in some rubbery stuff, but it didn't stick to the plastic. Rusty - Good to know that the Bullnose ones are being reproduced. But the pictures of both of those are the early versions (1980 - 84) that just have the hose laying in the reservoir via a hole in the top. I don't like that version because it is too easy for the hose to be moved and you won't pull coolant from the bottom as the system cools. And, because it'll splash out at that hole, defeating the whole purpose of sealing. Besides, those are $75 + shipping and Parts Geek has the later one for $33 + shipping. And Amazon has the later one as NOS for $63 and a Dorman one for $35.80, both with free shipping. Dave - Crazy? Me? Mike said he could tell who was driving as Rick drove a lot faster than I did. My retort was "Yes! It is my truck!" But seriously, even aired down and going slow it was rough. As far as being sealed between the two sides, not up through 1990 which is the one I have from Huck and is probably the same up through '97 as the part number suggests. It appears to be sealed everywhere but there. I don't understand why that is since the caps don't really seal so there's plenty of a "controlled leak" there to let the reservoirs vent. I'm thinking of two slightly different approaches and want everyone's input: Clean Huck's reservoir up as best I can, probably by placing blasting media in and shaking it for all I'm worth to clean it. Then run the Permatex flowable silicon in to seal between the sides. That is the only place it appeared to be leaking, but it leaked so badly that it was hard to tell if that was the only spot. Order in the Dorman one for $36 and that way I should have better plastic. And I won't spend time trying to clean up the badly weathered and stained one from Huck. Then run the Permatex in to seal between the two sides. But, I'm a bit worried that the Dorman one won't be sealed like the one from Huck is. And that release agents will keep the Permatex from adhering to the new plastic. Maybe clean it with alcohol? Thoughts?

Chris - Two things. First, I have a Champion in Big Blue and I can measure the thread pitch after church today. Second, I assume you are reading the bit about the E2TZ 7D273-A connector that says "1/2-20 female x 1/4 NPTF male, for 5/16 dia. tube". That would say to me that the threads on the tube are 1/2-20 and the fittings into the radiator are 1/4 NPT. Right? If so, then can't you use one of those connectors? Didn't your original setup use that connector?

Looking great, Chad! I'm impressed. You are really getting it together.

Looks great, Ron! Congrat's!

Thanks Gary. Mine is an auto, so this was never an option, unfortunately. This truck is a family heirloom, so just as the good Lord would have it, right when my brother stopped by this afternoon, I bumped the starter again and the old 351 turned over for the first time! We are at 4 weeks exactly of ATF soaking, in conjunction with breaker bar force applied to the crank bolt every 2-3 days. The photo I've attached shows the crud that blew out of the rear driver's side cylinder, which is the one I had identified as the worst off. Spent a few hours this afternoon changing the oil (drained about 1 cup of rain water from the pan), replacing plugs, and buttoning everything up. Was able to get the truck running on carb cleaner, but the carburetor butterfly valve is rusted shut. Next step will be to get a rebuilt carb, check fuel pump, and check compression. Then it's back to the ranch we go! Congratulations!!! Glad you not only got it to turn over, but got it started! I think you are on the final lap and will get it going well soon. Keep us posted.

I hope you get it to break loose with that plan. But another member rolled the truck and popped the clutch to break it loose. I'm not recommending that, but it might be a last resort/hail Mary move.

Interesting! I'll be following along, but I might get confused about Spartacus vs Partacus, so you may have to correct me from time to time.

Looking forward to going with EFI on Big Blue, so am gathering part numbers here. In this post I'd just talked to Scotty and he said an OEM throttle body "is fine unless you want it to really rock above 3,500 - 4,000 rpm". I'm happy with the OEM, so am looking for options: Rock Auto: AUTOLINE 148071 Reman for $82.79. Pitt Auto Electric Company F4TZ 9E926-L for $224.58. BBK Performance Parts Power Plus Throttle Body 1987-2003 Ford F-250/F-350/RV 7.5L 460 is $399.99 at Summit. But note that it isn't for the later engines. Wonder what the differences are? As for injectors, Scotty recommended 26# Accel from Summit Racing, and they are $360.95. Idle Air Control: STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS AC55 is $31.79 from Rock Auto. MOTORCRAFT CX1665 is $57.79 from Rock Auto. Throttle Position Sensor: STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS TH157T for $19.04 from Rock Auto. WALKER PRODUCTS 2001062 is $22.79 at Rock Auto. What else am I going to need? What other/better options are there?

Those are actual QR codes. Either one of those brings you right to the forum.

Not bad at all! As for the engine, I'd prefer the 5.8L but the EFI'd 5.0L was pretty strong. And I think that one would be MAF SEFI so would respond well to mods.

Nice truck! Lots of upgrades.

Expensive, but if that's what someone needs it is the right thing.

I was reminded last week while 'wheeling in Colorado that the Bullnose coolant and washer reservoirs aren't sealed at the top. The proof was tracks in the ever-present dust on the fender liner where we splashed the liquid out. And here's sorta proof of that as you can see that from the factory there was just a little bit of glue used in about 3 places - both ends and the middle - where the vertical sides hit the top: I could try to run something like Permatex 81730 Flowable Silicone Windshield and Glass Sealer all the way around and it would probably seal it. But I'm thinking I'd be better off to start with a later model reservoir like this one from Huck, the 1990 half-truck. The advantage of these reservoirs is that the top of the sides is flanged and glued fairly well all of the way around, as shown below: However, that appears not to be the case for the middle, right between the coolant and washer reservoirs, as this one leaks like a sieve there. So. I'm thinking I'd run that full of flowable silicone to seal it, and maybe put a bead around the underside of the lip the whole way 'round for good measure. Thoughts?