Gary Lewis

Yes, I think I have. And I think you have - recently. Our page at Documentation/Exterior/Exterior Trim & Moulding says that E0TZ 16003-D is the trim for 1980 - 85's on the right front fender. And here's a view of Big Blue's. Isn't that it?

E0TZ would be for the full-sized trucks.

Chris - Thanks. But we've pretty well set our sights on the Ouray area, and with one exception those 7 trails are elsewhere. And the one exception, Lizard Head Pass, appears to be a horse and hiking trail. At least that's what I found when I clicked on the link. However, there is good info in the various links that are on that page or pages you get to by following various links. For instance, Stay The Trail has links to lots of maps, including the Motorized Vehicle Use Map that was mentioned in the videos. And Trail Tips & Etiquette and OHV's On Streets & Roads. So it was a useful link anyway.

Yes, I'm running an RCCI voltmeter converted from an ammeter on Big Blue. But I didn't wire it the way the instructions say. Instead, I wired it as shown below. The wiring already runs from near the starter relay to the ammeter. And I wanted battery voltage not in-cab voltage since the latter changes with whatever you have turned on in the cab. So I wanted to continue to use the Red/Orange wire that sends battery voltage to the ammeter. But, you want to only turn the voltmeter on when the key is on, otherwise it is on all the time and pulling power from the battery when the truck is parked. So I put a relay in the ground side of the wiring, the Yellow/Light Green wire, and pulled it in using key-on power.

It is possible that the vacuum going off and back on freed something up. But did you do any work under the hood that might have moved a vacuum hose? I'm wondering if you have a cracked hose that got moved and sealed up enough to put vacuum on the system. That's because Defrost is the default position w/o vacuum.

I don't think the 1980 wiring was different for the wipers, but will check in a bit. (After I have a couple of cups of Joe, with breakfast in between.) But I can't think of a common problem that would stop the wipers from working at all - other than the ground.

Thanks, Scott. But since there are bunches of videos on there I'm going to embed the two I've now watched on here so's I can get back to them. (And for the rest of y'all, this is the guy that taught Scott and I at the Big Iron Overland Rally a couple of weeks ago.)

Hmmmm! I think not!!! You are probably right. Maybe this fall when I'm seriously into the electrical system for the EFI I'll figure it out.

Yes, I've used bolts on many 351M's and 351W's. No problem.

Good question! I'll ask.

Thank y'all! This is fitting as Big Blue is finally coming together. In fact, he's going on his first big trip next week. Thanks again!

Yes, it was a good place to start. And I'm not sure I'd have thought of it, so thanks again. But I said "I guess for now I'm not going to worry about it." That means I might worry about it later. But right now I want to get a number of little things done for the GOAT trip. And then it'll be time to install the compressor and tank. Then the bed lighting and outlets. Then it'll be time for the Colorado trip. Then the show. And another trip we are planning. And then EFI. So, maybe I'll never worry about it?

Pulled the alternator lead off the Megafuse and the dark current stayed at 130 ma, so it isn't the alternator. And while that's about 100 ma higher than I expected, I guess for now I'm not going to worry about it. So I moved on to the storage unit. I pulled everything out and put the self-adhesive Noico foam insulation on the backs, fronts, and bottoms of each compartment. Hopefully that will quieten things down a bit 'cause we had quite a few things making noise on the last trip. Speaking of that, my nephew said there are isolators for the SuperDuty springs to keep them from slapping together. Anyone know of them?

Yes, it is a good way to spend a birthday! Been wanting to do it for some time, and getting the A/C working was a key. So now I'm trying to remember what we were taught about Gaia. Got it working on both the iPhone and this tablet, so am playing with it on the tablet. I guess I just press Record when we get on the trail.

Our member Johnathan/StraightSix sent me a writeup on how to install a Detroit/Eaton Truetrac in one of the Bullnose 8.8" rear axles. That's significant as Eaton doesn't produce the Truetrac for the 83-86 3/4" cross pin version of the axle, only the '87+ version of the axle with a 7/8" cross pin. But Johnathan figured out how to do it! It is at Documentation/Driveline/Axles & Differentials. Then go to the Rear Axles & Differentials tab, then the Instructions tab, then the Ford 8.8" tab. And there you'll see both the factory shop manual instructions for the 8.8", which I just added, as well as his writeup. Thanks, Johnathan!

Well, I found a good resource - the Alpine Loop OHV Brochure, embedded below. It shows where things like the RZR cannot go, and it is pretty obvious that they don't want them on Ophir, Black Bear, or Imogene pass roads as there are no-go stretches at the ends of them. But they can go on the Alpine Loop and all of the stuff around Animas Forks. And there are designated OHV staging areas where the trailer could be dropped. So we could do one or two days of the stuff off toward Telluride with Big Blue, and then a couple of days on the east side of 550 with both Big Blue and the RZR.

That is excellent progress! The truck has really come together, and the bed floor and the tire rack make it.

Pretty clean. Should go for good money.

Not bad for $500.

That's nothing. I started my current job in 1987. About half the engineers I work with weren't born THEN! I don't know how inflammatory it is to say "Long before you were born", but I'd like to. They put tags on roads I drove in my '58 Impala, my '69 Bee, then my '72 F250, and rode on my XL350 and call them an "adventure trail". Sonny, I was married on that road. My inlaws are buried there. I've pulled a '50 Chevy 3-window pickup, a '60 Chevy pickup, and a '65 Malibu 396 out of fields beside that road with the same truck I'm going to do the whole thing in. In fact, last weekend we traversed probably 20 miles of it in my 2015 F150 to decorate graves and to buy strawberries. Sure was comfortable. Switched it into 4Auto a couple of times just 'cause, but otherwise it was easy. Anyway, they say there are harder parts, so we shall see.

Yes, that relay was probably for those fog lights. And yes, there are lots of questions about the electrical systems, including relays. These trucks have lots of options for each year as well as changes from year to year. And, over the almost four decades people have done lots of things to them. So they are sometimes difficult to figure out.

That's only .024A and is pretty much what I expected. So I think I'm going to have to pull all the fuses and measure the dark current. Then I can add things back and see what happens. Thoughts? Curious as to how this plays out. Got my new alternator in and installed today. It is charging at 14.6 volts. My converted voltmeter is reading high again, which I'm convinced is calibration. I attempted to check for parasitic draw but my meter appears to have taken a dump. Voltage and resistance works, but no amperage. Curious, why did you pull the positive cable to check this and not the negative? I pulled the neg. Does it matter? Technically it doesn't matter which you pull. But in my case I have several grounds on the negative terminal but only one on the positive post, so it is easier to pull the positive rather than the negative. On your converted voltmeter, I'm thinking that the best we can do is to note what they show at given voltages and go with that. In my case 12.8 is dead center and the high mark is 14.0. So that probably means the low mark is 11.6 if the thing is linear. What is your gauge showing at 14.6? Mine would show essentially pegged. (I say "would" 'cause apparently my regulator is holding the alternator's output at 13.9v. That's what my DVM said when I tested it earlier, that's what my aftermarket voltmeter says the aux battery is running at, and that's what my Sony radio says it is seeing.) On your DVM, mine has a fuse for the current portion of it in the battery compartment. I thought today that mine was blown 'cause I couldn't get the thing to work, but then I realized it was me. I'd not moved the leads to the appropriate taps to show current. Once I did that it worked perfectly.

Bummer! Sometimes things go south in a hurry, and it looks like you've had your share. Here's hoping you get it figured out soon.

That's a good point! And I understand the concern there, brother.

It is possible it is for a fog light. I don't see the wire color shown in the master parts catalog. But it could be Br/Y.