Gary Lewis

You got the pic posting figured out. I like the engine. Nice and clean!

You are now on the map, Randy. And I know roughly where you are. One set of our kids used to live in Nashville and the other in Delaware so we'd leave Nashville early in the morning, stop at the Starbucks in Cookeville, and motor on.

Ok, I'll say it - PROGRESS IS GOOD, Jim!

Thanks. But technically I did quite a bit of parts swapping as well as machining. I swapped the upper steering shaft to a spare I had, but put the original upper bearing on that shaft, although I had to shim it as the shaft was worn. Then I used the "sleeve" from the spare bearing, which is the rubber "tire" that pads the bearing, as it was bigger and fit tightly into the recess in the column. And I used the spare snap ring as the original one was stretched. But the system is now "tight". There is absolutely no slop, noise, nor roughness in the steering.

Thanks, Jeff. It was a really good feeling - or lack of sound maybe I should say.

Welcome! Glad you joined. So, what part of North Carolina? We have a map (you can see it at Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we can add you with a city or zip. But, what's a street stalker? I could make an assumption but I'd better not do that.

Jim - It looks like your prep is going well. Here's hoping you can get the thing together soon. As for what I did to my truck today, I got the steering back together and took it for a spin. Success! The noise described in this thread is gone: Big Blue's Chuckling Noise In Steering Column. And, this was the first outing since tightening the lines going into the steering box, and it appears that fixed the leak. It wasn't a long trip so I'm not placing it in the DONE column, but it is looking good.

SUCCESS!!!!! Man, it is amazing how much difference that made! There is NO noise in the steering now, and there always has been, although I didn't realize it was in the steering. And the steering seems much smoother. I'm a happy camper!

What part of Tenn? We could put you on the map. As for the pics, they'll autorotate if you don't use the resizing buttons. But the max file size is 1Mb, so if your pics are bigger than that use the Big resizing button.

Maybe you should look at it?

No, the 1985 Explorer Package D didn't have the Explorer emblem on it. Here's a partial scan of an 85 Explorer brochure I have. Although my scanner isn't big enough to get the whole thing you should be able to see what it came with. It doesn't list the Explorer badge and the truck in the pic doesn't have one. Other packages did.

Yes, PROGRESS! Got the snap ring in and the upper shaft into the lower shaft and finally got them into the right position. But I need to document that process. They are held in position by two spring "bumps" on the upper shaft that hold them tightly. The FSM says to tap one shaft while holding the other to prevent it moving. But when you already have the lower shaft in the column and the column in the truck that's not easy. As it turns out the Borgeson shaft will only compress so far and it stopped the lower shaft from coming more than a few inches out of the column. So I'd tap the upper shaft into place, lever the lower shaft back into the column, tap the upper one down, rinse & repeat. Eventually I got them into the right position where the upper bearing is seated in the recess and the Borgeson up against the red plastic spacer that protects the lower bearing. Then the turn signal switch in and the steering wheel on. Done! So we are taking Big Blue out for a spin in a few minutes and I'll let y'all know how well the steering does and how many noises it makes.

Randy - Welcome! Glad you found us, and joined. How about going to New Members Start Here, read the guidelines, and then click New Topic and start your introduction. We would like to get to know you 'cause we are a community.

Bill - Like minds! I have .008" shim stock wrapped around it and have pressed the bearing on using a tube against the inner race. Nice tight fit, so there's no way the bearing is going to turn on the shaft. And I've lubed the bearing with Mobil 1 synthetic grease. Now if the snap ring, the spare one as the one from BB is a bit spread, will go on I'll start installing it.

Well, the plot thickens. Got to looking at the spare shaft that was on the bench and then the one in Big Blue and I could see differences in the snap ring groove. So I pulled the shaft out of BB and here they are, with the one from BB on the bottom. Looks like the part was bad from the factory and the stepped groove allowed the snap ring to come out. So the one on the top is going back in. However notice the "knurling", which is what the shop manual calls the grooves between the two snap rings. The one on top measures .735 and Big Blue's measures .740, while the ID of the bearing is .750. So I'm looking for a way to shim that when I put the bearing in. http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/thinking-26_orig.jpg

Welcome, Earl! Glad you joined. Man, that looks like a lot of WORK! (Cue Maynard G. Krebs.) Hope you'll start a thread in the main section or in Projects so we can follow that. Where's home? We have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and can add you with a city/state or zip.

And on the serious side, I do bring waterless hand cleaner and a roll of shop towels. And back to other people's suggestions, I have seen valve stems torn or ripped out in some YouTube videos, so spare valve stems are sometimes recommended. I've heard that there are valve stems that can be installed from the outside. Not sure how that works, but if they are a thing (and a good thing) it would sure beat having to break a bead to replace a valve stem and then reseat it. (I'm not surprised Hell's Revenge is his favorite trail. It's a good 'un!) Bob - I'd never even heard of replacing a valve stem w/o busting the bead, but now that I've done a bit of research there are dozens of videos on how to do that. However, the best ones appear to be associated with this kit from Amazon: AME INTL 51025 Quick Tire Valve Change Tool. That looks slick, and it is now on the list, albeit with a question mark. But at $45 it would be a huge benefit on the trail, so I suspect there will be one in my tool box. And I have hand cleaner and two rolls of paper towels.

I don't think so, but let's tag him. If it isn't he should know. So let's tag him.

Glad it helped. But a part with an E0TZ prefix was first installed in 1980. F0 would be 1990.

Please don't take the list of things I don't bring as a request that you bring them! If I haven't found the need over the 37 years I've been 'wheeling to carry something, it probably won't be needed on this trip! I'm trying to help you think this through (because I know you like doing that!). But my overall advice here is similar to what I said about modifications you should make before the trip. Get what you want to get, and don't worry about what others say. With some basic hand tools and spare fluids we'll survive anything that comes up. Not saying you can't bring the kitchen sink if you want to (it might be nice for washing hands after getting them dirty on some repair!). But "if you want to." I'm taking the things people say as a suggestion and then evaluating them on my own. So keep suggesting and I'll keep evaluating. For instance, Jeff's idea of a step stool was a good one as BB's engine compartment is hard to reach from the ground. And I don't like standing on the bumper as it is old and the chrome is thin. Besides, the fog lights are there so there's not a lot of room to put your feet. And if you have to reach to the back you have to be on your knees on the radiator support, and my knees do NOT like that. So the step stool is on the list with a question mark to see how much room we have as the packing begins. As for the tire repair kit, my nephews had both recommended that a few years ago but I've not done it. However, since they've been to Moab several times I should think about that. (Btw, Hell's Revenge is the favorite trail for one of them.)

Good luck, Jim!

No joke, I was wondering about it after reading at your list! I had similar tools and stuff for Big Brother’s Big Tour (although no air tools), and even that I had to buy a nice compact steering puller, when a little plastic tab of my turn signal switch broke, dropped in and blocked the entire flasher movement. We always carry all the tools but the one we need. One thing I was happy to have was a small foldable plastic stepladder, to easily access the engine compartment. But maybe Big Blue’s front bumper is enough wide for this purpose. That's an idea, Jeff. I do have one of these that I use all the time to access Big Blue's engine. In fact, it is ratchet-strapped to the LF tire at the moment 'cause it kept walking away as I worked. But since it folds up nicely I could take it if there's room. It is now on the list. Thanks!

I certainly do use the wheel as a handle to get in. But that would put stress on the snap ring to the rear that sits in a nice slot, not the shallow groove the front one sits in. Stressing that one would take pushing down on the wheel, which may have happened when offroading? Anyway, we will see in a couple of hours. Gotta catch up with what's going on here, drink some coffee, and chill a bit first.

Bob - I've started a document and embedded it in my first post. But it is very preliminary, so don't worry that it looks like I'm including the kitchen sink. The tools list I got some time ago from an outfit that arranges remote adventures and I put the whole list in. But I'll go through the list and see what I have vs what they recommend and modify the list as I think appropriate. (But I already have a lot of that. ) And yes, I have a spare. But I don't have a tire repair kit so will get one. And I'll throw in some valve stem caps. I do have a driveaway lock for the OX locker. But I hadn't planned to bring u-joints as I don't have all the tools with which to change them out.