Gary Lewis

Big Blue's 1995 D60 front end has all new components: ball joints; tie rods & ends; drag link; wheel bearings; etc. And the steering box is a recently reman'd unit. There seems to be no slack in the system, but the steering isn't as precise as I think it should be. I don't really know how to describe it, but it has a bit of a mind of its own. For instance, on some bumps it seems to steer itself. And there are times when it over steers. When you are on a wide road it isn't much of an issue, but when you are on a narrow road with a guard rail right on the edge you need to stay on top of it. I've played with tire pressures to see if that would make much difference and it doesn't. I've been running at 35 psi but tried 30 last week and 40 today, with little change. So I've been doing some reading and this Tire Rack article speaks to a couple of those issues. For instance, on negative camber it says: On caster it says: And on toe-in it says: Now the question becomes where is it and should it change. Here are the two pics I took of the computer's readout, and the reason I'm showing two is that it looks to me like the wrong vehicle was chosen the second time around. The screen on the left, the first round, shows F350 1989-97. The screen on the right shows F350 1997-99. And the recommended ranges are different. The correct mid-point settings from the first round and my current settings look to be: Camber: 0 for recommended and BB is at .03 & -.1 Caster: 3.2 recommended and BB is at 3.2 & 3.4 Toe-in: .03 recommended and BB is at 0 and 0 Can those fairly small differences make it do what I'm seeing?

Interesting idea, Dane. I have some of them in the shop, like in front of the lathe and the blast cabinet where I stand quite a bit. Wouldn't have thought of that. Thanks!

Those are my favorite wheels as well. They look great!

David - You found a bunch of really nice ones at reasonable prices. For anyone interested, the carpeted map pockets frequently clean up nicely with carpet cleaner. And if someone is interested in the plastic ones, I recommend gluing a piece of metal in the top of the opening to keep them from breaking.

I wish I could answer that question definitively. But my MPC stops at 1989 so I can't compare part numbers with Bullnose trucks. Sorry! Wish I could.

You're absolutely right - if angled down and not blinding anyone then not an issue. I am mixing my light types. Plus I wouldn't want the switch to be on the 'High On', you meet someone, dim your headlights and now on low beams you don't have fog. Vice versa. I like Bob's plan for the double throw implementation. Thanks guys, good thoughts. But I'm with Scott - I like Bob's plan for using the double-throw switch. And, speaking of Scott, I got a CARE package from him today - a Bricknose horn pad with speed control switches; a power windows tap for the fuse box; and a Ford power stud. Thanks, Scott!! And the horn pad reminds me, the Bricknose steering wheel does make reading those gauges much easier, and I like it. Janey isn't sold on the look, but says if I like the ability to see the gauges better, she's happy. And apparently part of the problem was the vast expanse of BLACK on the horn pad, so she thinks the speed control switches help quite a bit by breaking up the black. Also, we did 240 miles today in our trip. Mostly back roads, some of which were such rough gravel that I had to shift into low range to give me a wide range of gear ratios. But part of that problem was that I'd put 40 psi in the tires for the trip as opposed to the 30 psi I had in them last week. Seriously hurt the ride on gravel/rock roads, but helped the steering somewhat on major highways. (The steering isn't quite what I'd hoped and I'm exploring tire pressures to see that will help.) Anyway, we ran the rear tank completely out so now I can calibrate the Meter Match to give the correct reading for empty. And we ran the front tank down to showing 1/8 and filled it up, taking ~12 gallons in a 16 gallon tank, but that showed that we got 11 MPG, so things are getting a bit better. Bottom Line: We had a great day and the truck did quite well. In fact, the worst problem we had was things shifted in the tool box and started rattling. Guess I'll have to use the marine carpet I have to line it. Or, bed-line it?

Another thought. I ordered a SPDT center off switch for the fog lights. I'd said that I may want them on in camp, but now that I'm going incandescent I doubt I'll want to do that very often, and when I do I could just pull the headlights on as well. So, why not use the down "on" position to tie the fog lights to the low beams and the up "on" position to tie them to the highs? That way if I'm in fog and using low beams I can have them on, and if I'm on a dark road by myself I can put the highs on and have them as well. Thoughts?

I ordered them. My logic was that since no one else has them it is likely that Amazon will soon run out as well. And having done a lot of searching, very few companies make ones quite like them. So, since they seem to fit the motif .... Supposed to be here tomorrow. Not that they'll get installed soon as there are other things to do that are higher on the pecking order, but at least they'll be here when the time comes. Thanks for the help, folks! It really was beneficial kicking things around with y'all.

Jegs, 4WP, and Desert Rat say "kit" and give the 005860601 part number, which is the kit # from the Hella catalog. Amazon says "450 KIT FOG CLR H3 12V SA" and gives FBA_1NB 005 860-601 as the part number. Plus they include the pic below. So I'm confident that from Amazon either I'd get the kit or could easily return it. And, if I order in the next 3 hours and 33 minutes I'll have it tomorrow - when everyone else is out of stock.

Now THAT makes sense! I was jumpering the switch w/o unplugging it. In fact, I have a jumper wire with a pushbutton switch laying on the bench to do just that. But pulling the connector and jumpering that way would be better. Ok, I'll go back to drinking my coffee. Haven't finished the first cup, and that's my excuse.

I don't understand. You jump out the switch by unplugging it and sticking a paperclip in there. ****Start the truck. Then the switch contacts are exposed. Just put the meter on and it shouldn't be 'open' I thought you said to test it with the engine running. I think it must be bad, so the engine won't run very long w/o the jumper. As soon as the jumper is pulled the pump quits and the carb runs dry. Yes, you could pull the switch, but he's so close to finding out. Jumper it and see if the engine runs. Pull the jumper and if it dies the switch is bad.

Won't you have to be pretty fast to measure the switch's resistance/continuity with the engine running if it is bad? I'd think pulling the jumper would tell the tale. If the engine dies the switch is bad.

You guys are doing well, but I will say I agree that your jumper wasn't applied correctly. As you said, it should be on the oil pressure/safety switch. Having included the instrument cluster voltage regulator is probably what caused the relay to come in and drop out as the ICVR's contacts opened and closed. I think if you jumper that switch it'll run. And you could even drive it briefly that way, realizing that in an accident the pump will keep adding fuel to any fire. But it would let you check the system out.

That's the bearing for the outer end of the Z-bar for 1980-83 mechanical clutch linkages, as shown below.

I hadn't thought about the compliance #'s. Good idea. You asked earlier what other info I'm looking for. Basically I'd like to see these kind of parameters that let you easily compare one brand's product to another: RIGID KC KC SPECIFICATION GRAVITY RALLY DAYLIGHTER Raw Lumens: 866 1,350 2,452 Lux @ 10 Meters: 150 392 1,962 (Spread pattern) Candela: 15,000 39,240 196,200 (Spread pattern) Beam Distance (Meters): 245 396 886 (Spread pattern) Someone, probably the lighting industry, decided to use the lux at 10 meters to be a standard measurement, and they must have come up with a lux rating to test for on the "beam distance". So there are defined standards but Hella doesn't seem to be bothered with them. I like the Hellas, but will also look at others. Maybe they report to the standards?

Thanks, Jonathan. I had t tried it on my iPhone X and it doesn’t work on it either. Obviously a poor idea. 😩

Shaun - Thanks, but at this point I've pretty well decided to go with halogen lights for the look. And I like the Hellas, although I'm exploring other options. Jim - It is hard to believe that there is such a discrepancy in price and availability! Here's what I'm finding for Hella 450 Halogen Fog Light Kit - 005860601: Jegs: $59.50 but it'll ship on on 02/19/21 4WP: $61.48 but "out of stock" Amazon: $69.49 In stock and free delivery in 48 hours Desert Rat: $183.97 Boy, you talk about aptly named! Maybe Highway Robber would be closer? But, they qualify for free shipping! And I did find the Hella 2020/2021 catalog, which has this little bit of info in it. Not much compared to what I've seen for other brands.

Go for it, Dane!

You keep peeling that onion, but I'll bet you really cry when you have to remove the same ring several times. Seriously though, you probably know how to replace that master pretty easily by now.

Well done! Load it up and let us see what it holds. (I'll have to show what I've gotten in mine - once I get it full.)

I like it! Well done!

LOL! Yes Jim, those look to be the ones. And a search for them says Jegs has them for $59.50 when everyone else wants up to $125 for them. But looking at the Jegs site I discovered this statement: "Ships directly from the manufacturer on 02/19/21". Bob - I've had good luck with Hellas in the past. Used to put them on my motorcycles routinely. But I will look at others. (I say that and Janey just authorized ordering them from Jegs. However, I'm not ready and I already have my Christmas present.)

Check out Documentation/Exterior/Beds, Tailgates, & Components. Tailgate tab then the Pictures tab. Thanks!

Yep, I own a Step Side, if a '50 Chevy is one of those. But I'd like a Bullnose Flareside.

I don't know what they were thinking. Doesn't make sense to me.