Gary Lewis

Ha! See, I knew it! Gary, because I have my own '84 and '85 factory service manuals, I'm guilty of not using the webpage documentation very often. Trust me, I understand. Sometimes I forget I put something out there and do it again. Or can't find what I know is there. In this case I was pleasantly surprised how simple it was.

I like the zip tie idea. But the lift doesn't come down fast enough to effectively "drop" it. I can bounce it by hand once it is on the ground, although that won't do much if the brand new Bilsteins are on there. Perhaps doing that with the extra weight on the bumper might? But you are right about the arc of the springs and the shackle, which is what is causing the axle to move rearward. So any modeling I do of articulation vs driveshaft movement should really be a chart and I could approximate articulation that I can't measure. Saying it another way, if I measure the articulation every inch that I can and plot that against driveshaft position I'll have a curve. On the droop end I'll know the limit from the shock's range and can extend the curve there. And, assuming the shocks allow travel to the bump stops, I can measure how much farther the suspension can compress from the resting position and eyeball the curve to approximate that. It will all be approximate, but it'll be far better than nothing. Thanks for the ideas, I think the plan for after church is evolving.

Using German, and maybe Max will translate: Jein. Yes, I worry. But, there are automatic notifications of replies. Go to Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's and then the Email Notification tab where it is explained. So mainly my worry is how to explain that to people. And I'd love any help I can get in doing so. I don't think many people understand this and are missing posts.

Ford's alignment section from the 1985 factory shop manual are in a weird location called Documentation/Suspension & Steering/Alignment.

Angelo - That's sad. But, at some time you have to cut your losses and move in. Rusty - Is there no way to use the original and put that into the new? Then erase the lines or components you won't be using?

I know you were chomping at the bit to get it together, but in the long run I think you'll be happy that you took the time to get the right bearings. It is the right thing to do.

Angelo - Don't sweat it. The shipping won't be much. Scott - I'll measure this one tomorrow. Shaun - The '90 probably had the E7 version, that's the replacement for the E0 version.

Rusty - If you convert your project into a pdf via Photoshop you can then embed it in a post here with excellent detail. If you want I can walk you through it. But, I like what you are doing! Bob - Glad to see that they can get around well into their 80's. Both that they are doing well and that the 80's aren't that bad. I'm sure they'll be appreciative of your work on their trailer. But I understand needing it at your house rather than at the cabin. Access to the right tools, smooth concrete, etc makes all the difference. And there will be time for the Bronco. I'm sure of that.

Jim - Yes, I'd thought about that. Bob - I wondered if the worst possible case was bottoming rather than coming out. Seemed like it might be. I hope to find that the driveshaft I have is "just right", meaning it won't come out nor bottom. And here's my plan to find out: Install the shocks. This needs to be done I was waiting until I had enough weight on the front end to get the axle in the proper position. Looks like I'm there, and the shock towers just need to have the extra two holes drilled and the bolts put in. Mark & measure the max depth before bottoming Mark & measure the max extension before falling out Determine the max droop, and see if I can simulate it with weight hanging from the axle to pull the shocks to full extension, and then see where the stub is. Determine the max compression, and see if I can simulate it. I think this may take installing the bumper and then placing my five 50 lb bags of blast medium on top of the bumper. And even if I can't get to full compression I should at least be able to measure the compression and the movement of the splines and extrapolate from there. Upgrades to the plan? Better ideas?

Nice. But keep looking, you'll find another. And maybe it'll even be a Bullnose.

Ken Blythen has an F250 up north of you. But, when he was here a couple of years ago he said the Bullnose trucks are few and far between down there.

Yes, I think I'd better do that. I'll measure the articulation and figure out how much farther the spline will move with the additional 1 5/8" of movement that the shocks will allow. And, I'll put the yoke and see how long the splines are. That should tell me how close to coming out the stub will be at full travel. As I think about it, the best bet for the stub not bottoming in the yoke when the suspension bottoms is when the stub almost comes out at full extension. Right?

Glad you got the pic figured out. Looks good! You've really done a lot of work to the truck. I'll bet it gets lots of thumbs-up when you drive it.

Made good progress today. The transfer case is in and the rear driveshaft is in. And the front driveshaft is in but I have a question - how do you measure to make sure the driveshaft is the right length? In the pic below, which is when the truck is in the air and the front suspension is hanging, the end of the tape is on a black mark that is where the rear edge of the yoke comes to when the truck is on the ground. And the measurement is 1 5/8" of travel. But, there's more weight to be put on the front end (radiator, front bumper, and winch) so the front will come down a bit more, meaning that the shaft will go in more in a steady state, and a lot more when hitting a bump. On the other hand, in this pic the splines are 1 1/2" out of the front yoke. I don't know how long the splines are so don't know how close to the end that is, so perhaps I need to pull the yoke off the diff and see? Also, I put the shock in place, which fits perfectly with the temp position I have the tower in, and found that the shock would allow the axle to drop another 1 5/8". So maybe I need to figure out how much farther that would pull the splines out? I think I can approximate that based on the ratio of articulation vs driveshaft length changes. And, maybe I could use the length of the shock's travel to then figure out how much farther in the shaft can go on a bump? Or, if the shaft won't quite come out at full extension do I not worry about it? Maybe I need to call Erik at Sky? Anyway, here's a shot of the t-case and rear driveshaft in. The 4wd indicator wire is connected but the speedo cable isn't in yet as I need to look at the routing around the speed control transducer since the cable is a bit short.

With all of that money in the engine I'd be wanting to get it "right" on the bottom end. But, what is "right"? You originally said: But, have you checked at several spots on the crank for each bearing? That would be my next step to ensure that you are not on a peak or in a valley. Make sure that you know what you have. If you find that your measurements are right and that you are in the .0020 - .0028 range I'd increase the bearing size by .0010". That will put you pretty much in the desired range at .0010 to .0018". And for $53 that's a no brainer to me. Your oil pressure will be much better and you'll have a lot more miles in the engine.

LOL! So, down under, meaning upside down? This forum, like many, doesn't read the orientation data in pictures, so you have to get the orientation right before uploading. Open it in an editing app and then save it. That usually does it as the app reads the data and re-orients it.

You are now, quite literally, on the map. As for uploading pics, that's explained on the FAQ's page: Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's in the menu. But you'll probably want to start a thread in the main section or in Projects as this is the "introduction" area and doesn't get as much traffic as the others do.

Man, that's a good question. Remind me, this is a re-bored engine with new pistons, rings, etc? And what was done to the crank? I want to have the info in one place before trying to suggest what to do. And I'm sure it'll help the others to reply as well.

This one's yours for the shipping, Angelo. I'm sure it is the standard one 'cause I've not parted out any trucks with the 300. And, it is the same as the one on Big Blue and Dad's truck. The numbers on the pedal itself are E0TA 9A799 AB. That's obviously the ID # and not only is it not in the MPC it is not in the cross-reference from part number to ID #.

I just spoke with the guy at Masta Performance. He doesn't have a pre-built dip stick for this application. But he suggested one of two things: Kit: He sells a kit for $80 that has the tube, stick, o-ring, & locking handle. Made To Fit: If I want to bend up something, like copper tubing or whatever, with the right bracket on it, send it to him and he'll make one that will fit perfectly for $80. So, I'm mulling this over. On the one hand I could play with the one I have and potentially get it to work. It'll take modifying the bracket some, maybe a lot, and a bit more bending. But in the end I think I can get it to work. However the tube isn't perfectly round because of previous damage, and the dip stick doesn't really want to go, but does and probably would go better if it were dripping with oil. But, if I kink it I'll have a fall-back plan, either his kit or send him the results of my bending/welding/brazing and let him make me a new one. On the other hand, for not much more I can just go ahead and order the Lokar one and busy myself with lots of other things while waiting for it to come in. I think I was just mad/frustrated yesterday when it turned out that they won't even SHIP until May 15th. But today that doesn't seem like it is a huge problem since there are a lot of other things to do in the interim. And, the idea of a flexible tube has a lot of merit 'cause there are a LOT of other things down in that space, like brake and hydroboost lines. And I don't even have the steering shaft in yet. So having something that could weave around those sounds good. And, the extra $30 isn't that big of a deterrent. Please give me your thoughts on this. And I'll think about it as well - while I install a t-case and a few other things.

Vic - That is very well said and well thought out. Thanks. But I had to look up Fear Of Missing Out. That term, but not the feeling, was new to me. Anyway, you are right, we are "neither desperately trying to flood the world with our product nor garner as many “Likes”, “Subscriptions”, or “love hearts” as possible in order to appear popular for popularity’s sake." (I've changed "I" to "we" and "your" to "our" as I prefer to think we are in this together.) Further, your statement that "our product is about the trucks, our members and their trucks, and the availability of all the information in existence about the trucks" is very accurate. (Again, I made "your" into "our".) Back to FOMO, I have had that feeling from time to time regarding these trucks. But I've come to realize that there is far more of "it" going on than I could ever participate in. So I've come to the conclusion that I'll scan the various FB pages to which I'm subscribed and chime in where I can easily help, which usually takes the form of giving them a link to the page or thread with the documentation/answer to their question. But I usually do not get involved in on-going problem solving as there are far too many people on those pages that have poor suggestions or incorrect answers. Bottom Line: I think this discussion has helped me realize that my computing time is best spent participating on this forum and in adding documentation to the site. Then, as and when I have time, troll the Facebook pages looking for people who need the documentation we have and pointing them to it. Thanks to all of you for your participation in this discussion.

Angelo - I probably have one and will look in a bit. All - Here's the info from the MPC on the part numbers. Looks like there were only two and, oddly enough, the odd one was only for the 300 when there was interference with the carpet or mat. Do we need a page for this?

Yes, welcome! Glad you joined! Where's home? Or, where in NZ? We have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we can add you with your permission and a town. And you'll see that Ken is there as well. In fact, he's been not only to the States for more specifically to the Garagemahal Ford Truck Show as well as in my home.. The description of your truck sounds great! Hope you'll start a build thread and post some pics.

I love it when a plan comes together! And it is still progress when you take two steps forward and one back.

Jacob - Glad you mentioned it. He's seeing the advantage of the forum and word of mouth. Or, is it keyboard? Rusty - I agree, $120 isn't bad for curving your dizzy. But $200 for a whole new dizzy that's curved, inc cap and rotor, is even better.