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Progress is good! Wow, you'd never see anything left of dust shields up here in salt country. Gotta admit I'm a little envious.

So I found an eBay listing for a AFB pump with blue rubber seal and 'steel shaft' (although it looks brass) Walker 64-499 Surprisingly it is less than the plastic Edelbrock part I already ordered. I'll put it on my watch list and get to it later. Thanks for the advice!

The one thing I know is that any part listed as NOS or vintage is 5x what it should cost. I'll try to find a better long term solution but for now I have the plastic part coming.

That center link always acts that way, so nothing to fear there. We're you able to hear the sound while she was turning the wheel lock to lock? Maybe it is the transmission cross member loose as written up in the TSB. Not Steve's but the one for pops and clunks while turning, especially over bumps. Sorry I forget the#

Performance shop out of business. I went to Advance, and while they can order the pump in they have nothing in their system for a cap adapter. Even tried to cross the NAPA # ech fa-151 So NAPA tomorrow and back to Advance whenever they call. Beautiful day here in the NY area! Welcome sign of late spring. Many of the flowering shrubs are in bloom.

Maybe you should put BB up and look for the clunk before getting into the F-350 clip? It would enable you to get a more complete picture:nabble_smiley_wink: of the damage.

Thank you for the offer Gary. I'm going to try and find one locally, but none of the majors stock them. There is (was?) a performance shop in Norwalk, so armed with the part# I'm going to give them a call tomorrow when they open.

Thanks for the info Gary. The top black plastic bit with the hole for the S hook snapped clean off. I also noticed my DS distributor cap adapter seems very loose. So I guess a trip to the LAP is in order.

I guess I'm still having a hard time fathoming what your close up shots of the underside of the cross member actually show. I'd thought the rear oval holes had been opened up close to the bolts of the perches. My suggestion was to cut straight back from the top of each of the rear holes and cut all the way down, and back up, to the other rear hole. This would give you a 'U' shaped piece with the bolt holes for both perches. But obviously I don't really understand the extent of the damage.

I think it was bullnosehunter that first suggested welding material back in. I might go tangent to the top of each oval opening and straight from the center of each to connect them. There's room to clamp the sections into alignment, it will be easy to dress the ends of your beads AND you will get both sets of 460 perch holes in one piece along with two bends or 'flanges' that will keep that most important part straight (not straight, but as it should be)

Recently my truck has been stumbling on acceleration. So I decided this weekend would be a good time to give her her annual bath and maintenance. (plugs, fuel & air filters, check the cap & rotor, etc) I use NGK UR4's and a fuel filter for a 2000 Nissan Altima. Well yeah..... The vacuum cap on the front of the AVS was crumbling and there was also this: Which really sucks, since Stamford Carburetor went out of business years ago. So, I guess I need to find a accelerator pump shaft/piston for this carb. (I have boxes of Holley stuff but nothing for Eddy's)

Don't you own a plasma cutter Gary? A carbon gouge arc rod would work, but not as cleanly. Yes, the TTB pivot bushings are bolted to the bottom of the cross member. I think you are going to find it VERY difficult to get the cross member back in to Big Blue without deflecting the frame rails. Perhaps instead of bracing the frame rails with box tubing, another approach would be to make a plate that locates off the holes in the ends where the bumper is. Remove it to allow the frame to spread, get the butchered cross member out, the donor in, reattach it before bolting and welding the new one back. Or, just cut a patch out of the F-350 cross member and replace the section as first mentioned when you showed us the problem. This would certainly be more expedient and perhaps better chance of success. Tremendous job getting the clip clean without resorting to NaOH or Purple Power. I'm sure your trailer is grateful.

I can see the Sky pic, but not yours, on my phone. Yes, I'd imagine it would be in the way. But with a winch bumper why not attach the ball there? It's not like you are taking a trailer down the highway at 60 connected there.

Jim - I don't have a lift on Big Blue. But I will us a pry bar as you suggested if I can't find the clunk. Thanks. All - Thanks, I think I've come to the same conclusion - go with new gears. And, I bought a pressure washer today and got the thing MUCH cleaner. (But I wound up wearing a lot of it.) Boy, that was one GREASY mess! But, I think I can now touch it w/o getting gooey, although there is still some cleaning to be done. Anyway, I got down to the cross member, and it looks to be the right one, although it is hard to tell with those diesel stands/perches on it. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get those off and can get a pic from the same angle as Jim's to confirm it. But, here's Jim's pic: And here's mine: Steve - I've gone back to the one place I remember seeing "Welding Is Not Acceptable" and it is TSB 96-15-11 on replacing rivets with bolts. And it looks like I may have taken that statement out of context - especially with yours on welding. (But I still do NOT want to weld that front frame section onto Big Blue.) And, look what I found today on this front section - the engine cross member is welded to the frame on both ends. I may do that myself when I install it in Big Blue. Sorry I was misunderstood. You have a two post car lift, and can get the truck in the air with the suspension unloaded, so take a pry bar and see if the ball joints will shift over like they would when taking a turn.

If a V-belt pulley you may find the 8.25" C-C mounting 3G allows better 'swing' of the alternator. These are found in the 3.8l V6 versions of the early-mid '90's Taurus/Sable. If you prefer the 7" C-C, they are in the 3.0l versions. Stripping the harness out of either should get you the charge cable and Megafuse you need. Instructions for modifying the regulator plug are found in Gary's link or many places on the internet. Be mindful that you may need a thin washer behind the V-belt pulley to keep it from rubbing on the alternator case. And, you may need to bend (straighten) the adjuster arm a bit because the alternator boss is 1/4" thicker on the 3G

I've had big issues with ball joints on my truck. You have a lift so if looking at the bumper doesn't show anything get the suspension unloaded and use a pry bar on the knuckles.

**I'd like to thank you for your thoughtful replies. One good way to judge at a glance if the steering box has broken the frame is to have someone else turn the wheel lock to lock while you stand in front and look at the bumper. If the frame is cracked you will see the left side (right to you) rise and fall distinctly.

IIRC,it was the rear face of the cross member. You will see it when the thing is clean. I noticed it when I power washed my engine bay (as you pictured) and I wasn't even looking. I edited my welding response to ask a few questions of you. Just trying to get a clearer picture.

Bring or buy a parts brush for that degreaser. Applying it first will give it a chance to soak in. I always think of a set of gears as having 'married' when run in, but have no problems with running a pair IF THE SETUP IS GOOD AND THE CONTACT IS THE SAME. (and I rode desmodromic Ducati's for decades) I had no idea where either Billy or Chris was located. Given your intention for an OX locker, I'd go with Chris. I'd rather pay more and have it done right the first time than pay someone to be their learning curve.

Please let me know what's stamped into the cross member when you get all the goo off. Thanks!

I would buy a few cans of engine degreaser and apply them in the auto parts parking lot on the way to the wash bay. A friend of mine has a kerosene fired 220V steam Jenny and that thing will blast everything off. But you can watch it flash rust as everything dries. I wasn't actually arguing for you to weld it, but it would save having to dismantle (and REmantle) the front end. Maybe you can swing by Billy's place on the way home and ditch the D60 for a go through and R&P swap? Save you a trip and you won't be tripping over it in your garage without an easy way to move it.

And yet somehow Centurion stretched these trucks for years and sold as new, often at Ford dealers. I've seen plenty of threads where guys lengthen or shorten their Ford pickups. "Heat treated frame" often means normalizing after the cold stamping process used to create the rails because this causes lots of stress risers. I've known a few weldors who do DOT approved frame welding on medium and heavy trucks. The only precautions they take is preheating and using a high tensile, low hydrogen rod like 8018 or 11018. *Edit to ask*..... How did you repair the frame when it broke behind the steering box? Do you feel that weld compromised the structural integrity of the vehicle? Why has your attitude changed since then?

heck, if it weren't for the bumper mounting you could save yourself a whole lot of time and effort by chopping Big Blue's frame and welding that one back on..

I see you got more squalls blowing through early this morning Gary. Wishing you a safe trip, and prayers for all those around you who are being impacted by these historically high flood waters. Thank you for honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation! (best I can do for flying the flag)

Like I said it's a closed loop. BUT if the radiator is clogged and there is some air entrained in the system I could see the possibility. No harm in a belt and suspenders approach.