85lebaront2

I can ask my son and one other for a WV plate.

But what I don't like about that style is how it doesn't hold up to road salt. On both my '95 and now my '97 the supports went away and eventually it's just hanging from the body, which is also rusting away. So I'm getting concerned that someone will break one off, fall and get hurt. So for that reason I like the running boards that Dee Zee used to make that attach to the frame. I may end up fabbing something like that for my '97. By the way, personally I'd never want anything that attaches to both the body and the bed. There's too much flex between them when the truck gets twisted up. OK if the truck never leaves pavement, but even though I don't go off-roading with my pickup, I still get it a little twisted at the cabin, or on the boat launch or something. And I wouldn't want the running boards attached to the bottom of the body and bed trying to help stiffen the chassis. edit to add: I do like the nerf bars Gary has on Big Blue as well. It's still a pretty clean look, and still functional as a step. But I think they'd be a slipperier step (especially when wet), so I'm not sure my dad would like them as well. I have a set of those Dee Zee boards on Darth. The new ones are no where near as substantial as mine. When I bought Darth in 1994, the bed side ones were loose and would dump you on the ground if you weren't careful. The rear was simply attached to an angle that was "mud daubered" to the frame, I installed a nice piece of square tubing all the way from inside one dually fender to the other and bolted the vertical portion of the boards to it. I can post pictures of the mounting and reinforcement if desired.

No, mine has a dip for the dual headpipes and an almost vertical gusset on the right side as a result.

Ok, Shaun, how about this one? I think it came from a 1994 F250.

Gary, that's interesting, when I put the transmission crossmember for the E4OD in Darth it was 7" further back and everything bolted up perfectly once I drilled the holes. I did have the entire crossmember and gussets from an E4OD truck. Could the gussets be different to account for the frame height change as you move further back?

Ok, this gets weird, Darth is a 1986 F350 crew cab long bed with dual rear wheels. That makes him 168" wheelbase which jives with everything I've seen. 83/ F350 - - 168" WB list number 14 I go to list 14 and I see: F 4.9L, 5.0L, 5.8L eng. - - coil spgs. E8TZ-5C139-A F 4/W/D - - dsl. & 7.5L eng. -- leaf spgs. E8TZ-5C139-B F 4/W/D - - exc. dsl. & 7.5L eng. -- leaf spgs. E8TZ-5C139-E F 2/W/D - - dsl. & 7.5L eng. -- leaf spgs. E8TZ-5C139-D This all well and good, BUT Darth is a 2 WD as according to his owners manual 4WD wasn't available on the DRW trucks in 1986. Here are the front springs when I had them out to install the front sway bar. Strangest looking leaf spring I've ever seen.

Gary, 5028 looks like the support for the center bearing on the longer wheelbase trucks. 5025 is forward of that and is probably the rear cab and mid mount fuel tank support. Note that all the crossmembers pictured behind the front suspension/engine support until the rear crossmember are top mounted only. Might the transmission crossmember be included in the transmission/transfer case area of the MPC as they are somewhat transmission/transfer case/engine specific? I know, and you should also that the E4OD and C6 crossmember and gussets are way different and the head pipes on the 460/E4OD actually have a slight kickup at the crossmember seen here:

For some reason, and Ford was not the only one who did it, the driver's door power lock switch is the slave switch with the passenger one being the master, completely opposite of the windows. When I added remote locking to Darth, I used a 1999 Crown Victoria driver's door module which also gave me the one touch down power window and the ability to have the keypad on the door. FWIW, the 1994 up factory installed RKE system is the same as a Taurus, but the keypad input isn't used. With those it is possible to add the keypad by obtaining a plug and the innards for it and running the wires from the keypad location to the module under the dash.

You can use a solid spacer, but you will put it together and take it apart several times to get the pinion preload right. The Ford 9" is one of the strongest stock rear ends ever built, all the NASCAR teams run them. Once you have the pinion bearing preload correct, you take the yoke off, install the seal, reassemble with the seal and nut to the proper torque and that's finished. Pinion depth is set with shims on the bearing housing. Backlash, the instructions I used said to take up all slack on the ring gear side against the pinion, then there was a number of holes you turned the other side adjuster in to preload the differential bearings then measure the backlash and run a pattern. From there you determine whether the pinion or ring gear need moving. One more tip, don't put the O-ring on the pinion bear housing until you have finished the adjustments, then lube it with gear oil before trying to push it in.

Ok, here are the promised pictures, this is a 7.5L (460) E4OD so the front part of the case is different. 3/4 front view, you can see the valve body electrical connection near the back. Top from the rear, it is hard without having a C6 next to it to see the difference, it is 3" overall longer. Here is where the C6 rear crossmember attached, the E4OD mount is 7" further back. Here is the E4OD mounted under Darth. One item you will need to be sure you can find, the actual shift linkage from an E series with the E4OD that is the same style as your C6 (mechanical rods and cross shaft or cable). The other item, you will need the transmission crossmember and gusset plates as it ends up being further back along with the front part (or whole assembly) of the propeller shaft. Make sure if you have a mechanical speedometer drive that the E4OD you get has at least the hole in the extension housing for the driven gear. On the torque converter clutch, it is unlocked by the brake lamp circuit, when the PCM sees 12V there the clutch is released. If you want a manual unlock, you could use a diode in the brake light signal circuit to prevent the brake lights from coming on and a toggle switch from an ignition on feed to the same pin. I personally prefer to let the engine torque do the work like a manual transmission. I have the program in my EEC-V PCM set to need 80% throttle to unlock. The early E4OD pickups (1988-1991) had an OD lockout switch on the dash, it was a momentary contact with a light, pushing it would turn the light on and cancel OD until you either pushed it again or turned off the ignition, 1992 on it is at the end of the shift lever. If you can find an E series with the 4.9L and E4OD and the same shifter/speedometer system as yours, it will have the EFI system also as the E4OD needs a computer of some kind to control it. Good luck and if you have more questions, I will try to answer them for you.

Transmission is computer controlled, has a bank of solenoid valves and is a beast. It is 11:00PM here so I will get some pictures together for you tomorrow.

One item to look at, the 4.9L (300) EFI systems went through a few changes, the early ones had a cooling fan operated by a temperature switch on the fuel rail. It blew air over the injectors after the engine was shut down to prevent vapor lock. Later models run a higher fuel pressure and did away with the cooling fan. Another item to consider, later 4.9L models were built with the E4OD transmission which is 9" longer to the mount pad, but only 3" overall longer than the C6. If you can find a later E-series with EFI 4.9L and E4OD that would give you what you want as far as OD and will also give you a lock-up torque converter which can make a huge difference in engine rpm. In my case with a 7.5L (460) in 3rd, loaded TC clutch disengaged, 2700 rpm at 54 mph, lockup engaged, 2200 rpm at 54 mph. This was loaded F350 towing a heavy trailer also loaded up a fairly good grade. Picture just for reference, beast still got right at 10 mpg.

I have had Ford 9" rear ends in several cars and trucks with no real problems with the stock housing and insides. They ranged from a 1966 Shelby GT350 with 3.89 gear and Detroit Locker which got some really hard use to a 1977 F150 converted from a 300 C4 to a 390 C6. This one had a 3.25 gear and the 31 spline axles with roller wheel bearings. It hauled an 11.5' Wolverine slide in camper and towed an Omni, later a Horizon behind it. Tamest one was the 1958 F100, originally a 223 with 3 speed, later a 1957 T-Bird special 312 with Borg Warner T85 and OD, that one had a 3.55 gear. The only one I rebuilt was the Shelby as it had been used as a drag car and had 4.11 gear when I got it. I ordered the gear set, bearings and shim kit from the local dealer and found the locker through a friend (way pre-internet, 1970). As to rebuilding, it is probably one of the easiest to do, pinion bearing preload is the only real hard part as it uses a crush sleeve. A pin spanner is needed for the side bearing adjustments and that is the only special tool. I would suggest, drilling and tapping a hole in the bottom rear of the center of the axle for a 3/8-NPT plug and use a hex socket one that will go in near flush so the gear oil can be drained in the future.

How many and how many pins, male or female? The large wedgelocks are 0.110 dia male and female, pins are male: D1AB-14461-AA, Dorman 85345, AUVECO 14887; Female: D1AB-14488-CA, Dorman 85346, AUVECO 14888. I end up salvaging the plug assemblies from old harnesses, just be glad you aren't working on a MOPAR, their older stuff is almost impossible to find even from Chrysler.

Ok, here are the next tests based on the code you retrieved: Have fun! Good luck with it. I don't know where you are, but here in VA, the ABS yellow light on won't fail inspection.

First, the parts store code readers will not work on these older trucks. Second you have to leave the key on once the light comes on as the system does not store codes. The only way I can get these for you is by doing a screenshot of my AllData. Here are the code retrieval procedures, once you get the codes I can give you the diagnostic tests for them. Before you get deeply involved, try pulling the sensor on the rear axle and see if it has a bunch of steel filings stuck to the magnet.

Looks terrific!

It is a concern, particularly if this individual is the one who cost Jim all the stuff he had in the container he was using as a shop and to store things in.

Welcome to the forum. We will do our best to help you out. Nice looking pair you have there.

Please have the mutual acquaintance tell Jim we were worried about him.

Thank you Ray for all you have done both on this forum and for me personally. Best of luck in your endeavors!

DS-III uses a crank sensor, on some it is at the front behind the balancer, others it is at the rear of the engine and triggers on the crankshaft. I posted an EEC-III test procedure a while back, Gary should (hopefully) know where it resides. Try here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/electronic-engine-control-eec.html there is a bit of information on the EEC-III systems.

I may have the original red ones from Darth or maybe some later ones which match the A pillar, just the tops are different you are welcome to them for cutting and fitting purposes. And while we are on interior trim, I misplaced the right rear piece over the door from the 1996 opal gray interior I put in Darth. If someone comes across a crew cab in a junk yard with opal gray interior I could use that, actually any 1992-96/7 and maybe earlier will work as I have the SEM opal gray paint.

It may be a crew cab only piece, there is an inner probably 2 1/2 - 3 inch high section right above the trim area on both sides. I think it's purpose is to provide something for the headliner sides to sit against. It is a pretty substantial piece on Darth. May be where the drip rail folds under.

As requested, conversion van grab handles. These are mounted through the headliner into the inner reinforcement above the door openings. I actually need to slide a spacer up behind the headliner to bring them in a bit (you can see the indent in the headliner and the right front one the screw covers keep popping off). Outside handles: The screws are just big sheet metal ones on both inside and outside, no nut plate or threadcerts behind the headliner or in the B and C pillars.