"Rocky" - 1981 F250 Restoration

Getting an old truck, and especially one that's not been on the road recently, back in good shape takes a LOT of effort.  And money.  Been there, done that, had the frustration to show.  But at some point you round a corner and realize it is just "small stuff" and the truck is useful.  Boy, is that fun!

So hang in there, I think your corner is coming up.  

I hope this week is good, weather-wise and truck/camper-wise.  I think The Adventures Of Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Friend Mr. Peabody is going to be a classic and I'm looking forward to reading about them.  

Mr. Peabody, that’s great!

I called one of my helicopters in the Marine Corps “The Thunderbolt Grease Slapper” after the Tom Slick cartoon race car.

It's definitely feeling like "more smaller" things now. Just for fun:



I wish I could take pictures as well as my wife, but this came out OK. I got my Midland radio installed today. I had previously had three holes the previous owner had drilled into one of the vertical dash pieces for some kind of cell phone mount and wasn't sure what to do with them. Well, when in Rome... I just reused the holes for my mic holder!

I was actually planning a totally hidden installation here - one of the selling points of this particular unit is the head unit can be stuffed away somewhere, an "invisible" radio. But actually I couldn't find a good spot to put it that I liked, and there was a hole in the bottom instrument panel support bracket already from some addon the previous owner had put in. So why not.

I'm into leak-chasing mode now. Last night I sprayed down my driver's side valve cover flange with degreaser and hit it with an old toothbrush to clean it up, then soaked up everything as best I could with paper towels. Not that well, apparently, because when I ran it today the exhaust manifold smoked for a good 20 minutes.

Anyway I got the engine good and warmed up and let it run for about 20 minutes then started poking around with a flashlight. I think I may be lucky-unlucky on this oil leak thing. I'm FAIRLY sure it's not the rear main seal, that area has a ton of residue but is fairly dry. I think it's just drips-and-runs from other spots.

But plenty of other stuff showed signs of slow leaks. There was oil dripping from the bottom of the clutch linkage, which obviously didn't come from there, I think it leaked down from my valve cover. There was more on the oil filter and fuel pump. I think that's from the filter not being tight enough - there's oil all around the end of the filter at the block. And more all over the oil pan drain plug, more drippage probably. (The plug itself seems fine.)





So I think I probably have an assortment of small but "should fix" leaks. My goal is to get them all in one go. I bought extra filters just for this day. I'm going to do a quick-and-dirty oil change (filter and oil but don't worry about every-last-drop) then take it for a drive with the fresh oil and filter and get it fully heat-soaked.

Then I'll drain it completely (and throw out the "victim" filter) and dismantle a bunch of stuff including both valve covers. I would pull the pan too but I read the procedure and it looks like a lot of work. But I'll clean everything thoroughly so I can trace future leaks more easily, and I do have a new drain plug and washer.

I doubt I'll ever have the thing totally leak free - as MG owners always joke "If it's not leaking, it's out of oil!" But if I can address the worst of it and run a bottle of stop-leak in, that'll be fine for now. Some day I'd love to tear this engine down... but not in my driveway...

No new holes is a win!  

As for the leaks, I’ve heard many Brit vehicle awa Harley owners say that. And while Big Blue is pretty tight, he does have a drip. So if you get yours dripless you’ll have done well.

When I first got my truck you could tell oil was leaking from everything!
That is why I changed the valve cover, side cover & oil pan gaskets when the motor was out.
Well once on the road it had a pretty big oil leak but could not really pin point it.
I did have to take up on all the gaskets I replaced and that slowed down some of it.

To clean the whole under side to make it clean again and so I could pin point the leak I bought a small 1 gallon pump sprayer and filled it with Simple Green and Awesome de-greaser mostly the Awesome.
Started at the motor engine bay and worked my way back to the rear bumper all under the truck.
I then used the pressure washer to wash the cleaner off, did a pretty good job but my truck was cleaned & painted on the under side as part of the rebuild.

With it clean I kept a good eye on it and found the timing cover gasket was leaking out the top only when the RPM was raised off idle. Now that I replaced that gasket and it is getting warmer I want to do another "spray de-grease & power wash" then I can respray the valve cover * block as some of the paint came off with the washings.

I think your motor would come pretty clean if done the same way.
If no power washer park up the cleaners, paper towels and hit the local shelf car wash as they have a power washer spray. May not be as strong as a normal PW but better than nothing and it kees your drive way from getting old grease on it
Dave ----

Yeah I'm planning to do the same thing, it's just been too cold most days to want to stand there with a pressure washer  That reminds me, I've gone through half a bottle of degreaser already. I need to order more!

Today was a "progress day". I think... So both my new parking brake cables finally arrived and they're definitely different. A little...

I am trying the ACDelco 18P387 and 18P386 as replacements for the Dormans (which definitely did not work). The driver's side was exactly the same length at 61.5" but the measurement from the front/adjuster end of the cable to the flange where it attaches to the brake housing was 1/2" longer on the Dorman cable. The Dorman also has an enormous mounting flange on that side that never sat very well on the back plate to begin with.

The passenger side cable was very different. 96" for the Dorman and 95" for the ACDelco. But from the adjuster end to the flange it was 82.5" Dorman vs 79.5" ACDelco. Very different, and that proved to be the issue. I was holding the adjuster below at the angle it sat at with the Dorman cables, definitely not level no matter what I did. With the ACDelco cables it hangs vertically as it should. I suspect this 3" difference was the reason.

Anyway, typical old-truck-repair story, I've now gotten pretty good at removing/replacing my drums and axles but if this works won't need to do it again for awhile! Ah well.

After reassembling the brake components I checked this time for travel on the parking brake lever and definitely have at least 1.75" of travel as specified. So while I haven't had a chance to test this all out yet, I'm hopeful this is the "solve".

Bullwinkle has arrived, shown here hanging out with Mr Peabody. Unlike the Starcraft we're upgrading from, this model of Travel Lite was "designed for" 6.5' beds but has a bump-out in the rear to make room for the bathroom. That means I can still put it in Rocky, but it has to hang off the back with the extra 1.5' dead space at the front of the bed. I'm pretty sure I'd still be in the acceptable COG range but it definitely wouldn't handle as well.

That means Rocky is turning out to be more a fun pleasure truck than a hauler. I may find I have "some kind of camper" installed in the RAM most of the time (fifth wheel or truck camper) and leave Rocky to be for around-town driving, Home Depot runs, drive-in-movie dates, etc.

Nice looking rig.  Seems to sit level, but the camper is surely "dry", so that will change as the load comes on.

Is the waste tank in the rear as well?  I'd think that would affect the handling as the load changes.

Gary Lewis wrote

Nice looking rig.  Seems to sit level, but the camper is surely "dry", so that will change as the load comes on.

Is the waste tank in the rear as well?  I'd think that would affect the handling as the load changes.

It is in the rear, but it's also only 8 gallons. I have airbags on this truck which I can air up to offset any squatting, but this camper is also probably 600lbs lighter than my fifth wheel camper + hitch so you don't really notice it's there. Air bags aren't actually that great with truck campers, though. For Rocky I was thinking of going with one of the spring-type enhancements instead, like the Roadmaster. They're supposed to be better for truck campers.

Speaking of Rocky it's time to start tracking down oil leaks. I've degreased some trouble-spots and cleaned up the driveway (if I haven't already said it, Chomp Pull it Out is amazing stuff!), then parked Rocky facing uphill so the oil drain plug is at a lowpoint. I'm going to get it hot then do an oil change, then put some fresh cardboard underneath to track any drips and start sleuthing. From past patterns I think I have two drips to trace out, but I've made such a mess over the past few months I can't really tell for sure!

How do you have the air bags plumbed?  If they are both connected to a single inlet then that can be a problem since when a tall load, like a camper, leans it can push air to the other bag.  I've always thought that individual fillers would be better, but I've not really tried it.

Good luck on finding the leaks.  But with it clean you should be able to do so pretty easily.

Nice! I like Bullwinkle!

Gary Lewis wrote

How do you have the air bags plumbed?  If they are both connected to a single inlet then that can be a problem since when a tall load, like a camper, leans it can push air to the other bag.  I've always thought that individual fillers would be better, but I've not really tried it.

Good luck on finding the leaks.  But with it clean you should be able to do so pretty easily.

I have them plumbed individually but that's an interesting problem. But in any event while air bags are great for trailers, I've definitely heard that spring-type damper systems are better for truck campers so I've been looking at the Roadmaster setup. It looks decent.

To be honest I've always found the airbags to be a pain - there's no "hard science" around how much to inflate them, just a lot of vague guidance and "you'll have to find what works best for you". With my camper I've had the airbags at 0, 20, 40, and 60psi and it seems like when you fix one problem at one level you introduce a different one. For example, "porpoising" after hitting a bump or dip is definitely reduced at higher levels, but then it introduces a const vibration effect if the road is anything other than glass-smooth. I'm glad I have them for long hauls, but most of the time I don't bother inflating them.

I have always been told to keep a minimum in them at least. 20psi for example. I'm interested because I have already decided that I was going to use air shocks on lefty. now I am not considering a camper. so, it's not for that reason but learning from another perspective is valuable also.
I have used load leveler/coil overs before on trucks that stayed loaded with tools and that works fine but I'm thinking I will rarely load lefty and air shocks will fill in when needed so a good compromise. coil overs stand the truck up a bit when unloaded and I don't always want one jacked up.

Yeah you're definitely supposed to do that (keep a minimum in that). I'm not sure how critical it is but the manual does say that. I was only trying them at 0psi to get a baseline.

Found the oil leak, or at least the biggest one. Did the oil change today and drained the blackest crude I've seen out of an engine. Went to pull off the filter and found it was just barely hand tight - I was able to spin it off easily with no wrench. It was absolutely covered with oil with clear signs of where it had been leaking. I think it just wasn't on there tight enough.



Filled a new Wix with oil (man these things are big - it gobbled up most of a quart), lubed the rubber seal, and got it on there somehow without spilling a drop, which is definitely a first for me. Hand tight plus a quarter turn. It's nice when things go your way, even if they're simple things.

The drain plug was in fine shape and is original, but it had a plastic washer on it - is that OEM? I've seen copper and rubber, but never plastic. Anyway I had bought a magnetic replacement that came with a rubber washer so I put that on and torqued it to spec (the "spec" is "until it feels tight with a socket wrench but not enough to strip out"... right?) I know some people tsk-tsk magnetic plugs but I want the diagnostic. I'll be doing another oil change after running it a few hundred miles and I want to know what turns up down there.

Ran the engine a little longer and I don't see any active leaks. The whole thing is so covered in oil it's hard to say I got it all - there's some sign of leaks around the front and rear main seals, but not "active" leaks. So I'm calling this a partial success, at least.

Tomorrow I may be back to painting and also the parking brake. I still have yet to get that thing to hold. I must have done the "drive 10mph in reverse and hit the brakes" thing a dozen or more times by now but it doesn't seem to be taking.

When I first put everything together, I was installing new adjusters so naturally they were at the zero-travel position. I did not adjust them at all, just got them in place. Unless one of you has a better idea, tomorrow I'll maybe jack it up so I can spin the wheels, turn the adjusters until the brakes are just barely dragging, then back then off a click or two? That would be a pain but it's the only thing I can think of. I park this thing on a hill and live in a mountain state. I need 100% reliable parking brakes, it's not negotiable.

at least adjust them up until you hear contact

Glad that one leak was so easy to fix.

As for the drain plug, I don't know what was original.  But there's no harm in a magnetic plug and if a rubber washer works, wonderful.

On adjusting the brakes, I was taught by my father to tight the adjuster until the wheel won't spin by hand, then bang on the backing plate with a rubber hammer/wooden mallet and adjust again until it won't spin after banging.  That centers things.  Then back off 10 clicks.

That approach has worked for me for over 50 years, so I keep using it.  I'm not saying it is the "correct" approach, but it seems to work.

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm still struggling with the parking brake unfortunately. I jacked up the rear end today and hit both adjusters until the brakes were just dragging, then dropped it back down and drove a few inches uphill. Set the parking brake (it's definitely firm, not "loose") and let off the brake and nope, rolled back down to the chocks.

I didn't feel like repeating the process so I threw in the towel for today, but I definitely need to figure this out soon. My wife's itching to take the 5th-wheel out and only Mr. Peabody is up to the task so I need to get the camper moved over to Rocky, even temporarily. So I have a 4-week countdown here :)

I was going to try your method Gary, but I must be a butterfingers because I really struggled to back off the adjusters even one notch when I practiced it. I know you just need to get a screwdriver in there to release the adjuster catch-lever but lying on my side at an awkward angle without great visibility I just didn't seem to have the knack. Before I give that a serious go I think since I did move both adjusters probably 8-10 clicks to get the brakes to drag slightly, I'm probably a lot closer to the "correct" level? So maybe I'll try the 10mph-reverse-brake dance another round just to see if it helps...

Scratch that, I think I have it partially sorted now. I tightened the adjuster a half-inch or so and took it out for a few more runs and now the parking brake will hold on a hill, finally. I have to really stomp on it, down to the last click, but it "works". It's still not quite where I'd feel confident heading down a mountain if the brakes fade out, but it's still a success because now at least I can start it while parked on a hill without an assistant to pull the chocks.

I'm going to keep playing with it some more but now that it's out of the "critical" zone I want to get into a few other things, one of which is the winch. If you've followed this thread you may remember that a month or so ago I picked up the first piece of the puzzle, a generic winch mounting tray that just barely fits between the frame rails and behind the front bumper. To complete the job, I need some angles to "hang" it from the frame rail and I also want to add some steel straps from the middle of the winch tray to points further back on the frame rails so it's more of a pull load than a twisting one.

I'm not a skilled enough welder to make a structural right-angle but that's OK, I found some good 4x6x3/8" angle iron that should work great for that, all I need to do is drill some holes. I AM just about skilled enough to do stuff like boxing-out the end of a channel to keep dust and dirt out or add some gussets... but I haven't welded in about 15 years. When we moved here to Colorado it was a "whatever fits in the trailer comes, everything else stays" type situation and as you can imagine with 2 adults and 5 kids things like clothes and personal items were the priority. I gave my old welder away to a relative.

But tech evolves fast and for not much more than I paid for that Harbor Freight "barely there" welder so long ago, I was able to pick up https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C9J3PS2. It's a great machine with a ton of options - I can do things like stick and lift-TIG if I ever decide I want to. But for now I'll stick to the flux-core "hot metal glue gun of metal" MIG.

I have tons of "scrap" lying around but it's all weirdo stuff like old hitch receivers and bed frame rails. I knew I needed practice but not just for skill, for dialing in the new welder, too. I wanted to be closer to the grade of steel I'd actually be using so I grabbed one of those $20 "practice kits" that is basically a stack of coupons cut from 11ga mild steel, and ran a few beads. By my third line I was more or less "minimally acceptable" - after grinding I only had a few trouble spots I'd need to fill in with this one:



It'll never win a contest but it passed the hammer-it-apart test so I think I'm ready to do some basic stuff.

Glad you got the parking brake to work some. But as the shoes wear and everything centers up I think you’ll have to tighten the brakes a bit more. Or, back up and stop several times.

The welding looks good. I’m anxious to see the winch support come together.

I'll work on it more this week, I've just been stalling taking off the front bumper again. Right now I have the truck parked facing the street so I can work on paint-prep more easily on the driver's side. The HOA here is antsy about unregistered vehicles and I don't need the hassle if their goons can't see the plate.

Speaking of paint prep I have the driver's side in primer now. Looks pretty good though this is really just a guide coat. The driver's side was REALLY rough, it looked like a speckled egg it had so many tiny rust spots. I didn't want to take it all down to bare metal but also didn't want to leave any rust so I hit it with a mix of wire brushes and flap discs to get it all. This primer will get mostly sanded back off to help level out the base again.

And obviously also some bondo. I know I'll get lucky to have the rear fender rust area last very long but that's OK. I already have some cab corners in the garage and I'll be getting some fender sections as well, but my welding skills aren't quite "sheet metal" category yet so I just need to get by until then.