Big Blue's Transformation

[ArdWrknTrk]

LOL! I'll take the carabiner version, not the ear rings.

And, y'all are going to love this - I dropped a 10 mm socket and had to go looking for it today. Found it waaaaay down in the front corner below the horn, and it took my loooooong magnet tool to retrieve it.

Yep, those sockets are skittish. They love to run and hide.

I'll take the tree.

I can't ever seem to have enough 10mm.

(Or tape measures, Sharpies, utility knives, #2 Phillips tips, etc)

[Frank Wyatt]

I'll take the tree.

I can't ever seem to have enough 10mm.

(Or tape measures, Sharpies, utility knives, #2 Phillips tips, etc)

1/2 inch sockets for me.

[Machspeed]

And on a slightly different subject, I got concerned by the way I'd planned to mount things like the air box and battery isolator to the driver's fender. Ford used sheet metal screws and I was planning to use 1/4-20 screws instead because I need long screws to go through the standoffs and don't have sheet metal screws that long. So I've tapped the fender 1/4-20. But, as I think about it, I'm not sure that a truck planned to go offroading should rely on such "thin" threads.

So, I'm going to try nutserts again, and ordered this tool today - that's supposed to be delivered tomorrow: WETOLS 14" Rivet Nut Tool, Hand Rivet Nut Tool with 7 Metric & Inch Mandrels M6 M8 M10, 1/4-20, 5/16-18, 3/8-16, 70pcs Rivnuts and Blow Carry Case. Perhaps I didn't properly seat the ones I tried before.

This one has 2,187 ratings, and from those it has a 4.5 star rating. I sure hope it works.

Gary, I ordered that exact same Rivet Nut tool you ordered. Also ordered it through Amazon and had it in less that 48 hours. It's inexpensive, appears to be of good quality, and no problem setting the nutserts in my truck for my behind the seat tool organizer. Think mine was on sale too. Be advised, you'll be needing some odd sized drill bits for some of the nutserts.

You asked me in another thread about my Bosch dishwasher. I think the 800 is the top of the line. We got the middle of the line model, 500 maybe. As I recall, I wanted the all stainless inners. Absolutely amazed at how it cleans....blown away, actually. And, the other big thing is that it is incredibly quiet. The unit it replaced was a very reliable Whirlpool, but it was noisy and did not clean like the Bosch. Got ours last year at Hahn in Tulsa. Hopefully, it holds up like our old Whirlpool unit.

That Youtube vid was a hoot....lol!

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, I ordered that exact same Rivet Nut tool you ordered. Also ordered it through Amazon and had it in less that 48 hours. It's inexpensive, appears to be of good quality, and no problem setting the nutserts in my truck for my behind the seat tool organizer. Think mine was on sale too. Be advised, you'll be needing some odd sized drill bits for some of the nutserts.

You asked me in another thread about my Bosch dishwasher. I think the 800 is the top of the line. We got the middle of the line model, 500 maybe. As I recall, I wanted the all stainless inners. Absolutely amazed at how it cleans....blown away, actually. And, the other big thing is that it is incredibly quiet. The unit it replaced was a very reliable Whirlpool, but it was noisy and did not clean like the Bosch. Got ours last year at Hahn in Tulsa. Hopefully, it holds up like our old Whirlpool unit.

That Youtube vid was a hoot....lol!

John - Glad to see that the nutsert tool works well. But how do you know what size hole to drill? One review said it doesn't come with a table?

I have a drill index with bits by 64ths and then the letter and numbered bits. Well, most of the lettered bits. So usually have the right size.

On the video, I'm surprised you think it sounds like an owl. I thought it sounded like the bellow of an angry bull. And what better horn for a Bullnose?

Yes, the 800 is the top of the line, but it has some features Janey wants. Last we checked they still weren't available, but the rack on the old GE is rusting out and the wheels are literally falling off, so we'll have to do something soon.

[Machspeed]

John - Glad to see that the nutsert tool works well. But how do you know what size hole to drill? One review said it doesn't come with a table?

I have a drill index with bits by 64ths and then the letter and numbered bits. Well, most of the lettered bits. So usually have the right size.

On the video, I'm surprised you think it sounds like an owl. I thought it sounded like the bellow of an angry bull. And what better horn for a Bullnose?

Yes, the 800 is the top of the line, but it has some features Janey wants. Last we checked they still weren't available, but the rack on the old GE is rusting out and the wheels are literally falling off, so we'll have to do something soon.

Google "Nutsert Drill Chart". I like tight tolerances so I typically measure the OD of the collar and pull a drill equal to or no more than .002 larger than the nutsert. You don't want them spinning!

[85lebaront2]

Saying Gary needs one of these?

I saw one the other day where they were light-up. I did find this inside the left front fender on my convertible, and yes, it would have been a 10mm as that is the bolt head size.

[Gary Lewis]

Google "Nutsert Drill Chart". I like tight tolerances so I typically measure the OD of the collar and pull a drill equal to or no more than .002 larger than the nutsert. You don't want them spinning!

I've looked at various charts for nutserts, but found two variables that have me confused: diameter of the nutsert itself and thickness of the material it is being inserted into.

This information from Skyshop fueled my concern. Their nutserts have a different profile than the ones I currently have, with theirs having serrations only at the top and mine have them up much of the body. And, they appear to be designed to collapse differently than mine. Not only that, might the thickness of the material of the nutsert be different, causing a different outside diameter?

Plus their table has you changing the pilot drill size based on the thickness of the material.

So, did you use a chart and, if so, which one? Or, just measure them and drill a hole they'll fit snugly into?

[Machspeed]

I've looked at various charts for nutserts, but found two variables that have me confused: diameter of the nutsert itself and thickness of the material it is being inserted into.

This information from Skyshop fueled my concern. Their nutserts have a different profile than the ones I currently have, with theirs having serrations only at the top and mine have them up much of the body. And, they appear to be designed to collapse differently than mine. Not only that, might the thickness of the material of the nutsert be different, causing a different outside diameter?

Plus their table has you changing the pilot drill size based on the thickness of the material.

So, did you use a chart and, if so, which one? Or, just measure them and drill a hole they'll fit snugly into?

Good and valid points! I waded through a bunch of stuff trying to figure out what diameter drill to us for the nutserts I have, those being the ones that came with the kit. I ultimately experimented on various thickness metals and with different size drill bits for different tolerances. I found that .000-.002 was a good tolerance for the nutserts I had.

One other thing! When you compress the levers on that tool, stay centered and try and compress equally or you will misalign the shaft of the nutsert.

[Gary Lewis]

Good and valid points! I waded through a bunch of stuff trying to figure out what diameter drill to us for the nutserts I have, those being the ones that came with the kit. I ultimately experimented on various thickness metals and with different size drill bits for different tolerances. I found that .000-.002 was a good tolerance for the nutserts I had.

One other thing! When you compress the levers on that tool, stay centered and try and compress equally or you will misalign the shaft of the nutsert.

Bill - That thing is unrecognizable! UGLY! But my 10mm would have eventually looked like that had I not found it as it was in a messy area.

John - Is the .000 - .002" clearance to the body or the serrations? And, good tip on staying centered and pressing evenly. Thanks!

[85lebaront2]

Ok, here are Bill's schematics for how he did the trailer wiring. Thanks, Bill! (Note: Bill sent a revised #1 drawing, which has now replaced the first one.)

I substituted a Bronco relay box in place of the trailer relay box giving me 4 relays instead of just 2. I went into the underhood fuse box (PDC) and cut the wires feeding the two trailer signal light relays (fuses 6 and 7) and ran them out to a small 4 pin male/female plug set. From there the wires were run to pin 85 or 86 of a pair of Bosch relays, the other side 86 or 85 was connected to ground. Pin 30 of these was connected to the existing battery feed for the factory 2 relays and pin 87 was connected back through the plug to the PDC and then to fuses 6 and 7 to go to the trailer plug in the back bumper.

I will try to get some pictures of the box I used and how to get the terminals out of it or insert new ones in it. I transferred the original trailer relay wiring into the Bronco relay box.