Big Blue's Transformation

[ArdWrknTrk]

Well, the acquisition of EFI parts has begun again. I just ordered BBK's #3502 throttle body. I'd misread their advert as saying it fits 1987 - 1993, when it actually says 1987 - 2003. I guess I want to "really rock above 3,500 - 4,000 rpm".

Seriously though, I don't like the idea of a rebuilt throttle body. Reading BBK's description I liked several things they said, like "BBK Performance F-Series 460 61mm throttle bodies are CNC machined from high quality 356 aluminum castings to ensure perfect OEM quality and fit every time. Features OEM quality throttle gear, double sealed bearings and o-ringed throttle shafts."

But, they are out of stock so it'll be 4-6 weeks before I get it. However, Tim, the tech who is from Leeds, England, got my joke that I went to Leeds to see Leeds Castle so I felt compelled to buy from him.

...

I'm going to guess the 460 was available in cutaways and F-53 chassis up into this millennium??

At any rate progress is good!

I hope you get your PDC and washer/overflow bottle relocation sorted tomorrow.

[Gary Lewis]

...

I'm going to guess the 460 was available in cutaways and F-53 chassis up into this millennium??

At any rate progress is good!

I hope you get your PDC and washer/overflow bottle relocation sorted tomorrow.

Thanks, Jim.

Wikipedia says:

Following its 1983 reintroduction, the 460 received fuel injection for 1988; power jumped to 235hp@4100rpm and 395ftlbs@2200rpm. The 460 (7.5 L) soldiered on mostly unchanged until 1994 when some minor ECU and compression ratio tweaking squeezed another 10hp and 15ftlbs out of it, bringing the output to 245hp@4100rpm and 410ftlbs@2200rpm for the last 3 years of its life. The 460 was replaced by the 6.8L V10 after then 97 model year (except for 97 E250/E350 vans which began V10 useage in 97).

So maybe it was in the cutaways and F-53 chassis trucks?

Also, note the HP and torque values. IIRC, Scotty told me this one should put out 360 - 370 HP and ~500 lb-ft of torque.

As for the reservoir, et al, it isn't likely to get sorted tomorrow. Janey's GLK turned on the MIL while I was gone and when I got home my scanner acknowledged that the light is on but couldn't find any codes. So we took it in today and shopped while they looked at it. As of 3:30 they'd not diagnosed the problem yet, so we came home. And that means that I'll probably have to go back for it tomorrow.

But, I plan to work on it in the morn, so may make some progress. Perhaps I can get the PDB relocated. Then the next step will be to design the bracket for the larger reservoir.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, Jim.

Wikipedia says:

Following its 1983 reintroduction, the 460 received fuel injection for 1988; power jumped to 235hp@4100rpm and 395ftlbs@2200rpm. The 460 (7.5 L) soldiered on mostly unchanged until 1994 when some minor ECU and compression ratio tweaking squeezed another 10hp and 15ftlbs out of it, bringing the output to 245hp@4100rpm and 410ftlbs@2200rpm for the last 3 years of its life. The 460 was replaced by the 6.8L V10 after then 97 model year (except for 97 E250/E350 vans which began V10 useage in 97).

So maybe it was in the cutaways and F-53 chassis trucks?

Also, note the HP and torque values. IIRC, Scotty told me this one should put out 360 - 370 HP and ~500 lb-ft of torque.

As for the reservoir, et al, it isn't likely to get sorted tomorrow. Janey's GLK turned on the MIL while I was gone and when I got home my scanner acknowledged that the light is on but couldn't find any codes. So we took it in today and shopped while they looked at it. As of 3:30 they'd not diagnosed the problem yet, so we came home. And that means that I'll probably have to go back for it tomorrow.

But, I plan to work on it in the morn, so may make some progress. Perhaps I can get the PDB relocated. Then the next step will be to design the bracket for the larger reservoir.

Ok, I got the PDB relocated. Removed it and took some tabs off of it to get it closer to the battery, and then painted it to prevent it from rusting.

Just had to slot the holes ~1/2" to get it into place, but I had to shim up the backside of the bracket 3/8" to get it to sit level. You can see the 3/8" piece of steel in the shot below, so I'll have to figure out how to level it when I make the bracket for the reservoir.

The piece of MDF in the shot above is another shim as the bottom of the reservoir is anything but flat. There's a pad under the windshield washer portion of it that is the lowest part of the unit, but the bottom of the coolant portion is ~3/4" higher. And since I don't want the whole thing just hanging from the ears, I need something to support the coolant part, hence the piece of MDF - just as a trial.

In the pic below you can see where the MDF fits, but note that I've drawn an arrow to the discharge port for the windshield washer pump, so obviously I'll have to be careful where the support is. I'm hoping I can use a piece of angle with the flat on top to go under the coolant reservoir and provide the support.

And, here's what it looks like with the old reservoir sitting in. Nothing is quite touching something else and the lid to the PDB opens - just. But I think it'll work nicely.

[Bruce moose4x4]

Bruce - We will miss you. But I remember moving my father into assisted living, which was NOT fun, and I had to be there for that. So I understand. My prayers are with you.

Thanks for the thoughts. We got her settled into the assisted living place on the 13th. We started moving the big stuff out on the 5th. All I heard the rest of the week was someone has stolen my furniture. Do you know where it went? Even though she was sitting in the room when we carried it out. But she is settling into her new place. Got two more totes and a vacuuming of her old room and we are done with the move.

Maybe next year on the truck show.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks for the thoughts. We got her settled into the assisted living place on the 13th. We started moving the big stuff out on the 5th. All I heard the rest of the week was someone has stolen my furniture. Do you know where it went? Even though she was sitting in the room when we carried it out. But she is settling into her new place. Got two more totes and a vacuuming of her old room and we are done with the move.

Maybe next year on the truck show.

Glad you got her settled. Been there, done that, and it is no fun. And there’s no way they’ll ever understand where their stuff has gone.

Maybe next year.

[Gary Lewis]

Glad you got her settled. Been there, done that, and it is no fun. And there’s no way they’ll ever understand where their stuff has gone.

Maybe next year.

Got a big part of the bracket for the reservoir & PDB made today. Actually have the reservoir part of it done, just need to do the PDB part. Maybe tomorrow afternoon as we are running errands in the morning.

Will have pics when it is done.

[Gary Lewis]

Got a big part of the bracket for the reservoir & PDB made today. Actually have the reservoir part of it done, just need to do the PDB part. Maybe tomorrow afternoon as we are running errands in the morning.

Will have pics when it is done.

Ok, the bracket is done save for powder coating, which should happen tomorrow. Here's it is on the left and then with the reservoir and the PDB bracket in place on the right:

But there's an oddity built into it for supporting the coolant part of the reservoir. The washer part sits against the fender liner, but there was no good support for the reservoir side so I put a piece of channel in for it to sit down into. You can see it here, but after I powder coat it I'm going to put some of the foam insulation into the vee to pad it nicely.

Here it is in place although not truly bolted down yet since I have to powder coat it. And there's a pic with the lid to the PDB open to show that works as well.

But, there's a problem. The idiot that designed it didn't account for how he was going to get under the PDB and put nuts on the screws holding its bracket to the larger bracket. Had he turned the pieces of angle 180 degrees around then he could have reached under, albeit with some difficulty. But the way it is there's no way to do it. So he's now thinking he'll put nutserts in there.

[Gary Lewis]

Ok, the bracket is done save for powder coating, which should happen tomorrow. Here's it is on the left and then with the reservoir and the PDB bracket in place on the right:

But there's an oddity built into it for supporting the coolant part of the reservoir. The washer part sits against the fender liner, but there was no good support for the reservoir side so I put a piece of channel in for it to sit down into. You can see it here, but after I powder coat it I'm going to put some of the foam insulation into the vee to pad it nicely.

Here it is in place although not truly bolted down yet since I have to powder coat it. And there's a pic with the lid to the PDB open to show that works as well.

But, there's a problem. The idiot that designed it didn't account for how he was going to get under the PDB and put nuts on the screws holding its bracket to the larger bracket. Had he turned the pieces of angle 180 degrees around then he could have reached under, albeit with some difficulty. But the way it is there's no way to do it. So he's now thinking he'll put nutserts in there.

Well, it has been one of "those" days. First thing was to put the nutserts in the reservoir bracket and that went well. Next was to media-blast it, which went well also.

Then it was time to powder coat it, and that's where "things" started happening. Had it in the oven and realized that the oven had been on longer than usual w/o getting up to 420. The drill is to get it to 420 and then drop the set point to 400 and time it for 20 minutes and then turn the oven off and crack the door open. But we were struggling to reach 400, so I set the timer when it finally reached 400 and left the oven straining for 420. It finally reached it just before the 20 minutes was up, so I finished the 20 minutes and turned it off.

Opened the door and found the left heating element had burned in two. If you look closely you can see the top piece of the element laying down below the rest of the element. And compare it to the one on the right.

But, the bracket turned out ok, so I installed it.

Then it was time to put the reservoir in, but first I had to install a pump in it, and when I did that I made sure the seal on the pump was nicely lubed. Then I checked it by running water in the reservoir. The pump worked and didn't leak. So I installed the reservoir and filled the windshield washer side with fluid and came in to the desk to get a drink of water.

Back out to the lift and found this. The seal on the pump is pouring.

Reservoir is back out and draining into the washer fluid bottle and I'm figuring out what the next step is. Gotta pull the pump and see why it leaks. Maybe pull the one out of the reservoir that was in the previous reservoir?

[Machspeed]

Well, it has been one of "those" days. First thing was to put the nutserts in the reservoir bracket and that went well. Next was to media-blast it, which went well also.

Then it was time to powder coat it, and that's where "things" started happening. Had it in the oven and realized that the oven had been on longer than usual w/o getting up to 420. The drill is to get it to 420 and then drop the set point to 400 and time it for 20 minutes and then turn the oven off and crack the door open. But we were struggling to reach 400, so I set the timer when it finally reached 400 and left the oven straining for 420. It finally reached it just before the 20 minutes was up, so I finished the 20 minutes and turned it off.

Opened the door and found the left heating element had burned in two. If you look closely you can see the top piece of the element laying down below the rest of the element. And compare it to the one on the right.

But, the bracket turned out ok, so I installed it.

Then it was time to put the reservoir in, but first I had to install a pump in it, and when I did that I made sure the seal on the pump was nicely lubed. Then I checked it by running water in the reservoir. The pump worked and didn't leak. So I installed the reservoir and filled the windshield washer side with fluid and came in to the desk to get a drink of water.

Back out to the lift and found this. The seal on the pump is pouring.

Reservoir is back out and draining into the washer fluid bottle and I'm figuring out what the next step is. Gotta pull the pump and see why it leaks. Maybe pull the one out of the reservoir that was in the previous reservoir?

I've had many days like that.....one step forward, two back....arghhhhh! Interesting how that element burned up like it did? Thoughts on that?

BTW Gary, I will be picking up my wheels from the powder coater this coming week sometime. I'll let you know how they came out.

And, I leave you with this: "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how your respond."

[Gary Lewis]

And, I leave you with this: "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how your respond."

Yep, and I responded by taking a nap. Things looked a lot better after that. And brightened up even more when I found that Amazon has Trico washer pumps for $15. I ordered at 5:16 last night and it is "Out for delivery" at the moment.

On the wheels, as I was prep'ing for powder coating yesterday I was remembering our conversation re what all the guy you used does for prep, and that got me to wondering if you'd gotten the wheels yet. Can't wait to at least see several pics of them, if not see them "in the flesh".

As for the element, heating elements just do that. When I realized that the temp wasn't coming up as fast as it should have been I opened the door and that element was glowing WHITE in one spot. I quickly closed the door to keep the heat in, but realized that the element had developed a thin spot where the current was heating it way too hot and it would soon burn through. Sure enough, in a few minutes I heard it fall off and hit the rack.

But not to fear, I have a bunch of heating elements. Several years ago I had another one burn out and I found a deal on several of them. So I'll just pull two screws and swap them out.

Sorry, but when I typed "deal" I'm seeing Don Rickles as Crapgame in Kelly's Heroes saying "deal".

[the lone obstacle to the sought-after gold is a solitary tank guarding the bank]

Crapgame : Then make a DEAL!

Big Joe : What kind of deal?

Crapgame : A DEAL, deal!