Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

I wanted to see you with onboard air AND electricity.

I should have known where this would go....

Dad would have said "If that's a compliment I thank you."

[Nothing Special]

.... I thought all the cool kids seated beads with a long shot of starting fluid and a thrown match?

I've done it with the rim on the ground.

I still think a Cheetah tank is safer....

I've seen videos of doing it that way. I've also seen it done with just compressed air. The compressed air method is a lot less dramatic. To my way of thinking, that's a good thing! However, it does require pretty good flow rate. A ratchet strap around the outside of the tire to sort of squeeze the beads onto the rim looks like it helps too (so far I haven't had to reseat a bead, so I'm only going off what I've seen).

[Gary Lewis]

.... I thought all the cool kids seated beads with a long shot of starting fluid and a thrown match?

I've done it with the rim on the ground.

I still think a Cheetah tank is safer....

I've seen videos of doing it that way. I've also seen it done with just compressed air. The compressed air method is a lot less dramatic. To my way of thinking, that's a good thing! However, it does require pretty good flow rate. A ratchet strap around the outside of the tire to sort of squeeze the beads onto the rim looks like it helps too (so far I haven't had to reseat a bead, so I'm only going off what I've seen).

I haven't seen it done, but I did get a first-hand report (pun intended) from my brother. They were towing their ATV's back home and lost two tires on the same side of the trailer. He called me and I found two of them at the Walmart close to them. They dropped the trailer, leaving someone on guard, and got the tires.

When they got back the highway patrol was there and he asked how they were going to seat the beads when all they had was a little air bottle. My nephew put a ratchet strap around the tire, whipped out the WD40, squirted it in, and tossed in a match. Boom! The tire was seated. The patrolman was impressed!

But my question to my brother is why they didn't take the wheels to WallyWorld and have them mount the tires.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I haven't seen it done, but I did get a first-hand report (pun intended) from my brother. They were towing their ATV's back home and lost two tires on the same side of the trailer. He called me and I found two of them at the Walmart close to them. They dropped the trailer, leaving someone on guard, and got the tires.

When they got back the highway patrol was there and he asked how they were going to seat the beads when all they had was a little air bottle. My nephew put a ratchet strap around the tire, whipped out the WD40, squirted it in, and tossed in a match. Boom! The tire was seated. The patrolman was impressed!

But my question to my brother is why they didn't take the wheels to WallyWorld and have them mount the tires.

You can make a Cheetah with any tank, some scrap metal and a 1" ball valve..

Using a tie-down is SOP with my 235/85's but I don't see how that works if the wheel is still on.

[Gary Lewis]

You can make a Cheetah with any tank, some scrap metal and a 1" ball valve..

Using a tie-down is SOP with my 235/85's but I don't see how that works if the wheel is still on.

Jim - Maybe you can describe a Cheetah a bit better? I don't understand what it is.

On a new topic, today I got started on the electrical part of Big Blue's transformation. This has been worrying me for quite some time, but I think I'm starting to get my head around it.

In the pic below is the wiring harness(s) I got from Mark/Dyn Blin, which was from a CA-spec 1996 F250 with a 460 and, therefore, EEC-V. And your vantage point is as if you are standing on top of the cab looking into the engine compartment. The wiring to the ECU is cut, but that's no biggee as I may not put the computer in the stock location and would, therefore, have to lengthen the wires. But otherwise it is seemingly all there.

My efforts so far have been to ID each of the terminals to understand what I have. I'm not yet done with that but probably have 90% of them figured out, but I'll probably have to ask y'all about some of them.

Anyway, the plans are to fully understand what I have and then start pulling out what, if any, I don't need. For instance, the big bulkhead connector that would go into the cab won't be used as such since the Bullnose trucks don't have all of the electronics that supports. But, I'll need some of the wires as somewhere in there are the ones for the OBD-II data link connector as well as the Check Engine light and probably some other necessary functions. Plus, some of those wires are power from the various fuses, and I may be able to use them to replace the fusible links.

Having said that, maybe that's making things too complex. I discovered that this harness utilizes a standard fender-mounted starter relay. On the right side in the pic is a large ring terminal that goes to the battery side of the relay in conjunction with the output line from the alternator. The one in the pic has two short fuselinks to the large yellow wire that runs across the radiator support to the power distribution box where it ends on a stud that powers the whole of the PDB. But there's no megafuse. Just the two fuselinks on that yellow wire and a fuse link on the end of the alternator's charge cable where it hits the starter relay.

So, I could use a standard starter relay and drop the Bullnose fuselinks onto it. That would simplify things significantly from what I'd planned and make doing this conversion much more straightforward.

Also, I can come off the PDB's power stud with a wire to the auxiliary battery, but take it through the smart battery isolator.

Maybe this won't be as tough as I thought?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Jim - Maybe you can describe a Cheetah a bit better? I don't understand what it is.

On a new topic, today I got started on the electrical part of Big Blue's transformation. This has been worrying me for quite some time, but I think I'm starting to get my head around it.

In the pic below is the wiring harness(s) I got from Mark/Dyn Blin, which was from a CA-spec 1996 F250 with a 460 and, therefore, EEC-V. And your vantage point is as if you are standing on top of the cab looking into the engine compartment. The wiring to the ECU is cut, but that's no biggee as I may not put the computer in the stock location and would, therefore, have to lengthen the wires. But otherwise it is seemingly all there.

My efforts so far have been to ID each of the terminals to understand what I have. I'm not yet done with that but probably have 90% of them figured out, but I'll probably have to ask y'all about some of them.

Anyway, the plans are to fully understand what I have and then start pulling out what, if any, I don't need. For instance, the big bulkhead connector that would go into the cab won't be used as such since the Bullnose trucks don't have all of the electronics that supports. But, I'll need some of the wires as somewhere in there are the ones for the OBD-II data link connector as well as the Check Engine light and probably some other necessary functions. Plus, some of those wires are power from the various fuses, and I may be able to use them to replace the fusible links.

Having said that, maybe that's making things too complex. I discovered that this harness utilizes a standard fender-mounted starter relay. On the right side in the pic is a large ring terminal that goes to the battery side of the relay in conjunction with the output line from the alternator. The one in the pic has two short fuselinks to the large yellow wire that runs across the radiator support to the power distribution box where it ends on a stud that powers the whole of the PDB. But there's no megafuse. Just the two fuselinks on that yellow wire and a fuse link on the end of the alternator's charge cable where it hits the starter relay.

So, I could use a standard starter relay and drop the Bullnose fuselinks onto it. That would simplify things significantly from what I'd planned and make doing this conversion much more straightforward.

Also, I can come off the PDB's power stud with a wire to the auxiliary battery, but take it through the smart battery isolator.

Maybe this won't be as tough as I thought?

https://www.amazon.com/TSI-Cheetah-Bead-Seating-Tool/dp/B000VNHWUM

https://buytsi.com/product/ch-5-2/

[Gary Lewis]

https://www.amazon.com/TSI-Cheetah-Bead-Seating-Tool/dp/B000VNHWUM

https://buytsi.com/product/ch-5-2/

Now I understand. Thanks!

[ArdWrknTrk]

Now I understand. Thanks!

There are videos on the TSI page.

I may have underestimated the size of the ball valve, but they do work well.

Says the 5gallon model works for something like up to 22" tires

[salans7]

There are videos on the TSI page.

I may have underestimated the size of the ball valve, but they do work well.

Says the 5gallon model works for something like up to 22" tires

I believe that red connector with the light blue label on it is for the Cruise Control deactivation switch, otherwise known as the switch that could catch half of Ford's lineup on fire from the early 90's to 2002.

[Gary Lewis]

I believe that red connector with the light blue label on it is for the Cruise Control deactivation switch, otherwise known as the switch that could catch half of Ford's lineup on fire from the early 90's to 2002.

Interesting! I haven't investigated it yet, but there's a fuse holder integrated into it and something said on that label 'bout a non-repairable fuse. I wonder if that was from a recall.

But I plan to use the stock Bullnose cruise system, so probably won't use that anyway.