Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

So, I decided I'd install the axle today and get it down on all fours. And, I did get the D60 as well as the axle shafts installed, as shown below. (Yes, Shaun, the axle shafts went right in. )

Shame about the seal, but what's another few days?

Side note, I brought home a hopefully suitable box for some literature. Gotta personalize it this weekend, but I hope to send it to Oklahoma early next week.

Thanks. Btw, getting the studs on the springs into the center holes on the axle was a real challenge. Apparently the springs don't hang exactly the same distance apart as the holes in the axle housing, and it took quite a bit of leverage to move the spring and get it to go in.

Also, with David's help I ordered a Ford training publication called TOD and SROD Four-Speed Manual Transmissions. It is 81 pages, so with what you send I'll have quite a bit of scanning to do.

[salans7]

Thanks. Btw, getting the studs on the springs into the center holes on the axle was a real challenge. Apparently the springs don't hang exactly the same distance apart as the holes in the axle housing, and it took quite a bit of leverage to move the spring and get it to go in.

Also, with David's help I ordered a Ford training publication called TOD and SROD Four-Speed Manual Transmissions. It is 81 pages, so with what you send I'll have quite a bit of scanning to do.

I expected the issue with the springs, I think it's just the nature of free-hanging leaf packs.

[Gary Lewis]

I expected the issue with the springs, I think it's just the nature of free-hanging leaf packs.

Probably. But when you have a heavy truck and a heavy axle, moving them with respect to each other is not easy. There seems to be a natural place for the axle to hang, and it isn't centered below the studs.

[85lebaront2]

Bill - That's one of the many reasons I'm going to use the '85 speed control system.

But I don't have a vacuum switch on the clutch. And, the 1985 EVTM says the brake pedal has one but not the clutch. However, the clutch pedal is supposed to have a switch that both deactivates the speed control as well as prevents you from starting the truck with the clutch engaged. Big Blue doesn't currently have that switch, although he certainly will as a consequence of the "transformation".

On the tanks, 'tanks. Good to know both that the wiring is the same and about the ground. But as long as there is a ground I don't think it'll matter from whence it comes. I'll be using the rear harness from the '85, so it'll be the in-cab ground.

Gary, didn't I send you a clutch switch for Dad's truck before you changed plans?

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, didn't I send you a clutch switch for Dad's truck before you changed plans?

I have at least one clutch switch. I know I got one from David and I think one from you. So I'm in good shape there. Thanks!

[FuzzFace2]

Bill - That's one of the many reasons I'm going to use the '85 speed control system.

But I don't have a vacuum switch on the clutch. And, the 1985 EVTM says the brake pedal has one but not the clutch. However, the clutch pedal is supposed to have a switch that both deactivates the speed control as well as prevents you from starting the truck with the clutch engaged. Big Blue doesn't currently have that switch, although he certainly will as a consequence of the "transformation".

On the tanks, 'tanks. Good to know both that the wiring is the same and about the ground. But as long as there is a ground I don't think it'll matter from whence it comes. I'll be using the rear harness from the '85, so it'll be the in-cab ground.

A word on being able to crank the motor with out pushing in the clutch like in the old days.

Out in the no mans land you may come up to a point to need to crank the truck to move it like in a water soak stall out to get it out of the water.

Would you get out in the middle of a river / stream to bypass the switch to crank it out so you can work on it?

Just something to think about.

Dave ----

[Gary Lewis]

Bill - That's one of the many reasons I'm going to use the '85 speed control system.

But I don't have a vacuum switch on the clutch. And, the 1985 EVTM says the brake pedal has one but not the clutch. However, the clutch pedal is supposed to have a switch that both deactivates the speed control as well as prevents you from starting the truck with the clutch engaged. Big Blue doesn't currently have that switch, although he certainly will as a consequence of the "transformation".

On the tanks, 'tanks. Good to know both that the wiring is the same and about the ground. But as long as there is a ground I don't think it'll matter from whence it comes. I'll be using the rear harness from the '85, so it'll be the in-cab ground.

A word on being able to crank the motor with out pushing in the clutch like in the old days.

Out in the no mans land you may come up to a point to need to crank the truck to move it like in a water soak stall out to get it out of the water.

Would you get out in the middle of a river / stream to bypass the switch to crank it out so you can work on it?

Just something to think about.

Dave ----

Interesting! You are saying that if it stalls out in a stream it would be nice to be able to put it in low range, leave the clutch engaged, and just crank it out of the stream? Hmmmm.... Wouldn't have thought of that.

I had a guy almost run one of my trucks through the garage door 'cause he didn't realize it would crank in gear w/the clutch out. And I can imagine others doing the same. So I think I want to err on the side of safety. But, it would be easy to bypass the switch with a pushbutton that would let it crank with the clutch engaged.

[Nothing Special]

Interesting! You are saying that if it stalls out in a stream it would be nice to be able to put it in low range, leave the clutch engaged, and just crank it out of the stream? Hmmmm.... Wouldn't have thought of that.

I had a guy almost run one of my trucks through the garage door 'cause he didn't realize it would crank in gear w/the clutch out. And I can imagine others doing the same. So I think I want to err on the side of safety. But, it would be easy to bypass the switch with a pushbutton that would let it crank with the clutch engaged.

Another time to start with the clutch engaged is when starting on a steep hill, or when you stall the engine crawling over rocks. Right now there's a thread going on in another bulletin board I'm on about this. That board is for old flat-fender Jeeps (I don't have one of those either ) which are pretty low powered and could really use lower gearing in the rocks (of course they could also really use taller gearing on the road...). Anyway, with the small 4 banger and relatively tall "crawl ratio" it's easy to stall when trying to get over a rock. The time-honored solution is to restart the engine in gear. In low gear low range the starter can usually start pulling the vehicle up the rock and as the (well-tuned) engine starts you just keep going. Much easier than trying to slip a clutch to get going like that.

Same thing for getting started on a steep hill without rolling backward. Put it in gear and start it. You just chug ahead rather than needing to do a three-pedal dance.

Torquey 460s, granny trans and t.case gearing, good parking brakes and a hand throttle are all other ways of skinning this cat (whoever coined that phrase must have been a dog person). And while my Bronco doesn't have an interlock switch on the clutch I can't say that I've ever started it in gear when fourwheeling. But it's something to think about.

[Gary Lewis]

Another time to start with the clutch engaged is when starting on a steep hill, or when you stall the engine crawling over rocks. Right now there's a thread going on in another bulletin board I'm on about this. That board is for old flat-fender Jeeps (I don't have one of those either ) which are pretty low powered and could really use lower gearing in the rocks (of course they could also really use taller gearing on the road...). Anyway, with the small 4 banger and relatively tall "crawl ratio" it's easy to stall when trying to get over a rock. The time-honored solution is to restart the engine in gear. In low gear low range the starter can usually start pulling the vehicle up the rock and as the (well-tuned) engine starts you just keep going. Much easier than trying to slip a clutch to get going like that.

Same thing for getting started on a steep hill without rolling backward. Put it in gear and start it. You just chug ahead rather than needing to do a three-pedal dance.

Torquey 460s, granny trans and t.case gearing, good parking brakes and a hand throttle are all other ways of skinning this cat (whoever coined that phrase must have been a dog person). And while my Bronco doesn't have an interlock switch on the clutch I can't say that I've ever started it in gear when fourwheeling. But it's something to think about.

Bob - Another good point regarding the clutch switch. You'se guys make a good point to have a bypass push button to allow starting with the clutch in. Thanks. (And, there's that hand throttle nudge again. But I'm going to see if the PTO function works first, and if not I'll install the hand throttle. )

Now, for what I did today - more connector identification on the harnesses. I'm just about done, but have discovered that some of the connectors, like the EGR solenoid and the secondary air injection solenoid, have a factory jumper in them.

I have almost all of the connectors ID'd and need to figure out the last few, document them, and then move on.

Which leads me to a question for y'all. Do you agree with this approach? This is what I have in my embedded document.

☒ Determine which signals need to go to the ECU

☐ Determine what connectors I have on the harnesses and which can be removed

☐ Diagram the PCB and figure out which relays and fuses aren’t needed and how to use those spots, if needed

☐ Take wiring harnesses apart and remove the un-needed wiring and connectors, and then put the harnesses back together.

☐ Lay out where the parts that attach to the driver’s side inner fender go and mount them.

While this may be the slowest-possible approach, at least it will give me the assurance that I know what is needed and what is not needed. Thoughts?

[Gary Lewis]

Bob - Another good point regarding the clutch switch. You'se guys make a good point to have a bypass push button to allow starting with the clutch in. Thanks. (And, there's that hand throttle nudge again. But I'm going to see if the PTO function works first, and if not I'll install the hand throttle. )

Now, for what I did today - more connector identification on the harnesses. I'm just about done, but have discovered that some of the connectors, like the EGR solenoid and the secondary air injection solenoid, have a factory jumper in them.

I have almost all of the connectors ID'd and need to figure out the last few, document them, and then move on.

Which leads me to a question for y'all. Do you agree with this approach? This is what I have in my embedded document.

☒ Determine which signals need to go to the ECU

☐ Determine what connectors I have on the harnesses and which can be removed

☐ Diagram the PCB and figure out which relays and fuses aren’t needed and how to use those spots, if needed

☐ Take wiring harnesses apart and remove the un-needed wiring and connectors, and then put the harnesses back together.

☐ Lay out where the parts that attach to the driver’s side inner fender go and mount them.

While this may be the slowest-possible approach, at least it will give me the assurance that I know what is needed and what is not needed. Thoughts?

I think I'll start phrasing the questions differently. Something like "If no one disagrees I'll take that as concurrence."

Anyway, I think I've almost gotten all of the connectors on the harnesses ID'd and hope to finish that up today. But, I want to confirm my understanding of the O2 sensors and their usage. There are 3 of them in the EEC-V system: #11 - upstream right; #21 - upstream left; and #12 - downstream/after the cat. My notes tell me that since I won't have a cat I can't run the one that is after it since it will always throw a code - and there's no reason for it anyway. Does anyone disagree?

So, looking at the Rock Auto site I find these three Bosch sensors. And since I know that only the CA-spec 460's had EEC-V/MAF/SEFI then I think I need #15717 (upstream left w/CA emissions) and #15716 (upstream right w/manual trans and CA emissions). Disagree?