Upgrades To Big Blue For Overlanding?

[85lebaront2]

Mine is the single cylinder, and should be the 10 ci version, not the 6 or 8, as the 10 is supposedly what Ford used in these trucks. It is said to be extremely capable.

As for the tank, I had the perfect one. A friend donated a compressor that would no longer pump up pressure. But, a little research showed that the likely cause was broken reed valves. So, for $15 I fixed it and will be taking it to my son. However, I have a portable air tank that I never use and it is plenty big enough. And I've been eyeing that exact spot on the right side. As you say, a pressure switch to control it, and a switch in the cab to enable it.

As for the bearing on the clutch freezing and causing problems, I'm not changing the alternator's position at all, so I'll carry the original alternator belt and it'll fit over just the alternator if needed. Problem solved.

Gary, every York or Tecumseh compressor I have ever seen used on Fords were two cyl. either upright or horizontal, the cylinders are in line and the suction/discharge areas are on the sides. They were designed to be universal size, the only changes were if it was horizontal to know where the suction was so the oil would drain properly.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, every York or Tecumseh compressor I have ever seen used on Fords were two cyl. either upright or horizontal, the cylinders are in line and the suction/discharge areas are on the sides. They were designed to be universal size, the only changes were if it was horizontal to know where the suction was so the oil would drain properly.

Here's a little view of the one off Dad's truck. It'll be replaced with a more modern unit when the time comes, so it is available. And, while the red lines show where an idler could go, one fits nicely on the bolt just to the right of the red circle. That gives more purchase for the alternator than even the factory setup.

[Nothing Special]

Yes, that's technical. But the '85 made it with open diff's.

"Made it", yes. But as I noted, it was an adventure!

Here's a link to a trip several took to Utah, and this is the kind of country we are wanting to tackle. Here's the toughest spot they got into, and they all made it - with open diff's. So, I'm thinking that Big Blue's Trutrac diff's will help a lot in conditions like that.

Big Blue shouldn't have TOO MUCH trouble with that. Don't expect to just walk up it (although you might). Take it slow and easy. You can find lots of videos on YouTube showing why just hammering down is a bad idea! If you start spinning tires, back off and try a different line. If nothing works well, use your winch. That keeps the speeds low enough that you are at much less risk of damaging things (but obviously be careful with the winch as it can put a lot of force on things).

However, one thing that has me wondering is the stiffness of the rear springs. Maybe by the time we get the truck loaded there will be some give in the springs, but there sure isn't much now. I'm wondering about removing a leaf or two and going with air bags since we will have on-board air.

Surprisingly I didn't have any trouble with that in my '85 F-250HD. The lines on the cab and bed would shift a lot, so maybe frame flex was making up for it, and that's not necessarily a good thing (can lead to broken spot welds and body mounts, as well as possible frame cracks).

Lightening the springs might be a good idea, but be careful with air bags. I had them on my '95 F-150 and while they worked great on the road, they became my "limiting straps" on rougher stuff. And I didn't like looks of things when they were stretched out like that (I think they wouldn't have a very long life doing much of that). You could put limiting straps to protect the air bags, but that would defeat most of the purpose of using them. I'm afraid I don't have a great answer for you there (personally I think I'd go with just springs, but maybe a little softer than stock, but that's just an off-the-cuff thought).

[85lebaront2]

Guys - I'm sorting and putting things away since I'm literally knee-deep in parts, and have come up with a question re hydro-boost brakes. (This may be specifically to Jim.) In the pic below I've connected the hydraulic lines to the pump from the 1995 F450 and am pretty sure I understand what each does.

But, just to make sure, all I need is a replacement line for the one that is crimped over, which is from the hydro-boost system to the sector box. Right?

And, for posterity, here's the whole system:

And, here's the difference in the pumps - apparently just an extra return:

And, here's a plug for getting LOTS of parts. The bracket from Huck is on the left.

Gary, a picture from the 1996 F-series service manual.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, a picture from the 1996 F-series service manual.

Note where the two return lines go, Hydroboost goes in the top and steering gear through the cooler goes in the bottom.

Bob - Missed your post, sorry. I think we will try Big Blue just the way he is. Not sure if we will have a rack and roof-top tent by the time we do our first trip, and if we don't the weight won't be quite as high so the springs won't be flexing all that much. But, we will give it a try and see how it goes.

Bill - You are right! I hope there's enough hose on the hydro-boost return to do that. Thanks!

[85lebaront2]

Bob - Missed your post, sorry. I think we will try Big Blue just the way he is. Not sure if we will have a rack and roof-top tent by the time we do our first trip, and if we don't the weight won't be quite as high so the springs won't be flexing all that much. But, we will give it a try and see how it goes.

Bill - You are right! I hope there's enough hose on the hydro-boost return to do that. Thanks!

It should be, that is a shorter direction to go than underneath.

[Nothing Special]

....Not sure if we will have a rack and roof-top tent by the time we do our first trip,....

As I progress through my 50s, a tent at rooftop level appeals to me less and less. But I wonder about mounting one at the top of the bed rails? The truck would need something to access stuff in the bed. Either trap doors, or hinging the entire tent (probably the worst option) or a drawer slide so you could pull everything out to access it from the back. And if the door to the tent was at the back (rather than the side) you could get in and out off the tailgate, which seems better to me (as I age) than a ladder. Downside to that is it would mean leaving the tailgate open all night which might leave stuff more vulnerable. Just some thoughts.

[Gary Lewis]

....Not sure if we will have a rack and roof-top tent by the time we do our first trip,....

As I progress through my 50s, a tent at rooftop level appeals to me less and less. But I wonder about mounting one at the top of the bed rails? The truck would need something to access stuff in the bed. Either trap doors, or hinging the entire tent (probably the worst option) or a drawer slide so you could pull everything out to access it from the back. And if the door to the tent was at the back (rather than the side) you could get in and out off the tailgate, which seems better to me (as I age) than a ladder. Downside to that is it would mean leaving the tailgate open all night which might leave stuff more vulnerable. Just some thoughts.

Bob - I'm 70.5 and will probably be 72 before the trip to the North Rim happens. So, I understand exactly what you are saying about the ladder. In my reading I found an Aussie that was reviewing roof-top tents and recalled two instances where people slipped while using the ladder. Both went to the hospital from the outback, with one having suffered a life-altering injury. His point was that the ladders and slick shoes, like Crocs, don't mix and that you should wear good shoes or boots to traverse them.

Some roof-top tents have nets where you are supposed to put your shoes when you get up there. So, I suppose I could put shoes on in the middle of the night when taking my potty break.

As for the height of the tent, if it were at the top of the bed rails then we could do what my son favors - a drawer system. In fact, we could probably build it to not only provide storage but also to provide a working surface for eating or whatever.

[Gary Lewis]

Bob - I'm 70.5 and will probably be 72 before the trip to the North Rim happens. So, I understand exactly what you are saying about the ladder. In my reading I found an Aussie that was reviewing roof-top tents and recalled two instances where people slipped while using the ladder. Both went to the hospital from the outback, with one having suffered a life-altering injury. His point was that the ladders and slick shoes, like Crocs, don't mix and that you should wear good shoes or boots to traverse them.

Some roof-top tents have nets where you are supposed to put your shoes when you get up there. So, I suppose I could put shoes on in the middle of the night when taking my potty break.

As for the height of the tent, if it were at the top of the bed rails then we could do what my son favors - a drawer system. In fact, we could probably build it to not only provide storage but also to provide a working surface for eating or whatever.

Been thinking about how I'm going to paint or powder coat things on Big Blue when I pull the engine and it dawned on me that the valve covers I bought won't work. They are the OMC King Cobras and are for the non-EFI heads. But I'll be going with the EFI heads.

Looking around I haven't found much in the way of neat valve covers for the EFI heads, but a couple of posts seem to say that the factory covers are cast aluminum and clean up very nicely. Does anyone know about that?

Also, some suggested that the lower plenum isn't a good match for the EFI heads and the upper and lower plenums don't match each other, so all should be gasket-matched. I realize that I have those items to check out, but baby it is cold out there right now, so does anyone have any experience there?

[85lebaront2]

Been thinking about how I'm going to paint or powder coat things on Big Blue when I pull the engine and it dawned on me that the valve covers I bought won't work. They are the OMC King Cobras and are for the non-EFI heads. But I'll be going with the EFI heads.

Looking around I haven't found much in the way of neat valve covers for the EFI heads, but a couple of posts seem to say that the factory covers are cast aluminum and clean up very nicely. Does anyone know about that?

Also, some suggested that the lower plenum isn't a good match for the EFI heads and the upper and lower plenums don't match each other, so all should be gasket-matched. I realize that I have those items to check out, but baby it is cold out there right now, so does anyone have any experience there?

Look at my pictures of the new engine for Darth, factory HD model (deeper gasket groove and screw in PCV valve) cleaned and painted with chrome paint. Lower plenum matched my EFI heads fine, doesn't match the carbureted heads, upper plenum, is pretty well wide open, just not real fancy.

FWIW, I have never found any aftermarket EFI 460 valve covers, they are center bolt. Be sure you get the correct gasket for the covers, the standard ones will leak in the HD covers (ask me how I learned that one).

Your carbureted headers will not fit the EFI heads, rectangular vs oval ports.