WHYDTYTT: What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Today I replaced Crusty the Wonderbelt (it may have been the factory-original air pump belt on my truck from the looks of it) with a shiny new belt, thanks to excellent detective work by 'ArdWrknTrk'.

Here's the weird thing - the specified belt for my truck is a Gates #7381, but that belt was too long. The 7359 I ended up putting on there fits perfectly, but is specified for a 1977/78 truck. Are there any good reasons why my truck might take the wrong belt? The engine is definitely original.

Hey Matthew!

That certainly was a sorry looking belt.

I'm glad that worked out for you, and that Gates product chart was accurate even if their fitment chart was wrong.

They used to have a menu called NaviGates that actually showed the routing of all the belts from the end of the engine.

If you're that puzzled maybe you could find one of those for 77 & another for '80.

You might spot the difference right away.

[Gary Lewis]

Today I replaced Crusty the Wonderbelt (it may have been the factory-original air pump belt on my truck from the looks of it) with a shiny new belt, thanks to excellent detective work by 'ArdWrknTrk'.

Here's the weird thing - the specified belt for my truck is a Gates #7381, but that belt was too long. The 7359 I ended up putting on there fits perfectly, but is specified for a 1977/78 truck. Are there any good reasons why my truck might take the wrong belt? The engine is definitely original.

I'm going to guess that the documentation is wrong. The engine is original, as is the pump. So the belt that you found is surely the right and original one, regardless of what the documentation says.

[Gary Lewis]

I'm going to guess that the documentation is wrong. The engine is original, as is the pump. So the belt that you found is surely the right and original one, regardless of what the documentation says.

So, WHIDTYTT? Started Big Blue and got him out of the shop and around to the trailer so I could get the trailer out to go get the '65 Malibu on Tuesday. But Janey's cousin called the outing off until September, so there's no need to move the trailer.

Another reason to move BB was so Scott/WelderScott could bring his '78 over for some work. He'd said that he sometimes has the death wobble, and in an effort to fix that he's replaced the ball joints, tie rods, and steering box. That helped but it didn't fix it, so I suggested we replace the Insulators (front susoension radius arm axle end), as Ford calls them.

His truck has a D44 solid front axle, not TTB's, and coil springs. So in addition to the bushings/insulators on the rear of the radius arms, which are forged by the way, he has them on the front where they meet the axle. I've circled all of that in the illustration below.

And, here's a pic of Scott with the truck as we were working on it:

It took us about 4 hours to do the driver's side, but more like 2 hours to do the passenger's side. Or maybe less as we learned how not to do it very well. But, was it successful? Here's his text after just a short drive:

Noticed an immediate improvement. Better steering, a lot less vibration in steering wheel. Seemed to improve overall feel for the road.

So, while that doesn't mean the death wobble is gone, I think it probably is.

[Nothing Special]

.... His truck has a D44 solid front axle, not TTB's, and coil springs. So in addition to the bushings/insulators on the rear of the radius arms, which are forged by the way, he has them on the front where they meet the axle....

It took us about 4 hours to do the driver's side, but more like 2 hours to do the passenger's side. Or maybe less as we learned how not to do it very well....

Yep, that's what my '71 Bronco has. I used urethane "C" bushings on mine (and had to replace them several times*) and getting the bolts that hold the caps on to draw it down tight too a LOT of torque! More than my impact wrench was capable of, so I had to use a breaker bar the whole way (about 1 1/2" of thread). And that was after using a C-clamp to squeeze it on far enough to get enough thread engagement to feel good about how much torque I was applying!

* For lifted vehicles with this suspension you can buy C-bushings with the inside and outside at different angles to adjust caster. It took two tries to get the caster close to right the first time, and then two more to get it right when I lowered the rear end of the radius arms (it actually had negative caster when I bought it )

And urethane, in place of the standard rubber, gives a tighter steering feel and lasts longer, but gives less articulation off-road. I kind of wish I had gone with rubber for the articulation.

[Gary Lewis]

.... His truck has a D44 solid front axle, not TTB's, and coil springs. So in addition to the bushings/insulators on the rear of the radius arms, which are forged by the way, he has them on the front where they meet the axle....

It took us about 4 hours to do the driver's side, but more like 2 hours to do the passenger's side. Or maybe less as we learned how not to do it very well....

Yep, that's what my '71 Bronco has. I used urethane "C" bushings on mine (and had to replace them several times*) and getting the bolts that hold the caps on to draw it down tight too a LOT of torque! More than my impact wrench was capable of, so I had to use a breaker bar the whole way (about 1 1/2" of thread). And that was after using a C-clamp to squeeze it on far enough to get enough thread engagement to feel good about how much torque I was applying!

* For lifted vehicles with this suspension you can buy C-bushings with the inside and outside at different angles to adjust caster. It took two tries to get the caster close to right the first time, and then two more to get it right when I lowered the rear end of the radius arms (it actually had negative caster when I bought it )

And urethane, in place of the standard rubber, gives a tighter steering feel and lasts longer, but gives less articulation off-road. I kind of wish I had gone with rubber for the articulation.

Bob - I literally when reading your note. We used urethane and certainly needed the c-clamps to get the bolts to reach.

But, as for the torque, we didn't have an FSM so looked up 9/16-12 bolts and the torque range for a G5 was 100 lb-ft so that's what we used. That brought the two halves of the C's together very firmly.

And, the bushings were marked with the degree of caster. I don't remember what that was, but it was for a stock vehicle.

Oddly enough, those Prothane bushings didn't come with the grease packets, but we used some I had left over to ensure they don't groan. Hope that was appropriate.

[ArdWrknTrk]

So, WHIDTYTT? Started Big Blue and got him out of the shop and around to the trailer so I could get the trailer out to go get the '65 Malibu on Tuesday. But Janey's cousin called the outing off until September, so there's no need to move the trailer.

Another reason to move BB was so Scott/WelderScott could bring his '78 over for some work. He'd said that he sometimes has the death wobble, and in an effort to fix that he's replaced the ball joints, tie rods, and steering box. That helped but it didn't fix it, so I suggested we replace the Insulators (front susoension radius arm axle end), as Ford calls them.

His truck has a D44 solid front axle, not TTB's, and coil springs. So in addition to the bushings/insulators on the rear of the radius arms, which are forged by the way, he has them on the front where they meet the axle. I've circled all of that in the illustration below.

And, here's a pic of Scott with the truck as we were working on it:

It took us about 4 hours to do the driver's side, but more like 2 hours to do the passenger's side. Or maybe less as we learned how not to do it very well. But, was it successful? Here's his text after just a short drive:

Noticed an immediate improvement. Better steering, a lot less vibration in steering wheel. Seemed to improve overall feel for the road.

So, while that doesn't mean the death wobble is gone, I think it probably is.

What was Scott's full drive report after church?

'70's frames are very different from Bullnose, so mix & match as suggested in the new members thread about a D44 hulk isn't going to be simple.

[Gary Lewis]

What was Scott's full drive report after church?

'70's frames are very different from Bullnose, so mix & match as suggested in the new members thread about a D44 hulk isn't going to be simple.

I was afraid the mix and match wasn't going to be easy. But Ray turned it down anyway.

Anyway, Scott said he drove the truck for about an hour, and part of it was on very rough dirt roads. In all that time he only had the wobble happen once, and it happened on a very rough road and went away when he slowed down a bit. In contrast, prior to the new bushings the wobble would happen on normal roads and you had to stop to get it to go away.

 

So it was a dramatic improvement and he's going to drive the truck more before worrying about what else to fix. However, he has a new Bluetop steering box on it and we compared it to the RedHead on Dad's truck. Night and day difference. The RedHead has absolutely no play in it, while the Bluetop has significant play.

So he is going to shoot a video of the play and get back with Bluetop to see what they'll do. He says he may have a total of 10 miles on it and there's something wrong there.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I was afraid the mix and match wasn't going to be easy. But Ray turned it down anyway.

Anyway, Scott said he drove the truck for about an hour, and part of it was on very rough dirt roads. In all that time he only had the wobble happen once, and it happened on a very rough road and went away when he slowed down a bit. In contrast, prior to the new bushings the wobble would happen on normal roads and you had to stop to get it to go away.

 

So it was a dramatic improvement and he's going to drive the truck more before worrying about what else to fix. However, he has a new Bluetop steering box on it and we compared it to the RedHead on Dad's truck. Night and day difference. The RedHead has absolutely no play in it, while the Bluetop has significant play.

So he is going to shoot a video of the play and get back with Bluetop to see what they'll do. He says he may have a total of 10 miles on it and there's something wrong there.

If it's got all new balls just tighten up the adjustment.

There shouldn't be that much slack in a rebuilt box.

[Gary Lewis]

If it's got all new balls just tighten up the adjustment.

There shouldn't be that much slack in a rebuilt box.

We didn't check his box, but the RedHead has a painted line where the setting is now and a big disclaimer that says that if you change it you void the warranty. So he needs to work with Bluetop before making any adjustments.

[ArdWrknTrk]

We didn't check his box, but the RedHead has a painted line where the setting is now and a big disclaimer that says that if you change it you void the warranty. So he needs to work with Bluetop before making any adjustments.

Oh no doubt.