WHYDTYTT: What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?

[Ford F834]

I have been slowly adding the blue lines and new clips. The brake feel is better, less "fizzy" under the foot.

I do have new pads/shoes to put in but I am thinking I should change the rear slave cylinders while I am at it...

When I did the hrdroboost conversion in my 1981 I went ahead and did new rear wheel cylinders, front calipers with steel pistons, and new pads and shoes. I purged out all the rusty fluid from the system. It did not cost that much to do and the brakes are awesome. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

[Gsmblue]

When I did the hrdroboost conversion in my 1981 I went ahead and did new rear wheel cylinders, front calipers with steel pistons, and new pads and shoes. I purged out all the rusty fluid from the system. It did not cost that much to do and the brakes are awesome. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

I have done stainless steel hoses, brake fluid flush, replaced the booster. I picked up the rear cylinders today and got the shoes/pads at the weekend.

Maybe down the road I will replace the hard lines...

[BeagleRock]

Hey Gary I trust you made it back from rainy FL. Anyway I had my cigarette smoking neighbor blow smoke through a hose I tapped into from the brake booster line. I did this because of a YouTube video.

The smoke came straight out of the top of the carb and nowhere else. Isn't this how it should be? Yes or no.

Thanks Randy

Received a new 1" aluminum spacer today and will install with old carburetor and see what happens! Hopefully no more rocking carburetor meaning I could actually put my hand on top of carb and rock it corner to corner. Alot more than a 1/32" gasket is going to make up for.

I feel this will be the fix!!! 😀

[NotEnoughTrucks]

Received a new 1" aluminum spacer today and will install with old carburetor and see what happens! Hopefully no more rocking carburetor meaning I could actually put my hand on top of carb and rock it corner to corner. Alot more than a 1/32" gasket is going to make up for.

I feel this will be the fix!!! 😀

Little bit of personal maintenance required for the next week or so. Been AWOL since last weekend with a new stint. Getting older brings these hazards.

Anyways, #1 son put a new set of 31" tires on his 86 Bronco. He's out testing this right now. Pretty sure he will come back muddy.

[Gary Lewis]

Little bit of personal maintenance required for the next week or so. Been AWOL since last weekend with a new stint. Getting older brings these hazards.

Anyways, #1 son put a new set of 31" tires on his 86 Bronco. He's out testing this right now. Pretty sure he will come back muddy.

NotEnoughTrucks - Ray! "Personal maintenance"? A stint???? That's serious stuff! Hope you are doing well and recovering quickly.

BeagleRock - I hope that spacer solves the problem. You sure seem to be having them. Problems that is.

GSMBlue - You are closing in on good feeling brakes. Those on Big Blue aren't, and I have all the parts to fix them, inc hydroboost, braided lines, etc. But, that's for when I tear him down this fall.

But, this is WHYDTYTT. And I'll answer that - drove it to the levy but the levy was dry. No, sorry, that was a Chevy and this is a Ford. I drove it to the marina and the marina was wet. Twice. We'd gone out on the boat yesterday and had to be towed back as the engine would crank but wouldn't start. Turns out that the main battery was bad and when the solenoid pulled in while charging to parallel the two batteries the bad one took all the juice and the good battery wasn't coming up to snuff. And, apparently Mercruiser's ECM takes good voltage to work, so while it would crank the voltage was too low to let it fire the injectors.

Once I figured that out I got the engine started and then replaced the battery, and all is almost well. Unfortunately the cracked water distribution housing, that the marina ordered to replace the cracked one shown below, is back ordered. And we want to use the boat in the interim, so I have a "cunning plan". (Sorry, Dogsbody/Baldrick.) I'm going to run some RTV on the threads as well as around where the 0-ring seats and put the plug in. Let it set overnight, and it should slow the leak down significantly if not stop it.

[NotEnoughTrucks]

NotEnoughTrucks - Ray! "Personal maintenance"? A stint???? That's serious stuff! Hope you are doing well and recovering quickly.

BeagleRock - I hope that spacer solves the problem. You sure seem to be having them. Problems that is.

GSMBlue - You are closing in on good feeling brakes. Those on Big Blue aren't, and I have all the parts to fix them, inc hydroboost, braided lines, etc. But, that's for when I tear him down this fall.

But, this is WHYDTYTT. And I'll answer that - drove it to the levy but the levy was dry. No, sorry, that was a Chevy and this is a Ford. I drove it to the marina and the marina was wet. Twice. We'd gone out on the boat yesterday and had to be towed back as the engine would crank but wouldn't start. Turns out that the main battery was bad and when the solenoid pulled in while charging to parallel the two batteries the bad one took all the juice and the good battery wasn't coming up to snuff. And, apparently Mercruiser's ECM takes good voltage to work, so while it would crank the voltage was too low to let it fire the injectors.

Once I figured that out I got the engine started and then replaced the battery, and all is almost well. Unfortunately the cracked water distribution housing, that the marina ordered to replace the cracked one shown below, is back ordered. And we want to use the boat in the interim, so I have a "cunning plan". (Sorry, Dogsbody/Baldrick.) I'm going to run some RTV on the threads as well as around where the 0-ring seats and put the plug in. Let it set overnight, and it should slow the leak down significantly if not stop it.

Yup, it certainly has been a sobering experience. Fortunately, caught it early and kept the damage to a minimum.

But of course this is WHYDTYTT and my son does seem to be quite happy with his new tires. Discovered the limited slip no longer holds, but some new clutches ought to fix that.

[Gary Lewis]

Yup, it certainly has been a sobering experience. Fortunately, caught it early and kept the damage to a minimum.

But of course this is WHYDTYTT and my son does seem to be quite happy with his new tires. Discovered the limited slip no longer holds, but some new clutches ought to fix that.

Glad you caught it early. You are in my prayers for a speedy and complete recovery.

As for the diff, Dad's was worn out as well. Got it stuck in 2wd on soft ground. Had the pumpkin rebuild and he used Kevlar clutches. Certainly doesn't slip now. In fact, it'll squeal a bit on tight corners under power.

 

[NotEnoughTrucks]

Glad you caught it early. You are in my prayers for a speedy and complete recovery.

As for the diff, Dad's was worn out as well. Got it stuck in 2wd on soft ground. Had the pumpkin rebuild and he used Kevlar clutches. Certainly doesn't slip now. In fact, it'll squeal a bit on tight corners under power.

Thanks Gary.

I just returned from a small demonstration of these new tires on the Bronco. Sure was a good reminder of how agile these trucks can be as well as how much body flex they have, especially when you remove the top! Gotta love Bullnose Bronco's.

Had a good chuckle as well as another stroke of luck. In my best fatherly fashion, I have been trying to convince my son that he really should fix the hood safety latch. Of course, he did not. After we got back on the public road, we were driving at a reasonably slow speed and the hood started to rise. He was able to come to a stop immediately and he put the hood down. I was biting my tongue really hard just about now, but I reminded him that I did have the necessary parts out in the field of dreams. So, off we went. Collected the necessary parts plus about half a dozen wood ticks.

I also located the instrument cluster out of the old Frankentruck cab. His speedometer was unreliable and this replacement also had a tach. Took a few minutes work and the upgrade was a success.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks Gary.

I just returned from a small demonstration of these new tires on the Bronco. Sure was a good reminder of how agile these trucks can be as well as how much body flex they have, especially when you remove the top! Gotta love Bullnose Bronco's.

Had a good chuckle as well as another stroke of luck. In my best fatherly fashion, I have been trying to convince my son that he really should fix the hood safety latch. Of course, he did not. After we got back on the public road, we were driving at a reasonably slow speed and the hood started to rise. He was able to come to a stop immediately and he put the hood down. I was biting my tongue really hard just about now, but I reminded him that I did have the necessary parts out in the field of dreams. So, off we went. Collected the necessary parts plus about half a dozen wood ticks.

I also located the instrument cluster out of the old Frankentruck cab. His speedometer was unreliable and this replacement also had a tach. Took a few minutes work and the upgrade was a success.

Yes, they can go lots of places - especially the Broncos.

My recent “Father Knows Best” episode was when I suggested to my daughter that she take my cigarette lighter cell phone charger with her on her trip. No, she didn’t need it, but thanks. Later that day she called to fess up that she had to buy one. At least in your case the instruments got upgraded. 👍

As for the ticks, that reminds me of working on my first Bullnose with my father. It was in knee-deep grass and I when I called him the next morning we compared notes - both of us were infested with chiggars. I stopped counting at 100 bites. 😫

[FuzzFace2]

Yes, they can go lots of places - especially the Broncos.

My recent “Father Knows Best” episode was when I suggested to my daughter that she take my cigarette lighter cell phone charger with her on her trip. No, she didn’t need it, but thanks. Later that day she called to fess up that she had to buy one. At least in your case the instruments got upgraded. 👍

As for the ticks, that reminds me of working on my first Bullnose with my father. It was in knee-deep grass and I when I called him the next morning we compared notes - both of us were infested with chiggars. I stopped counting at 100 bites. 😫

Yesterday: what do you do when home from work by 10:30am and its not too hot? Work on the truck of course.

Started the truck and moved it out so not to get covered in body work dust. I love how smooth this 300 runs.

Brake pedal still goes to the floor but does stop so will need to look into that some day.

I used a grinder with 36 grit disc to take the hood down to metal and prep it for a skim coat of filler. The skim coat of filler is needed because when I took the skin off the frame I put little bend marks in the skin.

It also had an area that I straighten that needed a little more filler & shaping so I did that first then the skim coat.

Then I removed the tail gate and started stripping it or paint & rust using a Eastwood disc made for this. I still have more to do with a smaller disc then will treat the gate with the acid I have for this.

If not too hot over the weekend I hope to get the hood & gate in primer.

I also have been looking at masking machines in 12" & 18" wide paper. I have been using news paper but we don't get the paper here and what I have is small sheets so felt its time to move up to one.

Dave ----