WHYDTYTT: What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?

[Gary Lewis]

And you have plenty of time to do it. I think your truck is going to be ready long before the time comes.

I think so as well. I still have oil and coolant to change, but that’s trivial. My biggest problem will be resisting the urge to futz with something else.

Is the spring compressor tool on order?

Nope! It’s sitting on my workbench next to the valve holder tool, waiting for it’s moment of glory.

Excellent! So the games begin on Saturday?

Other things to check would include all of the exterior lighting and aiming the headlights. And if you were looking for something else to do, the headlight wiring harness might be a good thing to do. You'll have bright lights for the trip.

[Dorsai]

Excellent! So the games begin on Saturday?

Almost certainly.

Other things to check would include all of the exterior lighting and aiming the headlights. And if you were looking for something else to do, the headlight wiring harness might be a good thing to do. You'll have bright lights for the trip.

I hadn't considered aiming the headlights, but that's not a bad idea - I don't know if that's ever been done on this truck.

As for the wiring harness...I've considered that off and on over the years, and I recognize the benefit of doing so. But I like having an unmolested truck; there are fewer and fewer as the years go by. I'm not sure I want to start down the modification road without good reason.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Excellent! So the games begin on Saturday?

Almost certainly.

Other things to check would include all of the exterior lighting and aiming the headlights. And if you were looking for something else to do, the headlight wiring harness might be a good thing to do. You'll have bright lights for the trip.

I hadn't considered aiming the headlights, but that's not a bad idea - I don't know if that's ever been done on this truck.

As for the wiring harness...I've considered that off and on over the years, and I recognize the benefit of doing so. But I like having an unmolested truck; there are fewer and fewer as the years go by. I'm not sure I want to start down the modification road without good reason.

Bear in mind as you consider the headlight relay harness that it prevents a potential meltdown of the wiring near the headlight switch. The connectors on the switch and wiring tend to lose connectivity over time. More specifically, the high current through the less-than-perfect connections causes heating, which causes them to lose their "spring" which causes the connection to get worse, which causes more heating, which......

I've not had it happen, but I do know several times in various forums we've diagnosed a headlight problem as a bad switch or bad wiring due to heat. Some found the connector on the switch itself burned, and some found the wire(s) close to the switch were melted - sometimes into another wire, causing a short. And, the power feed from the battery to the switch does not go through a fuse, just a fuselink, so it has some power.

The original wiring and connectors were marginal when new - and they are now far from new. Ford changed that design several years after our trucks were made and put relays out under the hood so the switch and associated wiring just carries the pull-in current for the relay and not all of the current of the headlights. And that's exactly what the harness does for our trucks.

Some of the harnesses that are commercially available are plug & play, meaning they can be added w/o cutting any wiring. That's the way I made mine, and it worked extremely well - the harness plugs into the headlight wiring on one end and into the headlight on the other. And if later you decide you don't want the harness in there you can unplug it and go back to the stock wiring.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Bear in mind as you consider the headlight relay harness that it prevents a potential meltdown of the wiring near the headlight switch. The connectors on the switch and wiring tend to lose connectivity over time. More specifically, the high current through the less-than-perfect connections causes heating, which causes them to lose their "spring" which causes the connection to get worse, which causes more heating, which......

I've not had it happen, but I do know several times in various forums we've diagnosed a headlight problem as a bad switch or bad wiring due to heat. Some found the connector on the switch itself burned, and some found the wire(s) close to the switch were melted - sometimes into another wire, causing a short. And, the power feed from the battery to the switch does not go through a fuse, just a fuselink, so it has some power.

The original wiring and connectors were marginal when new - and they are now far from new. Ford changed that design several years after our trucks were made and put relays out under the hood so the switch and associated wiring just carries the pull-in current for the relay and not all of the current of the headlights. And that's exactly what the harness does for our trucks.

Some of the harnesses that are commercially available are plug & play, meaning they can be added w/o cutting any wiring. That's the way I made mine, and it worked extremely well - the harness plugs into the headlight wiring on one end and into the headlight on the other. And if later you decide you don't want the harness in there you can unplug it and go back to the stock wiring.

I have one (from LMC, I think) that uses obsecure little relays.

I bought some spares "in case"

Huge difference in light output though!

[Gary Lewis]

I have one (from LMC, I think) that uses obsecure little relays.

I bought some spares "in case"

Huge difference in light output though!

I wonder if the LMC's still use the obscure relays? I doubt the relays will fail, but glad you have spares.

And, I agree with you on the light output. Big difference.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I wonder if the LMC's still use the obscure relays? I doubt the relays will fail, but glad you have spares.

And, I agree with you on the light output. Big difference.

They're not that obscure, but they're not the basic 'Bosch' cube relays I know from the past.

I did have one go out on the Jersey turnpike coming back from the shore early one morning.

I just swapped plugs with the high beams and kept going.

It was rusty inside.

I found some sealed ones, and threw the one good one in my glovebox.

[Gary Lewis]

They're not that obscure, but they're not the basic 'Bosch' cube relays I know from the past.

I did have one go out on the Jersey turnpike coming back from the shore early one morning.

I just swapped plugs with the high beams and kept going.

It was rusty inside.

I found some sealed ones, and threw the one good one in my glovebox.

I built mine to use the sealed Bosch relays. Never have had a problem.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I built mine to use the sealed Bosch relays. Never have had a problem.

But you hadn't been driving your truck in the surf for most of the previous week, had you?

I'm not knocking the quality.

Especially given the price for a plug-n-play harness.

[Gary Lewis]

But you hadn't been driving your truck in the surf for most of the previous week, had you?

I'm not knocking the quality.

Especially given the price for a plug-n-play harness.

No, we don't have much surf in Okiehoma, so I wasn't doing that.

As for LMC's harness, I've not heard anything bad about it other than that it takes an uncommon relay. But I wouldn't be afraid of it.

[Dorsai]

No, we don't have much surf in Okiehoma, so I wasn't doing that.

As for LMC's harness, I've not heard anything bad about it other than that it takes an uncommon relay. But I wouldn't be afraid of it.

Today I counted my pushrods...I came up with 12, which seems like a good number for a 300:

This is the start of regasketing the valve and pushrod covers. They don't leak badly, but there's a regular sheen of oil on the engine that I'd like to eliminate if possible. Also:

The valve cover is even rattier (plus has a touch of rust as well), so I'll try my hand at painting them before they go back on.