WHYDTYTT: What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, the 1987-91 bumper is nowhere near as substantial as the 1980-86 one, it mounts to the sides of the frame horns and has a set of brackets that the actual bumper bolts to. The one from "Big Ugly" the parts donor was bent when the PO bumped into the back of his Corvair convertible.

Bill - That's amazing. And disappointing.

Reminds me of 1969. Probably June thereof. A friend of mine and I were sharing an apartment before we both got married in July and August, respectively. He was driving an Opel Kadett, and when he pulled up to the apartment and got out he forgot to put the e-brake on. It rolled gently into a corrugated trash can and the bumper bent more than the can did.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yipes! You pushed the bumper in? Your frame has the brackets on the side, right? Did the bumper bend or did one of the brackets?

Stainless hanger? I've read about them, but haven't seen them. Post a pic when you do it, please.

Gary, I pushed the corner and folded it in the middle.

The 'hanger' is just a stainless U-bolt to replace the one I had before who's saddle rusted out.

I'll post a pic after I find my argon bottle....

In the rush to get out of my storage container things are spread all over and a lot of 'valueable stuff' got pitched or given away.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, I pushed the corner and folded it in the middle.

The 'hanger' is just a stainless U-bolt to replace the one I had before who's saddle rusted out.

I'll post a pic after I find my argon bottle....

In the rush to get out of my storage container things are spread all over and a lot of 'valueable stuff' got pitched or given away.

I have a '90 bumper in my way in the shop. Wish I could get it to you for free. But it probably is bent as well.

[Rembrant]

Well nothing too exciting but I did put about 250 miles on the old Bullnose today on a quick round trip visit to my parents place.

I'm having some vibration issues. The tires/wheels are vibrating...and they need to be checked and re-balanced, so I don't need any help there...but,...

I feel like there is a vibration in my engine. How much of it is normal with the cam I do not know, but it does seem to vibrate more than it should. I just pulled all of the plug wires one by one, and there was a change in idle each time...not much of one mind you, but a change nonetheless. One of them (#7) didn't seem to change much at all, but it did change a little bit.

So is a compression test the next best thing to check what each cylinder is doing?

Any other advice? New plugs? New fuel filter, etc? They've all been in there since I put the engine in last year.

[Gary Lewis]

Well nothing too exciting but I did put about 250 miles on the old Bullnose today on a quick round trip visit to my parents place.

I'm having some vibration issues. The tires/wheels are vibrating...and they need to be checked and re-balanced, so I don't need any help there...but,...

I feel like there is a vibration in my engine. How much of it is normal with the cam I do not know, but it does seem to vibrate more than it should. I just pulled all of the plug wires one by one, and there was a change in idle each time...not much of one mind you, but a change nonetheless. One of them (#7) didn't seem to change much at all, but it did change a little bit.

So is a compression test the next best thing to check what each cylinder is doing?

Any other advice? New plugs? New fuel filter, etc? They've all been in there since I put the engine in last year.

I wouldn't think you'd be able to feel any vibration from the cam after maybe 1200 RPM or so. Are the engine mounts good? Is the shift lever possibly touching something? An exhaust pipe touching the frame?

[Rembrant]

I wouldn't think you'd be able to feel any vibration from the cam after maybe 1200 RPM or so. Are the engine mounts good? Is the shift lever possibly touching something? An exhaust pipe touching the frame?

Gary, I don't think anything is touching anywhere. Engine mounts were new when I installed the rebuilt engine last year...nothing special...they're just the parts store ones.

I pulled the front four plugs tonight and I think they all look ok? Maybe have about 3500-4000 miles on them.

[fords4life]

I wouldn't think you'd be able to feel any vibration from the cam after maybe 1200 RPM or so. Are the engine mounts good? Is the shift lever possibly touching something? An exhaust pipe touching the frame?

Gary, I don't think anything is touching anywhere. Engine mounts were new when I installed the rebuilt engine last year...nothing special...they're just the parts store ones.

I pulled the front four plugs tonight and I think they all look ok? Maybe have about 3500-4000 miles on them.

No photos today, but I did get the spindles, splash shields, and rotor/hubs installed. Also got the tie rods loosely assembled and ready to paint.

[Gary Lewis]

I wouldn't think you'd be able to feel any vibration from the cam after maybe 1200 RPM or so. Are the engine mounts good? Is the shift lever possibly touching something? An exhaust pipe touching the frame?

Gary, I don't think anything is touching anywhere. Engine mounts were new when I installed the rebuilt engine last year...nothing special...they're just the parts store ones.

I pulled the front four plugs tonight and I think they all look ok? Maybe have about 3500-4000 miles on them.

The plugs look fine, although the mix might be a touch lean.

Do you have EGR? If so, do you know if it is coming in? If not, has your dizzy been tuned to account for the lack of it?

[ArdWrknTrk]

I wouldn't think you'd be able to feel any vibration from the cam after maybe 1200 RPM or so. Are the engine mounts good? Is the shift lever possibly touching something? An exhaust pipe touching the frame?

Gary, I don't think anything is touching anywhere. Engine mounts were new when I installed the rebuilt engine last year...nothing special...they're just the parts store ones.

I pulled the front four plugs tonight and I think they all look ok? Maybe have about 3500-4000 miles on them.

Plugs look fine but the second looks a touch oily around the neck.

Thank goodness we in the U.S. don't have MTBE any more.

Plugs all looked bright orange (like flash rust) back then.

Point an IR thermometer at each exhaust port and see if one is cooler that the rest if you're looking for a miss.

Are you sure it isn't an exhaust noise you're hearing, Cory?

 

[Rembrant]

Plugs look fine but the second looks a touch oily around the neck.

Thank goodness we in the U.S. don't have MTBE any more.

Plugs all looked bright orange (like flash rust) back then.

Point an IR thermometer at each exhaust port and see if one is cooler that the rest if you're looking for a miss.

Are you sure it isn't an exhaust noise you're hearing, Cory?

Not exhaust noise, no...it's definitely a vibration, I just can't tell if it's normal or not. Pretty sure it isn't...

Good idea on the exhaust port temp check. I may try that tonight before I do a compression test.

So how does that oil get up around the plug anyway? I guess it works it's way up past the threads? The engine uses no oil and doesn't smoke or anything. It IS brand new, so it shouldn't...but anything is possible.