Gary Lewis Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 I finally picked up some wheels and tires. I ended up sticking with steel wheels in a 16" size. They have not been on a vehicle in almost 2 years and as such, need some air but are in very good shape with only about 800 miles on them. My question is...is there a way to know the optimum tire pressure to inflate the tires to for best wear? Most of my other vehicles are in the low 30 PSI range (32 or 34 PSI). Would these follow that or should they be a higher PSI? The tire size is 315/75/16. I think there's a lot of science involved in figuring out via an equation what pressure to use. And it involves the wheel width, tire section width, tire sidewall stiffness, and the weight that is on it. Instead of trying to do that I have been using the driveway to my shop as the tool. It doesn't get much traffic so the top of it "chalks" and when you drive over it you can see on the tire what part of the tread touches and what part doesn't. And I adjust my tire pressure down until I just get full coverage. But recently someone suggested a different approach to me. And that is to drive over a piece of cardboard and then inspect the cardboard. Supposedly you can tell by the shape of the depression in the cardboard how much pressure each part of the tread has on it, and you want it even. I've not tried that yet, but it sounds promising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 I think there's a lot of science involved in figuring out via an equation what pressure to use. And it involves the wheel width, tire section width, tire sidewall stiffness, and the weight that is on it. Instead of trying to do that I have been using the driveway to my shop as the tool. It doesn't get much traffic so the top of it "chalks" and when you drive over it you can see on the tire what part of the tread touches and what part doesn't. And I adjust my tire pressure down until I just get full coverage. But recently someone suggested a different approach to me. And that is to drive over a piece of cardboard and then inspect the cardboard. Supposedly you can tell by the shape of the depression in the cardboard how much pressure each part of the tread has on it, and you want it even. I've not tried that yet, but it sounds promising. I’ll have to give that corrugated trick a try after I get them mounted (if they fit. But that’s another story). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted February 21, 2022 Author Share Posted February 21, 2022 I’ll have to give that corrugated trick a try after I get them mounted (if they fit. But that’s another story). We had a nice day here in Iowa today. I think it made it up to 55 degrees and the sun was shining all day. Perfect weather to go out and tinker on the truck. Not too long ago I purchased some used tires and rims and today seemed like a good day to put them on. I was a little worried about clearing all the brake components on the front with the 16 inch rims but there were no issues. Here is the finished product. I also removed the running board on the passenger side. I think I like this look but I will admit, the tires are bigger than I thought they would be. The price was right though so we will use them for now. I did find one with a nail so as soon as I can get that fixed, I’ll take it for a test drive and see if the truck vibrates less. While under the truck today I was messing with the front driveshaft and I noticed something. I was able to reach both the front driveshaft and the front passenger side drive axel. While turning the driveshaft, I was able to grab the passenger side drive axel and keep it from turning while continuing to turn the driveshaft. That doesn’t seem right to me but I am certainly no expert. Can anyone shine some light on this for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 We had a nice day here in Iowa today. I think it made it up to 55 degrees and the sun was shining all day. Perfect weather to go out and tinker on the truck.Not too long ago I purchased some used tires and rims and today seemed like a good day to put them on. I was a little worried about clearing all the brake components on the front with the 16 inch rims but there were no issues. Here is the finished product.I also removed the running board on the passenger side. I think I like this look but I will admit, the tires are bigger than I thought they would be. The price was right though so we will use them for now. I did find one with a nail so as soon as I can get that fixed, I’ll take it for a test drive and see if the truck vibrates less.While under the truck today I was messing with the front driveshaft and I noticed something. I was able to reach both the front driveshaft and the front passenger side drive axel. While turning the driveshaft, I was able to grab the passenger side drive axel and keep it from turning while continuing to turn the driveshaft. That doesn’t seem right to me but I am certainly no expert. Can anyone shine some light on this for me?Tires look good, and I like the look w/o the running board. As for the driveshafts, very few trucks have a limited slip front differential. And what you experienced is normal for an "open", meaning not a limited slip, diff. This video might help you understand the different types of differentials. However, I've not watched all of it so I can't say I fully agree with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 Tires look good, and I like the look w/o the running board. As for the driveshafts, very few trucks have a limited slip front differential. And what you experienced is normal for an "open", meaning not a limited slip, diff. This video might help you understand the different types of differentials. However, I've not watched all of it so I can't say I fully agree with it. Well, that didn't explain limited-slip diffs, but this does: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted February 22, 2022 Author Share Posted February 22, 2022 Well, that didn't explain limited-slip diffs, but this does: Thanks Gary! This makes a lot of sense. If I would have turned and looked at the other axel shaft I would have seen it turning. I have another Dana 50 question…my front axel is an early model where the stub shaft is bolted to the center section instead of using the C clip inside. On that stub shaft there is a flange, seal, bearing, and lock collar. The bearing and lock collar are pressed onto the shaft. I have looked on Rock Auto and can’t seem to find that collar. My 1980 Ford shop manual explains that you need to drill a hole in it and hit it with a chisel to remove. So it must be available somewhere, right? My 1980 Ford shop manual has numbers next to the parts in the illustrations. Are those a portion of the part number or a portion of the engineering number or some other number? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Thanks Gary! This makes a lot of sense. If I would have turned and looked at the other axel shaft I would have seen it turning. I have another Dana 50 question…my front axel is an early model where the stub shaft is bolted to the center section instead of using the C clip inside. On that stub shaft there is a flange, seal, bearing, and lock collar. The bearing and lock collar are pressed onto the shaft. I have looked on Rock Auto and can’t seem to find that collar. My 1980 Ford shop manual explains that you need to drill a hole in it and hit it with a chisel to remove. So it must be available somewhere, right? My 1980 Ford shop manual has numbers next to the parts in the illustrations. Are those a portion of the part number or a portion of the engineering number or some other number? Yes, and yes. You do have to drill it and then break it. And yes, the # shown in the shop manual is the "generic" part number. But to get the whole part number you need a prefix, like E0TF, and a suffix, like -A. You should be able to get the whole part number on our page at Documentation/Driveline/Axles & Differentials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted February 27, 2022 Author Share Posted February 27, 2022 Yes, and yes. You do have to drill it and then break it. And yes, the # shown in the shop manual is the "generic" part number. But to get the whole part number you need a prefix, like E0TF, and a suffix, like -A. You should be able to get the whole part number on our page at Documentation/Driveline/Axles & Differentials. Recently I located a tailgate and made arrangements to pick it up yesterday. It’s not perfect but the price was right and it was close by. I started researching cables for the sides and discovered there are two different styles of tailgates. 1980 - 1982 and 1983 - 1986. I am pretty sure the box on my truck is not original from 1980 and has been swapped. How can I tell what style box I have in relation to the tailgate type and what are the differences between those two year ranges? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Recently I located a tailgate and made arrangements to pick it up yesterday. It’s not perfect but the price was right and it was close by. I started researching cables for the sides and discovered there are two different styles of tailgates. 1980 - 1982 and 1983 - 1986. I am pretty sure the box on my truck is not original from 1980 and has been swapped. How can I tell what style box I have in relation to the tailgate type and what are the differences between those two year ranges? You can figure out what you have and how to change on the page at Documentation/Exterior/BEDS, TAILGATES, & COMPONENTS. Go to the Tailgates tab and then the Changing Tailgates tab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 You can figure out what you have and how to change on the page at Documentation/Exterior/BEDS, TAILGATES, & COMPONENTS. Go to the Tailgates tab and then the Changing Tailgates tab. Early ones had flat steel floding brackets and next was the cables Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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