1981 Ford F100 Revival (Parked for 12 years)

[Jonathan]

The weights should be on both sides as done on the 4th & spare but if someone does not want to see weights on the front side like alum. wheels then the machine can be set up to do just the rear side of the wheels.

If you had a bubble balancer the weight is only placed on 1 side so the rear would be the same.

I think my drag slicks are done on the back side, alum. slots.

The weights are a stick on type and I used duct tape to help hold them in place.

Cant see them from the front side.

Dave ----

I guess that is why the guy said it was done wrong. I didn't have fancy rims that necessitated having the balance only in the rear. He said I can just drive it back when I am running again but I told him I want to get it done with now. I couldn't imagine trusting them to torque the wheels to spec or at all. They would probably destroy the hubcaps too if they were left on. So I just took them off and drove back in the car.

 

[Jonathan]

Regarding jacking the truck at the differential housing.

As a retired professional mechanic I have seen it done many many times and never personally heard of it causing a problem.

Do I do it myself? No. It is actually a controversial subject.

I always jack as close to the spring attachment points as possible (U-bolts) or shock mounts.

Just me - when you put a load on something there is always some deflection.

If using a hoist then obviously I use the frame rails.

Thanks for the feedback. I am a cautious after damaging the frame cross member by using it as a lift point. I will lift close to the U-bolts from now on and put the jack stands close to the same spot.

[Jonathan]

If I want both rear wheels off the ground I jack the diff and end up putting stands as far out the tubes as practical for whatever I'm doing.

A tire balance machine will show you which side of the rim (in or out) to put the weight.

It can be set up for decorative wheels to only read inboard. But that often requires more weight and sometimes you can never fully get it balanced.

(At least that's the way Coates machines were a decade ago)

That is the method I used when I took off the rear wheels. But now I think I will just do one side at a time to be extra safe. My truck does not seem very forgiving of errors.

So do you think he balanced the wheel correctly but just had the machine on the wrong setting? Maybe it wouldn't of wobbled bad but is better to be on both sides. Because I noticed when the Russian guy did it showed numbers for both sides as you mentioned.

 

[Jonathan]

So yesterday I went back to Walmart to get the last tire put on and purchase the last display tire for the spare. I told them I wanted the display model tire with the older date code put on the worst condition rim for the spare. So as you can imagine they did the exact opposite and then refused to change it saying it is not a big deal and doesn't matter. Well I guess it probably isn't a big deal to them but it was to me and was a simple request. He was much faster than the guy yesterday but scratched the hell out of the back side of the rims. Big gouges! Of course when I showed them the bright shiny metal scratches in obvious contrast to the old black and rust color rim they claimed that the scratches and deep gouges were there before and old. I think lying comes naturally to Walmart employees. They are trained to lie and be incompetent.  

Then I noticed that there were wheel weights on both sides of the two tires I had done. I asked them why all the tires from yesterday only had wheel weights on the back side of the wheel? This Russian guy that works there that does more complicated things like oil changes that the others can't handle overheard and came up and said they screwed up and to bring it back. So I had to run home and remove all three tires from the truck again and put on jack stands to have them rebalanced from the one person that seemed to know what they were doing while he was still there. He even used these little feather weights I have never seen before. It is just like a sliver of weight.

Did I mention that Walmart sucks?

I want to put the spare under the truck but it looks like I am missing some hardware for the middle. LMC has some of the parts I am missing but the two greyed out in the middle. How important is that bracket? Can I purchase some flat iron and drill a hole in it? Does anyone have a picture of what it looks like in real life? I imagine the nut is just a normal nut I hope.

[Jonathan]

So I really want to test drive the truck but I can't back out the driveway with no brakes. I started on the driver's side front. Bleeding the brakes no blood came out. I slowly worked my way back removing connection by connection until I found the blockage. The block is somewhere in the line but I don't know where. AutoZone has the softline but not the hardline. And I got a new master cylinder. They only had the drinkers side softline so I had to order in the captain's side in. Hopefully I can clear out the line. But I ran out of brake cleaner so I couldn't try to clear it long before I ran out. The softline is rubber so maybe it swelled shut inside. After I remove it I will try to get fluid to flow before connecting the new rubber line. I also have a power booster on order to be safe.

The first picture is exactly how I found the master cylinder when I removed the cover for the first time. The rear brake reservoir was a little low. The front brake reservoir was very murky and full of contamination on the bottom.

After I disconnected the line going to the proportioning valve fluid started to drain from the master cylinder. I had to stop it to prevent all that gunk getting in there. Randy suggested a turkey baster which I used to get the rest out.

I found the obstruction from when I was trying to bleed the front drivers side was in the "soft" rubber line where I expected to find it. It looked like a clogged artery. After I removed the soft line brake cleaner would flow through the hard line no problem. The clip holding on the line to the frame was rusted on so I had to cut it. I purchased new clips, it was only $1.99 for a two pack.

[Jonathan]

I found the obstruction from when I was trying to bleed the front drivers side was in the "soft" rubber line where I expected to find it. It looked like a clogged artery. After I removed the soft line brake cleaner would flow through the hard line no problem. The clip holding on the line to the frame was rusted on so I had to cut it. I purchased new clips, it was only $1.99 for a two pack.

I found the missing wheel nut. It was at AutoZone the whole time.

[Jonathan]

I found the missing wheel nut. It was at AutoZone the whole time.

I got the replacement parts ready. So far everything looks like a match.

[Jonathan]

I got the replacement parts ready. So far everything looks like a match.

I wanted to replace vacuum hoses when I get to something related I am working on. The brake booster vacuum line was very old and hard. Amazon has the right one already at the right length of 3' for a good price of $16. Cheaper then $10 a foot local. Here is the link.

https://amzn.to/3p2TOIB

[Gary Lewis]

I got the replacement parts ready. So far everything looks like a match.

Looking good! Things are going well and you are going to be pleased.

[Jonathan]

I wanted to replace vacuum hoses when I get to something related I am working on. The brake booster vacuum line was very old and hard. Amazon has the right one already at the right length of 3' for a good price of $16. Cheaper then $10 a foot local. Here is the link.

https://amzn.to/3p2TOIB

When I removed the wire ties to get the brake booster vacuum line off I found out the metal line is not connected to anything. I think it is the choke heater tube after talking to Randy. It was not connected at either end. What is the best way to fix this? That is the exhaust manifold in the second picture. I don't know why after I upload the picture it rotates it.