"Rocky" - 1981 F250 Restoration

[Gary Lewis]

I'm considering it. For now I may hold off a little while. As near as I can tell this truck only ever HAD front brakes for the last N-thousand years of its life. For sure the rears were doing nothing, they were missing half their shoe linings and the wear marks suggested only a portion of what was left was doing anything at all.

So far the pattern with this truck has been "If it's old/original, it may need service/inspection. If it's been serviced, it was probably done wrong and needs a total rebuild."

This should be a big week. The weather is warming up which makes for more "work on it" time, and I also will hopefully be picking up Bullwinkle:

Since I got the mounts installed on the RAM (who I shall henceforth be calling Mr. Peabody), I'm going to use that to go pick the camper up (assuming the credit union gets all their stuff sorted out tomorrow). But long term, the camper will spend more time with Rocky than Mr. Peabody. As is appropriate...

Getting an old truck, and especially one that's not been on the road recently, back in good shape takes a LOT of effort. And money. Been there, done that, had the frustration to show. But at some point you round a corner and realize it is just "small stuff" and the truck is useful. Boy, is that fun!

So hang in there, I think your corner is coming up.

I hope this week is good, weather-wise and truck/camper-wise. I think The Adventures Of Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Friend Mr. Peabody is going to be a classic and I'm looking forward to reading about them.

[grumpin]

I'm considering it. For now I may hold off a little while. As near as I can tell this truck only ever HAD front brakes for the last N-thousand years of its life. For sure the rears were doing nothing, they were missing half their shoe linings and the wear marks suggested only a portion of what was left was doing anything at all.

So far the pattern with this truck has been "If it's old/original, it may need service/inspection. If it's been serviced, it was probably done wrong and needs a total rebuild."

This should be a big week. The weather is warming up which makes for more "work on it" time, and I also will hopefully be picking up Bullwinkle:

Since I got the mounts installed on the RAM (who I shall henceforth be calling Mr. Peabody), I'm going to use that to go pick the camper up (assuming the credit union gets all their stuff sorted out tomorrow). But long term, the camper will spend more time with Rocky than Mr. Peabody. As is appropriate...

Mr. Peabody, that’s great!

I called one of my helicopters in the Marine Corps “The Thunderbolt Grease Slapper” after the Tom Slick cartoon race car.

[taskswap]

Getting an old truck, and especially one that's not been on the road recently, back in good shape takes a LOT of effort. And money. Been there, done that, had the frustration to show. But at some point you round a corner and realize it is just "small stuff" and the truck is useful. Boy, is that fun!

So hang in there, I think your corner is coming up.

I hope this week is good, weather-wise and truck/camper-wise. I think The Adventures Of Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Friend Mr. Peabody is going to be a classic and I'm looking forward to reading about them.

It's definitely feeling like "more smaller" things now. Just for fun:

I wish I could take pictures as well as my wife, but this came out OK. I got my Midland radio installed today. I had previously had three holes the previous owner had drilled into one of the vertical dash pieces for some kind of cell phone mount and wasn't sure what to do with them. Well, when in Rome... I just reused the holes for my mic holder!

I was actually planning a totally hidden installation here - one of the selling points of this particular unit is the head unit can be stuffed away somewhere, an "invisible" radio. But actually I couldn't find a good spot to put it that I liked, and there was a hole in the bottom instrument panel support bracket already from some addon the previous owner had put in. So why not.

I'm into leak-chasing mode now. Last night I sprayed down my driver's side valve cover flange with degreaser and hit it with an old toothbrush to clean it up, then soaked up everything as best I could with paper towels. Not that well, apparently, because when I ran it today the exhaust manifold smoked for a good 20 minutes.

Anyway I got the engine good and warmed up and let it run for about 20 minutes then started poking around with a flashlight. I think I may be lucky-unlucky on this oil leak thing. I'm FAIRLY sure it's not the rear main seal, that area has a ton of residue but is fairly dry. I think it's just drips-and-runs from other spots.

But plenty of other stuff showed signs of slow leaks. There was oil dripping from the bottom of the clutch linkage, which obviously didn't come from there, I think it leaked down from my valve cover. There was more on the oil filter and fuel pump. I think that's from the filter not being tight enough - there's oil all around the end of the filter at the block. And more all over the oil pan drain plug, more drippage probably. (The plug itself seems fine.)

So I think I probably have an assortment of small but "should fix" leaks. My goal is to get them all in one go. I bought extra filters just for this day. I'm going to do a quick-and-dirty oil change (filter and oil but don't worry about every-last-drop) then take it for a drive with the fresh oil and filter and get it fully heat-soaked.

Then I'll drain it completely (and throw out the "victim" filter) and dismantle a bunch of stuff including both valve covers. I would pull the pan too but I read the procedure and it looks like a lot of work. But I'll clean everything thoroughly so I can trace future leaks more easily, and I do have a new drain plug and washer.

I doubt I'll ever have the thing totally leak free - as MG owners always joke "If it's not leaking, it's out of oil!" But if I can address the worst of it and run a bottle of stop-leak in, that'll be fine for now. Some day I'd love to tear this engine down... but not in my driveway...

 

[Gary Lewis]

It's definitely feeling like "more smaller" things now. Just for fun:

I wish I could take pictures as well as my wife, but this came out OK. I got my Midland radio installed today. I had previously had three holes the previous owner had drilled into one of the vertical dash pieces for some kind of cell phone mount and wasn't sure what to do with them. Well, when in Rome... I just reused the holes for my mic holder!

I was actually planning a totally hidden installation here - one of the selling points of this particular unit is the head unit can be stuffed away somewhere, an "invisible" radio. But actually I couldn't find a good spot to put it that I liked, and there was a hole in the bottom instrument panel support bracket already from some addon the previous owner had put in. So why not.

I'm into leak-chasing mode now. Last night I sprayed down my driver's side valve cover flange with degreaser and hit it with an old toothbrush to clean it up, then soaked up everything as best I could with paper towels. Not that well, apparently, because when I ran it today the exhaust manifold smoked for a good 20 minutes.

Anyway I got the engine good and warmed up and let it run for about 20 minutes then started poking around with a flashlight. I think I may be lucky-unlucky on this oil leak thing. I'm FAIRLY sure it's not the rear main seal, that area has a ton of residue but is fairly dry. I think it's just drips-and-runs from other spots.

But plenty of other stuff showed signs of slow leaks. There was oil dripping from the bottom of the clutch linkage, which obviously didn't come from there, I think it leaked down from my valve cover. There was more on the oil filter and fuel pump. I think that's from the filter not being tight enough - there's oil all around the end of the filter at the block. And more all over the oil pan drain plug, more drippage probably. (The plug itself seems fine.)

So I think I probably have an assortment of small but "should fix" leaks. My goal is to get them all in one go. I bought extra filters just for this day. I'm going to do a quick-and-dirty oil change (filter and oil but don't worry about every-last-drop) then take it for a drive with the fresh oil and filter and get it fully heat-soaked.

Then I'll drain it completely (and throw out the "victim" filter) and dismantle a bunch of stuff including both valve covers. I would pull the pan too but I read the procedure and it looks like a lot of work. But I'll clean everything thoroughly so I can trace future leaks more easily, and I do have a new drain plug and washer.

I doubt I'll ever have the thing totally leak free - as MG owners always joke "If it's not leaking, it's out of oil!" But if I can address the worst of it and run a bottle of stop-leak in, that'll be fine for now. Some day I'd love to tear this engine down... but not in my driveway...

No new holes is a win!

As for the leaks, I’ve heard many Brit vehicle awa Harley owners say that. And while Big Blue is pretty tight, he does have a drip. So if you get yours dripless you’ll have done well.

[FuzzFace2]

No new holes is a win!

As for the leaks, I’ve heard many Brit vehicle awa Harley owners say that. And while Big Blue is pretty tight, he does have a drip. So if you get yours dripless you’ll have done well.

When I first got my truck you could tell oil was leaking from everything!

That is why I changed the valve cover, side cover & oil pan gaskets when the motor was out.

Well once on the road it had a pretty big oil leak but could not really pin point it.

I did have to take up on all the gaskets I replaced and that slowed down some of it.

To clean the whole under side to make it clean again and so I could pin point the leak I bought a small 1 gallon pump sprayer and filled it with Simple Green and Awesome de-greaser mostly the Awesome.

Started at the motor engine bay and worked my way back to the rear bumper all under the truck.

I then used the pressure washer to wash the cleaner off, did a pretty good job but my truck was cleaned & painted on the under side as part of the rebuild.

With it clean I kept a good eye on it and found the timing cover gasket was leaking out the top only when the RPM was raised off idle. Now that I replaced that gasket and it is getting warmer I want to do another "spray de-grease & power wash" then I can respray the valve cover * block as some of the paint came off with the washings.

I think your motor would come pretty clean if done the same way.

If no power washer park up the cleaners, paper towels and hit the local shelf car wash as they have a power washer spray. May not be as strong as a normal PW but better than nothing and it kees your drive way from getting old grease on it

Dave ----

[taskswap]

When I first got my truck you could tell oil was leaking from everything!

That is why I changed the valve cover, side cover & oil pan gaskets when the motor was out.

Well once on the road it had a pretty big oil leak but could not really pin point it.

I did have to take up on all the gaskets I replaced and that slowed down some of it.

To clean the whole under side to make it clean again and so I could pin point the leak I bought a small 1 gallon pump sprayer and filled it with Simple Green and Awesome de-greaser mostly the Awesome.

Started at the motor engine bay and worked my way back to the rear bumper all under the truck.

I then used the pressure washer to wash the cleaner off, did a pretty good job but my truck was cleaned & painted on the under side as part of the rebuild.

With it clean I kept a good eye on it and found the timing cover gasket was leaking out the top only when the RPM was raised off idle. Now that I replaced that gasket and it is getting warmer I want to do another "spray de-grease & power wash" then I can respray the valve cover * block as some of the paint came off with the washings.

I think your motor would come pretty clean if done the same way.

If no power washer park up the cleaners, paper towels and hit the local shelf car wash as they have a power washer spray. May not be as strong as a normal PW but better than nothing and it kees your drive way from getting old grease on it

Dave ----

Yeah I'm planning to do the same thing, it's just been too cold most days to want to stand there with a pressure washer That reminds me, I've gone through half a bottle of degreaser already. I need to order more!

Today was a "progress day". I think... So both my new parking brake cables finally arrived and they're definitely different. A little...

I am trying the ACDelco 18P387 and 18P386 as replacements for the Dormans (which definitely did not work). The driver's side was exactly the same length at 61.5" but the measurement from the front/adjuster end of the cable to the flange where it attaches to the brake housing was 1/2" longer on the Dorman cable. The Dorman also has an enormous mounting flange on that side that never sat very well on the back plate to begin with.

The passenger side cable was very different. 96" for the Dorman and 95" for the ACDelco. But from the adjuster end to the flange it was 82.5" Dorman vs 79.5" ACDelco. Very different, and that proved to be the issue. I was holding the adjuster below at the angle it sat at with the Dorman cables, definitely not level no matter what I did. With the ACDelco cables it hangs vertically as it should. I suspect this 3" difference was the reason.

Anyway, typical old-truck-repair story, I've now gotten pretty good at removing/replacing my drums and axles but if this works won't need to do it again for awhile! Ah well.

After reassembling the brake components I checked this time for travel on the parking brake lever and definitely have at least 1.75" of travel as specified. So while I haven't had a chance to test this all out yet, I'm hopeful this is the "solve".

 

[taskswap]

Yeah I'm planning to do the same thing, it's just been too cold most days to want to stand there with a pressure washer That reminds me, I've gone through half a bottle of degreaser already. I need to order more!

Today was a "progress day". I think... So both my new parking brake cables finally arrived and they're definitely different. A little...

I am trying the ACDelco 18P387 and 18P386 as replacements for the Dormans (which definitely did not work). The driver's side was exactly the same length at 61.5" but the measurement from the front/adjuster end of the cable to the flange where it attaches to the brake housing was 1/2" longer on the Dorman cable. The Dorman also has an enormous mounting flange on that side that never sat very well on the back plate to begin with.

The passenger side cable was very different. 96" for the Dorman and 95" for the ACDelco. But from the adjuster end to the flange it was 82.5" Dorman vs 79.5" ACDelco. Very different, and that proved to be the issue. I was holding the adjuster below at the angle it sat at with the Dorman cables, definitely not level no matter what I did. With the ACDelco cables it hangs vertically as it should. I suspect this 3" difference was the reason.

Anyway, typical old-truck-repair story, I've now gotten pretty good at removing/replacing my drums and axles but if this works won't need to do it again for awhile! Ah well.

After reassembling the brake components I checked this time for travel on the parking brake lever and definitely have at least 1.75" of travel as specified. So while I haven't had a chance to test this all out yet, I'm hopeful this is the "solve".

Bullwinkle has arrived, shown here hanging out with Mr Peabody. Unlike the Starcraft we're upgrading from, this model of Travel Lite was "designed for" 6.5' beds but has a bump-out in the rear to make room for the bathroom. That means I can still put it in Rocky, but it has to hang off the back with the extra 1.5' dead space at the front of the bed. I'm pretty sure I'd still be in the acceptable COG range but it definitely wouldn't handle as well.

That means Rocky is turning out to be more a fun pleasure truck than a hauler. I may find I have "some kind of camper" installed in the RAM most of the time (fifth wheel or truck camper) and leave Rocky to be for around-town driving, Home Depot runs, drive-in-movie dates, etc.

[Gary Lewis]

Bullwinkle has arrived, shown here hanging out with Mr Peabody. Unlike the Starcraft we're upgrading from, this model of Travel Lite was "designed for" 6.5' beds but has a bump-out in the rear to make room for the bathroom. That means I can still put it in Rocky, but it has to hang off the back with the extra 1.5' dead space at the front of the bed. I'm pretty sure I'd still be in the acceptable COG range but it definitely wouldn't handle as well.

That means Rocky is turning out to be more a fun pleasure truck than a hauler. I may find I have "some kind of camper" installed in the RAM most of the time (fifth wheel or truck camper) and leave Rocky to be for around-town driving, Home Depot runs, drive-in-movie dates, etc.

Nice looking rig. Seems to sit level, but the camper is surely "dry", so that will change as the load comes on.

Is the waste tank in the rear as well? I'd think that would affect the handling as the load changes.

[taskswap]

Nice looking rig. Seems to sit level, but the camper is surely "dry", so that will change as the load comes on.

Is the waste tank in the rear as well? I'd think that would affect the handling as the load changes.

It is in the rear, but it's also only 8 gallons. I have airbags on this truck which I can air up to offset any squatting, but this camper is also probably 600lbs lighter than my fifth wheel camper + hitch so you don't really notice it's there. Air bags aren't actually that great with truck campers, though. For Rocky I was thinking of going with one of the spring-type enhancements instead, like the Roadmaster. They're supposed to be better for truck campers.

Speaking of Rocky it's time to start tracking down oil leaks. I've degreased some trouble-spots and cleaned up the driveway (if I haven't already said it, Chomp Pull it Out is amazing stuff!), then parked Rocky facing uphill so the oil drain plug is at a lowpoint. I'm going to get it hot then do an oil change, then put some fresh cardboard underneath to track any drips and start sleuthing. From past patterns I think I have two drips to trace out, but I've made such a mess over the past few months I can't really tell for sure!

[Gary Lewis]

Nice looking rig. Seems to sit level, but the camper is surely "dry", so that will change as the load comes on.

Is the waste tank in the rear as well? I'd think that would affect the handling as the load changes.

It is in the rear, but it's also only 8 gallons. I have airbags on this truck which I can air up to offset any squatting, but this camper is also probably 600lbs lighter than my fifth wheel camper + hitch so you don't really notice it's there. Air bags aren't actually that great with truck campers, though. For Rocky I was thinking of going with one of the spring-type enhancements instead, like the Roadmaster. They're supposed to be better for truck campers.

Speaking of Rocky it's time to start tracking down oil leaks. I've degreased some trouble-spots and cleaned up the driveway (if I haven't already said it, Chomp Pull it Out is amazing stuff!), then parked Rocky facing uphill so the oil drain plug is at a lowpoint. I'm going to get it hot then do an oil change, then put some fresh cardboard underneath to track any drips and start sleuthing. From past patterns I think I have two drips to trace out, but I've made such a mess over the past few months I can't really tell for sure!

How do you have the air bags plumbed? If they are both connected to a single inlet then that can be a problem since when a tall load, like a camper, leans it can push air to the other bag. I've always thought that individual fillers would be better, but I've not really tried it.

Good luck on finding the leaks. But with it clean you should be able to do so pretty easily.