My Ford Truck Project (And Other Projects)

[Texas82GP]

Jared that's not a bad truck up north lol

I feel for you guys. Those are scrap metal down here. Cars are crushed here in Houston every day with no rust and no body damage, just mechanical problems. Rust is pretty much defeated down here unless if the car sits and sits and stays wet for a long time.

 

[Clutch]

I feel for you guys. Those are scrap metal down here. Cars are crushed here in Houston every day with no rust and no body damage, just mechanical problems. Rust is pretty much defeated down here unless if the car sits and sits and stays wet for a long time.

I wish I had pictures of some of the crap I've fixed over the years lol that truck is standard routine

 

[joesregalproject]

A lot of shops don't do rust repair anymore. Too messy, too much work, not enough money in it.

Anyways, I got my rear axle work done today. I found the issue very quickly. Whoever had this rear axle apart before left out a clutch plate on both sides! The S spring about fell out in my lap. The packs measured are .564" and they are supposed to be minimally around .635". I set them at about .653". I also replaced the c clips, the S spring, and the axle shaft bearings and seals. I am going to put in synthetic 75w140 which is what Ford recommends for their newer axles and for rebuilts, as opposed to the original conventional 80w90.

Sorry, didn't get any pictures, was trying to beat the rain.

 

[Turbolq4]

I have been half looking for a clean 95-97 powerstroke with the small extended cab and short bed for a few years but they dont come up for sale often. I am almost at the point where i might need to buy a long bed regular cab one and then swap the cab and box from a clean f150.

I have an extended cab long bed 97 flowerjoke. As much as it pains me to say it, it's been a good truck. I'm guessing it's because ferd only makes the body and leaves the important stuff to people that know what they are doing. IE; Navistar engine, ZF trans, Sterling/Dana axles.


You guys should check out cars from SW Idaho. No rust, similar to Nevada but our interiors don't get baked out as fast as we have trees that grow naturally.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Nice "mostly" finished project! I have a soft spot for the 80's through mid 90's fords. Dad has had some form of the same 6.9 IDI pickup since the early 90's. No power house by todays means but in 92 or whatever when he got it it was that or a dodge cummins which was a like driving a pickup from the 70's

I have been half looking for a clean 95-97 powerstroke with the small extended cab and short bed for a few years but they dont come up for sale often. I am almost at the point where i might need to buy a long bed regular cab one and then swap the cab and box from a clean f150.

Other than some early 6.9/7.3's having porous cylinders, left through antifreeze, they were a great motor right through the last 7.3 Turbo. My friends Dad bought a new 93 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins, very powerful but had to trade it in on a 1993 GM with the 6.2. Other than the massive power drop, it was a much better truck. I think Dodge just changed the grill and upgraded the drive train but otherwise did nothing to that truck for 20 years. I bet the big 3 miss running truck models for so many years that still made them money.

 

[joesregalproject]

Well I had to wave the white flag today. Before I take this pig in for inspection, I want to replace the passenger side ball joints. The drivers side feels pretty tight, but the passenger side had a little more play than I'm comfortable with and I'm positive it would fail inspection for it.
So I bought two new ball joints and began working on it in the driveway. About 10 mintues after I got the hub off, it began snowing. So I worked through it. I had to cut the bottom ball joint nut off, not a huge deal, but an extra step. Eventually I went to remove the top rod from the knuckle, and of course it just spun. So I cut it with the angle grinder and went and bought a new one. Then I went to separate the ball joints to remove the knuckle and broke my pickle fork. So I went and bought another, got the knuckle off, pressed the old ball joints out and the new ones in, install my new tie rod end, and begin putting everything back together. I reinstalled the axle, then the spindle, then the hub, torque the hub to the proper spec, which is a pia, then go to reinstall the locking hub and it won't go in. Turns out when I installed the spindle, some rust, I assume what was left of the brake shield, got between the knuckle and the spindle and caused the spindle to be improperly seated. So I pulled the spindle back off, tossed it in the bed, half assed put the tools away, and called it a day. I was soaking wet, dirty from being on the ground, and cold. The snow still hasn't let up.

On the bright side the hard part is done. I'll probably finish up tomorrow. Right now I feel like I got hit by a bus, and I just need to go to bed.

 

[MrSony]

Well I had to wave the white flag today. Before I take this pig in for inspection, I want to replace the passenger side ball joints. The drivers side feels pretty tight, but the passenger side had a little more play than I'm comfortable with and I'm positive it would fail inspection for it.
So I bought two new ball joints and began working on it in the driveway. About 10 mintues after I got the hub off, it began snowing. So I worked through it. I had to cut the bottom ball joint nut off, not a huge deal, but an extra step. Eventually I went to remove the top rod from the knuckle, and of course it just spun. So I cut it with the angle grinder and went and bought a new one. Then I went to separate the ball joints to remove the knuckle and broke my pickle fork. So I went and bought another, got the knuckle off, pressed the old ball joints out and the new ones in, install my new tie rod end, and begin putting everything back together. I reinstalled the axle, then the spindle, then the hub, torque the hub to the proper spec, which is a pia, then go to reinstall the locking hub and it won't go in. Turns out when I installed the spindle, some rust, I assume what was left of the brake shield, got between the knuckle and the spindle and caused the spindle to be improperly seated. So I pulled the spindle back off, tossed it in the bed, half assed put the tools away, and called it a day. I was soaking wet, dirty from being on the ground, and cold. The snow still hasn't let up.

On the bright side the hard part is done. I'll probably finish up tomorrow. Right now I feel like I got hit by a bus, and I just need to go to bed.

I've changed all 4 of my thunderbird's balljoints in the snow. I feel your pain.

 

[joesregalproject]

Well the weather was about 10 degrees warmer today and dry out, so it was much more pleasant finishing the job. I used a wire wheel and a flap disc to clean up the flanges where the spindle mates to the knuckle and it fit much better the second time around. Took my time and got it all back together, took it for a ride and seems okay. There is still rare "pop" noise around one particular turn, but I can't find any play in anything else, and it only seems to happen on that one turn. Since I can't find any play anywhere I'm not too worried. Next step is to get it inspected, then get an alignment.

 

[joesregalproject]

Well yesterday was a great day for the F150. It passed inspection and emissions (well, 5k mile exemption on the emissions). I also got the rear splash shields back in with new bed side supports that I fabbed out of some aluminum bar stock.

And today I made a lousy discovery. I decided to investigate a front end creaking noise.... And found a crack in the engine cross member. It's really well hidden which is why I didn't see it before, and the inspection shop managed to miss it too. It's about 3 inches long, right behind the steering box, where the rail meets the cross member.

So I guess I'll have to have it welded. I'll take it to the frame shop on Monday and have them do an assessment of it. Kinda sucks, but oh well. Here's a picture-

 

[joesregalproject]

Here's a picture of the crack from the back side-