fordtrucks80up-digest Wednesday, April 15 1998 Volume 02 : Number 139



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Ford Truck Enthusiasts - 1980 - 1996 Trucks Digest
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In this issue:

Re: B&M Shift-Plus for E4OD [rockinghorse webtv.net (Randall Goolsby)]
F250 Vs 2500 [Jim Cole ]
Re: F250 Vs 2500 [Chris Hedemark ]
Re: gas gauge ["Casey Vandor" ]
Re: Bent Bumper ["Mike Mueller" ]
[chat] Truck names [Chris Hedemark ]
RE: Bent Bumper ["Chad Royse" ]
Re: Misc. problems on 87 F250 302cid EFI ["Dave Resch"
Clutch ["Casey Vandor" ]
Thanks + tranny question ["BRET LUTER" ]
F150 Manual to Auto Tranny Conversion [yhtlines surfari.net]
Re: Recomend some reading [Randy ]
Re: F150 Manual to Auto Tranny Conversion [Stan Foy ]
Re:Firewall flex [FordboyDZ ]
Re: Downtime reading material [FordboyDZ ]
Re: Recomend some reading [Joshua W Dronkers ]

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Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 06:19:30 -0700
From: rockinghorse webtv.net (Randall Goolsby)
Subject: Re: B&M Shift-Plus for E4OD

Steve, The only thing I did to the trans shortly before the B&M
installation was to change the trans fluid over to Castrol Dex3
synthetic and install a new filter.I was able to dump 15 qts of the
fluid (it holds 17.8 according to Haynes) by removinf the dust cover at
the bottom of the bellhousing to access the 1/8" pipe plug on the
convertor.The trans was mechanically sound,and I've not experienced any
problems with it to date.The Bronco now has 34,000 miles on it.The
switch suggested mounting is in the interior,and the kit sent with it
provides a couple pieces of velcro to do this. Dimentions are approx 1'W
x 2-1/2 H x 3D. I originally wanted to go with the banks,which changes
the convertor lock-up point I understand,but didn't want to part with
the $250 that it costs.The switch that adjusts your firmness is nothing
more than a 3-position rocker located on the face of the device.I'm
going to leave mine on pos#1,as pos#2 bangs it a little bit harder than
I like for everyday usage.Hope this answers your questions.One thing I
wish I would have done is to read the resistance values on all positions
before installing it.That way I could confirm that things are ok or not
if it ever gives me trouble. Randy 94 EB

















------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 08:26:59 -0500
From: Jim Cole
Subject: F250 Vs 2500

Chris,

Thanks for the candor. Yes, the Ram-list is thriving. The Ram folks seem to
have a lot of problems..and the fact that Chrysler doesnt support the Rams
and they are built like crap, these are reaccuring themes. Most of the
email is due to lemons, problems. I made a comment on there about all I see
is problems and it seems the Ford lists have a lot fewer complaints. After
all the badmouthing comments it boiled down to that the owners were happy
with thier trucks. They like them so much that they nit-pick on every
little problem. To hear the horror stories about vehicles having to be
bought back from the owner, etc..just freak me out. I'm buying a vehicle as
a work truck. I cant afford to have it in the shop getting fixed half the
time and then to get frustrated with the bad work. They've even suggested
that we bribe our service techs with cash to get things fixed right.

I do like that cummins. I just wish it was in a more reliable vehicle..go
buy a Semi, right? :)

I probably will buy the ford. I got an email from some guy who's willing to
sell me a '99 SuperDuty Supercab(4 door) with the powerstroke for like
$27000.

- -Jim

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 10:04:35 -0400
From: Chris Hedemark
Subject: Re: F250 Vs 2500

Jim Cole wrote:

> Thanks for the candor. Yes, the Ram-list is thriving. The Ram folks seem to
> have a lot of problems..and the fact that Chrysler doesnt support the Rams
> and they are built like crap, these are reaccuring themes. Most of the
> email is due to lemons, problems. I made a comment on there about all I see
> is problems and it seems the Ford lists have a lot fewer complaints. After
> all the badmouthing comments it boiled down to that the owners were happy
> with thier trucks. They like them so much that they nit-pick on every
> little problem. To hear the horror stories about vehicles having to be
> bought back from the owner, etc..just freak me out. I'm buying a vehicle as
> a work truck. I cant afford to have it in the shop getting fixed half the
> time and then to get frustrated with the bad work. They've even suggested
> that we bribe our service techs with cash to get things fixed right.

Well in public they will say they like their trucks when asked, but
really be prepared to have a "spare vehicle" for all that time that the
Dodge will be in the shop if you go that route. Seriously. The way the
extended warranty works, you don't get a free rental car until it's been
in the shop for more than one day.

> I do like that cummins. I just wish it was in a more reliable vehicle..go
> buy a Semi, right? :)

Hey there was talk of Kenworth offering a 1 ton pickup truck with the
cummins "B" or the Dodge V10 as available engines. It looked very much
like a scaled down big rig from the photos I saw. I don't know what
ever became of that but it sure got my attention.

> I probably will buy the ford. I got an email from some guy who's willing to
> sell me a '99 SuperDuty Supercab(4 door) with the powerstroke for like
> $27000.

Sounds like a great deal. For that price, is it pretty well loaded? 2
or 4 wheel drive? I like the styling on the new superduty Fords but I
am still undecided on the modular engines. I have one in my Mustang
(4.6L) and feel it is a serious tradeoff in the power department from
the windsor family motors I was used to. The 4.6L in the F150 seems
nice but I don't know if I'd want to tow with it (then again I have been
spoiled ever since having that V10 Dodge for all the power that thing
had).

- --

Chris Hedemark - chris yonderway.com - http://www.ford-trucks.com//lc/lc.php?action=do&link=http://www.yonderway.com
"From the fury of the Norsemen, oh Lord, deliver us!"

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 06:36:03 -0800
From: "Casey Vandor"
Subject: Re: gas gauge

About the gages on full for a long time then empty right away, I have the
same problem, I would also be interested in fix for this problem.

thanks

Casey

>>>>3) Gas gauge is flakey. Doesn't matter what tank I'm on. It'll stay at
full for 150+ miles and then dance around near full. Suddenly it'll
drop to Empty, but by the time that happens you better hope the second
tank has some gas left in it because you are DONE. I suspected a
sending unit but this happens the same on both tanks. Anyone ever see
this and successfully fix it?

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 98 09:06:50 PDT
From: "Mike Mueller"
Subject: Re: Bent Bumper

Hey all-

>
d...>
> Subject: Re: Bent Bumper

> Was the F-350 a 4x4 and does the guy still have it?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think they ever made a F-350 4x4 in =
a Dually?

Many years ago my wife wanted a new "all around" truck, I wanted a S/C =
or crewcab, and it had to be 4x4 to get me up to the Mountains, (I'm a =
climber). She wanted a Dually for the towing (horse trailer) and besides=
, I thought it wouldn't be bad to use for towing the car trailer as well.=
The roads I drive to get up to mountain trailheads are sometimes less =
than jeep trails. I do go up in all types of weather so sometimes it's =
deep powder and sometimes it's deep mud. I was informed that a Dually =
tends to float on top of the snow, and that's a bad thing (no kidding). =
We were told that you couldnt get a 4x4 Dually, (F-anything), and that =
even if you could you wouldn't want it.
We settled on the F-150 S/C 4x4, 5.8, A/T we now have. No complaints, =
well except for the starter, the brakes, the paint, the radiator. the wat=
er pump, the brakes, etc.

Whatever the answer is don't tell my wife! : )

Thanks!

Mike Mueller
The Leasing Dept.
Equipment Leasing and Funding
www.leasingdept.com

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 13:00:15 -0400
From: Chris Hedemark
Subject: [chat] Truck names

Howdy folks,

This is just something I've been getting a chuckle out of and thought
some of y'all might have similar stories to share.

I picked up my 1987 F250 on sunday. It's a 2WD model but sits about as
high as the newfangled F150 4x4's. The bed is pretty well beat. The
paint is so heavily oxidized that it looks like primer. Aside from a
few small nagging problems, though, the truck is actually fairly sound
mechanically.

Now I do some youth work with my church and to give the kids a safe
place to hang out at night, we try to do things with them at least two
or three nights a week so they aren't out gangbanging. Monday night we
all get together at one of the Deacon's houses and watch WCW Monday
Night Nitro wrestling. The kids have a blast, and have taken to naming
everyone and everything as if they were wrestlers (FWIW, they named me
"The Crippler"). Anyway, as soon as they saw the new truck they had to
name it.

Now I don't know how many of y'all remember but about 10 years ago or
so they had these toys out called "Transformers" that were like robots
that you could twist around and re-shape them into a car, truck, plane,
or whatever. The leader of this bunch of robots was "Optimus Prime".
He transformed into a big red truck. So the kids came up with "Optimus
Primer" as kind of a cut on the chalked out red paint. I kinda like
it. Maybe it'll stick. It even gives me a good reason to spend more
time on the interior and mechanical upgrades and leave that badly
chalked out paint for awhile longer. :-)

- --

Chris Hedemark
1987 Ford F250 2WD 5.0L EFI - "Optimus Primer"
1996 Ford Mustang GT 4.6L SOHC - "Mach 1"
"From the fury of the Norsemen, oh Lord, deliver us!"

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 13:51:14 -0400
From: "Chad Royse"
Subject: RE: Bent Bumper

There are two ways to get DRW on a 4x4 F350. Get a dually kit or get a 99
SuperDuty. I have no experience with this but I don't think the dually
kit's are much more than Fender extensions and rims. I believe factory DRW
has a heavier axle and suspension and a rear stabilizer bar.

Chad

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-fordtrucks80up ListService.net
[mailto:owner-fordtrucks80up ListService.net]On Behalf Of Mike Mueller
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 1998 12:07 PM
To: Ford Truck List; runawaykid ncweb.com
Subject: Re: Bent Bumper

>

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think they ever made a F-350 4x4 in a
Dually?
>

Whatever the answer is don't tell my wife! : )

Thanks!

Mike Mueller
The Leasing Dept.
Equipment Leasing and Funding
www.leasingdept.com

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 15:57:53 -0600
From: "Dave Resch"
Subject: Re: Misc. problems on 87 F250 302cid EFI

>From: Randy
>Subject: Re: Misc. problems on 87 F250 302cid EFI
>
>That body change was in the 86 to 87 years. I have an
>87 F-250 w/the 'flat face' front-end (first year) which was
>up until '96. The pre-87 beds may or may not be the
>same size, but the lower half is noticably different in
>design and wouldn't look at all like the lower side of your
>cab so 87-96 should work just fine.

Yo Randy, Chris, et al:

Actually, the main difference in the 80-86 beds and 87-up beds is the shape
of the fender well. The 87-up bed has a more round (circular) fender
opening, where the 80-86 bed is more flat across the top. The 80-86 bed
would line up w/ the cab sheet metal (the same cab door was used from 1980
to 1997), but it's fender shape wouldn't match the front fender shape on
your truck. Tail lights were slightly different between the 80-86 and
87-up beds, too.

The beds from '87 to '97 all look the same on the outside, but you should
probably check the mounting points (where the bed bolts to the frame) to
make sure it's a bolt-in replacement.

Dave R. (M-block devotee)

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 15:37:16 -0800
From: "Casey Vandor"
Subject: Clutch

I found a company on the internet called Standard Transmission and Gear. I
wrote a while ago about getting a Centerforce clutch and people said that
they wern't worth the difference. I have nowhere to go here in town but
NAPA, and the last clutch I got from them, (not for this truck) was a P.O.S.
so I am wondering if any of you have used Standards stuff before. I was
quoted roughly 250.00 for a heavy duty clutch setup and shipping. WHat do
you think?

Thanks
Casey

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 16:34:08 PDT
From: "BRET LUTER"
Subject: Thanks + tranny question

Hey, thanks to all those who replied to me about my radius-arm bushing
replacement on the '85 F350 crew-cab. There has been an amazing
improvement in the way it drives (and I only got 1 side done so far!).

I still need feedback on the transmission rebuild or repair. The tranny
is a 4-speed manual (6.9l diesel motor). I've been getting some bearing
noise that gets quieter when you press the clutch pedal AND I've always
had a problem with 2nd gear jumping out of gear (synchros?). I've got
the F-series truck Owners Bible and the Ford factory manual, both show
some steps in rebuilding the tranny but I want to hear from someone who
has experience with this rebuild. It doesn't look too bad but I don't
want to have this thing off the road all summer!!! Please feel free to
provide any and all ideas to me directly and/or to the digest. TIA>
Bret Luter, Raleigh, NC

______________________________________________________

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 17:45:30
From: yhtlines surfari.net
Subject: F150 Manual to Auto Tranny Conversion

Stan Foy wrote:
"I recently purchased an '85 F150 4X4 with a 351 and manual transmission. I
am thinking of converting it to an automatic transmission and replace the
TTB with a straight axle from an F250."

I would agree with you on the automatic, but don't know what the
installation issues would be. Ford usually puts a different cam in
auto/stick vehicles....so there could be a performance issue. I am confused
why you would want a straight axle? So you could have a worse ride?
, seriously is there some specific reason for this switch? Twin I
beams properly set up will last forever and give very good service and a
decent ride. The problem is finding the right alignment shop.
Dave Lampert

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 22:20:47 -0700
From: Randy
Subject: Re: Recomend some reading

John,
Sorry to hear about the back surgery, good luck. Two of my buddies
had surgery last year and are playing softball w/us this year
(unorganized, just a bunch of friends), they just can't go 'balls out'
(how's that for a retro term?) so there's something for you to look
forward to. Whenever I'm down (sick or whatever) I just grab a couple
of my parts & accessories catalogs and start planning for my next,
hopeful mod or add-on to my truck. I can send you some site addresses
if you'd like to get some catalogs, some are free, some aren't, but
they are usually 5 bucks or less.
Later,
Randy

FoMoCoNUT2 wrote:
>
> Hey Gang,
- -snip-
> P.S. I was just corrected by the better half, also known as the "senior over
> the shoulder Email editor" that she will be the one no doubt to do the Library
> running..... :)
>
> "it's going to be a long month gang, "
>
> Thanks again to a great bunch of Ford people
>
>
>
> John Miller
> +--------------- Ford Truck Enthusiasts - 1980 - 1996 ----------------+
> | Send posts to fordtrucks80up listservice.net, |
> | List removal instructions on the website. |
> +----------------- Site: http://www.ford-trucks.com -----------------+

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 20:18:20 -0600
From: Stan Foy
Subject: Re: F150 Manual to Auto Tranny Conversion

At 05:45 PM 4/14/98, you wrote:

>I would agree with you on the automatic, but don't know what the
>installation issues would be. Ford usually puts a different cam in
>auto/stick vehicles....so there could be a performance issue.

Kinda what I figured -- therefore the question. I need to price some of
the 'parting out' ads and see what the whole package deal would cost me.

>I am confused why you would want a straight axle? So you could have a
>worse ride?

Having driven nothing but 4X4's since 1972, I haven't bought one yet for
the 'plush-n-cushy' ride... Actually, it's more of an issue of
creating the off-road rig that I need/want for hunting and mountain
excursions around here. I've priced some of the lift kits available for
the TTB setup -- rather pricy compared to a similar setup for a
leaf-spring/straight axle setup.
===============================================================
Stan Foy home stanf rmi.net
work Stanley.A.Foy cdev.com
"Snowshoe" on the OSCAR and OFL online Nascar2 racing leagues.
===============================================================

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 02:26:28 EDT
From: FordboyDZ
Subject: Re:Firewall flex

I've only been with this list for a couple of weeks so you
may have discussed this before, but a friend of mine asked
me about his problem so I figured this is the place to find
out.
The truck is an 88 F150 6cyl,std,2wd. When the clutch is
used the firewall flexes so much that the gears are starting
to grind. Some bracket from Ford was tried but didn't work.
Anybody been through this? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 03:28:43 EDT
From: FordboyDZ
Subject: Re: Downtime reading material

Hey John,

TRY the Ford Truck Owners Bible.
Not shure if you can find it at the library, but I think
you can get one through Four Wheeler or Off Road.
Don't sweat the back surgery,had it done in 91,good
as new and wheelin' in my F250HD.

Good Luck

Dave

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 23:44:38 -0800 (AKDT)
From: Joshua W Dronkers
Subject: Re: Recomend some reading....

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