yea they do poke out a bit, this was the 60mm cheap bolts, the new ones are 55mm, so between being 5mm less plus if i put 2 or 3 washers under the bolt, it probably will be flush. i may cover those 2 holes though from under the truck. no snow here anyhow only rain, but if you know Florida, we get lots of rain...lol



and yea i got ya about the bolt thing, i thought you thought i was going to use an allen wrench to tighten these, i will still be using a ratchet just like i would on a hex bolt, but just the way the bolt itself is i see what you mean about not being able to tighten it as much as a hex head bolt would.

 

this is what i meant i have that i can tighten them with, i can't remember if they're 3/8" or 1/2" drive, but either way, better than a plain old allen wrench.

 

Not necessarily. If they're good quality, and you use the right metric size, then you'll probably be OK. But you still can't apply anywhere near the torque to a socket head screw (bolt) no matter what tool you use, compared to a hex head with the same exact tool.

They were only a buck a piece. Go ahead and install them while you search around for some hex head options instead. I'd say Google it, but while places like McMaster-Carr have everything always, you often have to buy a whole package of them. Not sure about that.

Out of curiosity, what size bolt is it? Not the length (55mm), but the diameter and thread pitch. Maybe like an M12x1.75? I have no clue.

 

Damn good guess for not knowing! Lmao.

Yea I Googled some and they're quite a bit more so yea I'll use these for now.

Any idea on whether or not the serpentine belt is hard to change? I ordered a Motorcraft one for 46 shipped online (78+tax local at ford) because mine squeaks pretty loud and it's annoying. I've replaced the belts on the scion and it wasn't too hard on that.

 

Is that what it is? Did I get it right? I love when an eyeball estimate comes in good.

Fastenal has them in 10.9 (still plenty) for less than $2/each.

Just remember, you're probably going to have to get them back out one day if you decide to change it up a little or sell the truck or whatever. If you're going to use those socket cap bolts, then at least put some decent antisieze on them before you install them, so you stand a chance of getting them back out without stripping out the allen head sockets. Personally I'd rather be able to put some blue loctite on bolts in that location. But not with socket caps...

EDIT: what grade were the factory original bolts you removed? Were they marked?

 

yep you guessed exactly correct haha.

i called a local Fastenal and they said they'd have to order them. hell i may just order them now if they're $2 each and just leave the washer setup that i have now for a few more days until the bolts come in.

yea i did put blue thread lock on it already, when i thought i was just going to leave the crappy bolts and billion washers in permanently, and it locked it in decently good but was still able to remove them.

not sure, i will check the factory bolts when i go back outside.

hopefully the serpentine belt comes in soon because the current squeaking is taking away from the music to my ears (the diesel motor/exhaust) LOL. it's loud enough that you can hear it over the motor, and the motor is loud!

 

damn 10 dollar shipping fee....i ordered 4 55mm and 4 60mm class 10.9 zinc bolts, partial thread. the 55's should work but may need 60. ordered 4 of each because i'm gonna make 2 more mounts for my excursion seat lol.

 

quick question guys, what oil do you all use on your 6.0s? i'm getting responses from people on a 6.0 facebook group, as well as just googling and looking at threads, roughly 50/50 between Rotella T6 5w40 or 15w40 full synthetic, or Motorcraft full synthetic (not sure if there's more than one sub model or if it's just simply motorcraft synthetic) 5w40 or 15w40 as well. and of course everyone says motorcraft filter.

i'd like to hear from some of you all on what you use. my truck is about to roll 43k, and i'm not sure if the dealer changed the oil/filter when they got the truck in on trade or not, i don't trust it anyways so soon here i'm going to change it so i can start tracking it myself until the next change. leaning towards the Rotella T6 as it looks like more people suggest that, but still not 100% set on either. and not sure what weight. I'm in florida so HOT most of the time, never really very cold even in the winter. i know that sometimes makes a difference in what weight people choose if they live in areas with harsh winters.

personally in all my vehicles (all gas motors) i've always since my first oil change used Mobile 1 full synthetic oil. i've never had an issue, always pleased with how all my cars ran with it. so i'm also leaning towards the mobile 1 turbo synthetic 5w40 i think it's called and give that a try.

 

I spent big money on Royal Purple once for my old 6.0L. I felt like an idiot. I spent 50% more just on oil than my dealer charges to do the full job on my 6.7L. Run whatever you want. It's not that big a deal. If you're super concerned about it, send off samples for analysis. You don't need massive swings in viscosity because like you said...Florida. So 15W-40 is plenty. If that's even necessary.

PS You ever find out what grade the factory seat bolts are?

 

Sorry forgot to reply. It doesn't seem to say on them.

Yea i agree sometimes oil discussions can get intense lol. I think ima either run mobile 1 full synthetic or Rotella t6 full synthetic, whatever is cheaper. If it's only a few bux difference, i think I'll run the mobile 1 as I've had great results with it in all my gassers.

 

so i'm looking into (read: taking suggestions from those that know more than me LOL) upgrading whatever parts i need to so my truck doesn't ride as bouncy or shake so to speak almost into the next lane if i hit a decent pothole, even a small pothole. would longer shocks than stock help, it seemed to get bouncy after the shackle lift was put on. or is that just how it's gonna be since it basically made the back of the front leaf springs nearly flat?

will a steering stabilizer help any?

 

It can only help. But can you summarize/recap exactly what you've done to the suspension (front, especially, but also rear)? Does it happen when you hit a speed bump with both fronts at the same time, or only when one side or the other hits? Does your wheel turn left and right, or move/shake in some other way?

I presume you've already gone through and checked your drag link and tie rod ends, wheel bearings, and ball joints, right?

 

tomorrow my friend that i trust (not that dumb shop) is checking everything and will let me know anything that's bad.

only thing altered on the suspension is the front shackles (at the rear of the front leafs). everything else including the rear is stock, other than the 315/75/16s and 2" spacers in between the rear wheels.

seems to jerk when i hit a pothole with a single wheel, the faster i'm going the more it moves. the bouncy feeling just feels like the front end has a short but tight bounce in the front end, like i could be driving 50mph down a straight and flat road and it feels bouncy. i don't recall it happening before the shackle lift, even with the crappy worn tires i had on at that point in time.

i suppose also the wheels could be out of balance but they all were balanced when i had the tires mounted recently so they all should be balanced as best as they could get them (the rears were done by my buddy at tires plus with their digital and what looks to be a really nice/high end balancing machine. the fronts were just mounted on the front dually wheels last week by a different shop, i didn't watch them balance them but i guess i can go by and have them double check and make sure they are balanced. i may do that tomorrow.

what would a non balanced wheel/tire feel like?

so that's all i can think of, the new shackles being so tall making the back part of the front leafs essentially flat, having stock sized shocks with said 2" shackle lift (as well as stock anything else that may need to be replaced with longer parts to accommodate the lift (not sure if there is anything else in that category), or the wheels out of balance. it road decently rough before, but like i said, crappy worn tires, as well as it just road like a truck. stock for stock, my dually and my 01 excursion (both 4wd) drove and handled completely different. the excursion has more of a spongy ride if you've ever been in a stock one. i used to like it but i've gotten used to the f350 i guess i'd call it "tighter" suspension, and now i want to change the suspension on the excursion one day.

I know a lot of guys put stock x codes or whatever they're called suspension from super duty trucks on their excursions, one for a small lift, and i believe also makes it ride more like the SD and not be so spongy and sway all over like it does stock.

so yea other than that i'm at a dead end, although i don't know a TON about suspension, i'm learning as i go. i have my buddy that can help me install any new parts that i don't feel comfortable changing and don't want to chance it if i don't trust myself all the way with suspension parts in case something comes loose etc and could end badly.

 

oh yea also, a guy yesterday told me sometimes tires may not be perfectly true, which i've heard of some people getting their tires shaved or "cut", but that seems to usually be large knobby mud type tires. i couldn't imagine having to modify the tread on brand new BFG A/T tires.

also, if that were the case, as well as an unbalanced wheel, i'd assume the ride would be more bumpy, not bouncy. if i am wrong on that please correct me!

 

Forget tires. Wait, actually, have you checked their inflation? What pressures are they running? If a shop did it, it's likely they put 80 pounds in it because they're idiots. Or they could even be under-inflated. Check and see. Drop them to 65 and see what happens. The out of round stuff is generally snake oil. But if it's overinflated it could be chasing seams on the road.

Are you sure your front bumper lifted by 2"? Or is that just the extra length of the shackle? Such a small change shouldn't really make such a big difference, but the easiest way to tell is to swap the shackles back to stock and see what happens. I don't know what shocks you have on there or how old they are, but if you want to throw some money at it get Rancho 9000XL adjustables for a 2" lift in the front, and you can dial it how you need it.

Seems like you have two different complaints:

1) Tires are chasing bumps and potholes
2) Front end is "bouncy" like maybe your shocks are worn

Those are likely two separate things. But you never know, because it's amazing what tire pressure can do.

PS This is why I always encourage people to do things one at a time whenever possible. Like on your case do either your shackles and run them like that for a while or do your tires first and run them like that. If one thing changes, it's a whole lot easier to run down issues.