Can anyone help me figure out what part I need to order here?




Bent bracket behind front axle pivot bracket<br/>




A couple weeks ago, I sought help from the forum in this thread (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...se-needed.html)

I ordered a new one of these. D2TZ-3B178-A (replaced C5TZ-3B178-A)/Axle Pivot Mounting Bracket, however, it seems I need to replace the reinforcing bracket as well. This bracket is mounted via two rivets and is behind the part listed above.

Anyone know what this thing is?

Here is a reference shot from an older model f100 to give you an idea of what the part looks like when everything is together. This is from the driver's side, and mine is the passenger side, but you get the idea. The part I need is the diaglonally mounted long bracket that is riveted to the axle mounting bracket and back to the frame

 

Man, if it's not one thing, it's always something else .
You're in luck:
Brace, Front axle pivot bracket
Fits:
73-up F100-250 regular cab 2WD right or left side
C5TZ-3B198-A

Green Sales, Cincinnati, OH has 1 (800)543-4959
Dennis Carpenter, Concord, NC has 1 (704) 786-8139

 

Thanks again. Here's to hoping that you have a backup copy of the parts book in case of fire.

I don't know what the rest of us would do without these part numbers. And yes, it seems I cannot catch a break. I jumped into this project full bore, and it's a bit above my experience level. What once was replace shocks and springs has now evolved into an entire front suspension replacement. At least the rivets on this new piece will be easier to remove then the ones on the axle mount. A couple of those were in tight spaces.

For future forum searchers. Here is a picture of the part. Once I had the part number I was able to google image search it.

 

Glad to help.
As far as being "above" your experience level, just because you "haven't" doesn't mean you "can't". If you don't push your experience envelope, you'll never learn new skills. That's how I've learned most of what (I think) I know. Did I make mistakes? Oh yeah, lot's of them. Some disastrous, some hilarious, but I learned from all of them.

 

Agreed. I now know the name of each and every front suspension part. I had no idea what I was looking at until removed each part one by one.

I think I would really enjoy finding a second motor and rebuilding it at some point

 

Yeah, that's how I started pushing my limits many years ago. It was a 390 and that one was one of my "disasters" .

 

Do tell...

 

This is back when I was a kid.
The piston pins in FE's are full floating. They run in bronze bushings in the connecting rods that need to be honed to fit the wrist pin. Suffice it to say a hammer is not a suitable substitute for a bushing hone.

 

The part has arrived! Was ordered Monday and was on my front porch before noon. Thanks FTE. I can now start putting my truck back together.

 

Looks like they got it right.

 

Yeah, I was rather nervous when I was opening the box.

 

Given these two bent suspension parts, it may be prudent to look into how this might have happened and whether there is more damage that is not as easily seen. Maybe it was a really big pot hole, maybe something worse.
Specifically, I'd spend some time making sure that the frame is square, especially if you find evidence of frame repair or find un-repaired frame damage.

 

You raise a very good point. I've been trying to figure out what could have caused this damage since i first dropped the I-beams. Now that I have cleaned everything up down there and I can get a good look.

I do see a little bit of bending on the bottom lip of the front cross-member. The truck appears to have either hit something or at one point, might have tried to drive over something. It would appear that the lower cross-member lip might have taken the first hit and then the truck slid so that the brunt of the impact was the axle bracket and stabilizer. Or, i'ts possible the slightly bent cross-member lip is unrelated. It's really a small bend and again, only appears on the bottom lip.

All that being said, the rest of the frame looks good. Nothing bent, nothing patched or welded. Once I get the front suspension back together, I plan to take the truck for an alignment. I never had any issues before with alignment, btw, just slushy steering and a sagging coil spring. However if I cannot get the truck to sit level, or there are issues with the alignment, I will take the truck to a frame shop.

Funny thing is, I have had this truck for over 10 years. It really does not get a lot of use. I do not recall hitting anything, or even driving it enough to hit anything. Before that, it was my father-in-law's truck (since 1987). When he gave me the truck, he handed me a very large envelope with a maintenance log and every single receipt from every single cent he spend on the truck. From taillight bulbs to an engine rebuild and paint. I can't imagine that he would have had that type of accident and not tell me about it. Unfortunately, he passed away a while ago so I cannot ask him.

I told my wife that I would probably call her mother to see if she can recall anything, although my wife's response to the possibility of her mother remembering anything related to a car, truck, or anything else mechanical, was "Good Luck". At the very least, she might remember who the original owner was.

Long term, I plan on keeping this truck until I keel over. So if I need to fix something, I will. At this point, it's kind of a labor of love. I want to be able to have something to work on from time to time, and something to drive to Home Depot and the dump.

If there is anything that I can do to check to see if the frame is square while I have the suspension off, or is this pretty much something only a professional can see?

I'll take a pic of the bent cross-member lip tomorrow and post it. Interested to hear your thoughts.

 

You are very fortunate to have such a detailed handle on the provenance of your truck. I take it that your dad was the first owner. Most of us have far less historical info on our trucks.
Yes, there is something that you can do yourself to check your frame. It's really quite simple. Here's how:

1. Find a relatively clean flat surface to park the truck (carport, garage, shop). You are probably already there.
2. Find a plumb bob or workalike (I used a washer on a string)
3. Look for four points on the frame and make a mark on the floor for each one of them (they should be the same place side-to-side). There are four locator pins on the bottom frame rail pointing downward that you could use for reference)
4. Measure left/rear to right/front and then right/rear to left/front. Measure front to back on each side.

The two front to back measurements for each side should be within 1/4" of one another.
The two cross measures should be within 1/4" of one another.

Next mark the floor by measuring the wheelbase from the center of the kingpin to the center of the rear axle on each side. If you can make the rear axle point the same side-to-side, you can cross measure that as well. The same measurement criteria apply here as well.

The first procedure will tell you whether your frame has been changed from square to something approaching a diamond shape. Square is good, diamond is bad,
The second procedure will tell you whether your suspension and wheels are where they ought to be. If the frame is square and the wheels are not, correcting them is easier than correcting a bent frame. If the frame is not square then the wheelbase measure may not be relevant.
There is a part of your frame that can become damaged without an accident. That area is around where the power steering mounts to the frame. The crack I found on the lower rail of my truck was so fine that it was almost undetectable. It was rearward of the power steering.
I didn't see it until I had scrubbed the frame with a rotary wire brush on a drill. Grabbing it with a big adjustable wrench and flexing the lower frame rail revealed that it went all the way through.
Although I fixed it by gouging and then welding the crack on both sides, I don't know how I would have done the topside of the lower frame rail if the engine hadn't been out.

 

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Thanks for the detailed info. I actually owned a plumbob for years and have never had a good reason to use it. It's been in the package for about 7 years. I'll give it a shot tomorrow.