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I think he's talking Redhead and Borgeson (sp?)
I put the Ebay stickers on my smooth Chinese tailgate and hit it with two coats of Duplicolor wheel gloss clear. WOW! I can't believe how bright my truck was 27 years ago. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S...927_171159.jpg |
Actually, I was using Brit-speak. "Kit" means equipment, and I was just saying that with good equipment these trucks drive well. But, I agree with Jim's assessment of those two brands.
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Mine drives great with a nice tight 1996 Box and the 1992-96/7 steering column (no rag joint, all u-joints).
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Mine drives good for having a 232,000 mile steering box. Especially at high speeds.
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Mine is covered in grime and dirt and who knows what else. No clue when the last time that stuff was replaced, let alone greased. It is officially on my to-do list.
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Yesterday, I went to the shop to work on the truck, but the bay I needed was blocked by a bus. The customer has already paid the bill, and took the keys.
Not only is it blocking the bay I need to get the truck in the air, but it's also blocking the truck from being able to go around it, without making a 15 point turn, no fun when pushing by yourself..... Spent a little time tinkering with the engine, hoping they would come get that bus outta there. Finally got irritated, and went to get oil change supplies for dad's truck. It's been almost 5 weeks now since dad passed away, and yesterday was the first time I drove his truck since. I treated it to an oil change with full synthetic oil and a K&N oil filter. (Special at advance auto, ~$34 for 5 qts valvoline synthetic & K&N oil filter) It was well past due for an oil change, as far as time goes. Prolly had less than 2K on the old stuff, but been close to 2 years since it was last done. I know a lot of people say putting synthetic oil in an older engine can be an issue, as it tends to uncover any hidden leaks. I'm planning to pull the engine and freshen it up after my truck is back on the road, so it's not a big deal if there are a few new leaks that pop up. |
Did a bandaid job on mine today. Got home yesterday after running to get some 30 Amp fuses as I found my dealer air had a hidden inline tube fuse holder which caused my A/C and A/C blower to stop working. Thought it was the switch but it has a new switch and fuse though so its good. But when I got home I saw water pouring fairly good out from under the hood, popped the hood and found the heater hose to water pump had a pin hole in it.
Let it cooled off and today I pulled the hose off cut the hose back and put it back on till next week when all the heater hoses, water pump, thermostat, and timing cover gaskets get replaced. When I pulled the hose off I am glad I ordered a new water pump, the nipple on the water pump was rotted to hell. Thankfully there was enough there so I could still drive the truck for a week then I will park it and drive my Mercury till I get this finished. I desided to go ahead and order a high flow thermostat to go with the high volume water pump just to eliminate any issues. I will how ever leave the thermostat out at first as I want to run some radiator flush through the cooling system for a couple days to clean everything out then put the thermostat in and put coolant in. I hate having a cooling system with growth around the radiator tubes and this radiator was put in new about 6 years ago but seeing as I wasnt driving the truck then someone else was they didnt change the coolant nor let me know it needed to be done so I never did it. So looks like next week end is going to be a very busy weekend. |
Removed the run from the top of the cab today. Used one of these Shop Preval Spray System at Lowes.com
to spray my paint as I didn't want to bring out the paint gun and all that for such a small area. Little thing worked great. In a week I'll wet sand the newly applied paint with 1000 grit like I did the rest of the back vertical portion of the cab today and wax it all. Shouldn't be able to tell I did anything by then. |
Originally Posted by RL250
(Post 14697817)
What would be a "good" kit? Need to put that on the to-do list anyway.
Pretty easy install overall, with just a few gotchas. Getting the pitman arm off was a real pain. This was one case where a Harbor Freight tool failed me; a GOOD puller took care of the issue. The Borgeson shaft had to be cut down by about 10", but the instructions were clear and it was an easy job. In my case, the drag link and all ball joints were in good shape so I didn't need to do anything there. So my steering upgrade, overall, consisted of new pump, new high and low pressure lines, new gear and new steering shaft. The steering at this point is fantastic. Just what I was looking for. I have used RedHead Steering in the past to rebuild the steering gear for my '63 F100 4x4 as getting the proper replacement was an impossible task. They rebuilt it, shipping included, for about $400. For that gear, it was a good deal. For my 85 I was able to get the gear from Rock Auto with no problem. For me, this ranks right at the top as one of the best things I've done to the truck. I'd say in order; The Ignition Conversion and computer / emissions removal Project The Steering Repair and Upgrade Project The Restore Interior Project Upcoming projects; Will need to wait until spring with the exception of the engine build (install will wait) Complete the new engine rebuild and install in truck Rust and Body Repair and Paint Possible Bucket Seat Upgrade I should do a write up of the steering project.. |
Was your box from Rock new or rebuilt?
Yes, do write up the steering rebuild - especially the part about the HF puller. I struggled with getting a pitman arm off and my HF puller failed me as well. I finally went to the parts store and borrowed theirs. It did the job but even then it took a LOT of force. |
Got my dashmat today and installed it.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...05f0313d0a.jpg Looks really good for $19.94 to my door new in box! |
I pulled the leaking radiator, which originally came from Dad's truck, out of Rusty and re-installed the one that was in Rusty when I got him. Here's the one that was Dad's:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...f4cfa5cf64.jpg Here's the other side of Dad's. As you can see, it has pin holes on both sides. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...b3b41a5eb1.jpg Here's the one that's going back, on the right, compared to Dad's. This one is all aluminum and is 1 7/8" thick, and Dad's is copper/brass and is 2 1/4" thick. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...d961e39f20.jpg Lots more to do to Rusty as I'm installing the oil pressure, water temp, and volt meter gauges that were in Dad's. And I'm installing the headlight relays that were in Dad's. Plus I'm re-installing the AEM wideband AFR meter. More to come. |
Took Lil' Red to recycle her old tailgate today.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g...927_171209.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-k...927_171218.jpg Looked even worse on the inside, but I guess Google didn't back that one up into their cloud. I added a pic of both tailgates together to my post from two days ago. Took the new one back apart to grease and adjust the latches. |
Welcome to FTE! Good looking truck. What part of Arkansas are you in?
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