well boys, i don't know how i missed this thread until now, but whatever. dylan, thats quite the bit of fun you had up there on the bronco... keep your wheels in place
related to that, i always use an impact gun to put lug nuts on, followed by a torque wrench set to whatever is proper for the stud size. i know my impact gun well enough that the torque wrench usually ends up turning the nuts less than 1/10 of a turn. but we all know that an impact will usually either put them on too loose or too tight, but never just right.


anyway, i thought i might share my latest project/toy https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...y-charger.html which i finally got working after about i month in process. i built it for the options it provides me: unlimited inverter runtime under any size load, jump starting, charging batteries where power cords are inconvenient, etc. i've only had it working for one day, but so far i'm loving it. just gotta figure out where to store it in the van

 

Yeah It's been interesting. The Bronco won't make it to the meet this weekend but that's fine. I got a backing plate today so That's one step down. Next I should get my first paycheck tomorrow then I can spend most of it on parts and new rims

 

Isn't nice to have decent income.

I sure am getting tired of everyone wanting money I don't have.
Stupid fixed income and medical bills.

Sean to bad they don't have shoot self in head icon.

 

Dunno yet, I haven't gotten the "first motivational paycheck", I imagine once I get it, I will feel much better about waking up in the morning and going to work.

 

You and me Dylan. Big bucks= more expensive truck parts.

 

I feel your pain here... My wife and I lost our first daughter at birth last fall due to complications and my wife spent almost 4 days in the hospital. Its amazing how many ways you find you get nickled and dimed over things your insurance doesn't cover, beyond your annual out of pocket limit which is above and beyond your deductable. Now its tax time and I have to shell out more I don't have. I can't deduct the bulk of the medical bills either because we didn't start paying on them until this year and we're on a payment plan. All told I will have spent probably 12K+ in medical costs over the year not including my wife's 400/month medical insurance premium (my employer only covers me, and I would have to shell out 600/month for my spouse). I guess it could have been worse. Without insurance it would have been over 40K, then again those who choose to live without insurance get a lot of that written off anyway!

Glad you've found the means to get your Bronco back in action Gruesomejeans. I'd love to meet everyone Saturday in Renton but my folks are visiting from Montana this weekend. Maybe next time. I've really fallen off the wagon with FTE the last few years but maybe its time I get on here more often. I spend a lot of time on Fordbarn with the Model A chatter but I can't forget my truck either.

-Aaron

 

Aaron,
Sorry to hear about your loss.

Sean

 

K so I got the brake parts. Everything from spring kits to shoes to 2 new drums. All of it was about $171 after taxes and my military discount. The only things left to purchase are 4 rims, and to have some studs pressed into the axle shaft. Then it is pretty much ready to be pieced back together. I plan to clean up that backing plate tonight and possibly throw a few coats of flat black paint on just to kind of make it look better and protect it from rust. Even though these don't rust too quickly..

I wonder how impossible it would be to put all the brake stuff on the backing plate before it's on the truck... I guess it would be quite impossible due to the parking brake cable.. If I'm lucky I could have all this done by Saturday and make the meet with it. I *think* Discount tire has my new rims in stock but I'm not sure. I didn't ask.

 

you sound like you're planning to take the axle shaft in somewhere to have the studs pressed in, but wheel studs aren't that hard to press in yourself. just make sure you lube the threads first, then find a spare lug nut or any nut in the right thread size, and a larger nut (or other suitable spacer), slide the large nut over the stud first, then the one that fits it, and tighten it down until the stud is pulled into place.

 

Yeah that's the plan. I have done the lug nut/nut trick when I did the front brakes. I ended up stripping out the stud I was using. That was using a mix of breaker bar + socket, impact gun, and a hammer on the back side. After stripping one lug nut (an old one thankfully) and one stud I decided to only get them in most of the way then just put the wheel on and tighten it. Then re-tighten every few days.

 

Thanks Sean. Not sure where that mini rant came and why I unloaded all that but its not easy to forget anyway. I'm thankful my wife is ok and I didn't lose her too. Wrenching on my toys has been great therapy! I just detailed the F150 and its looks dang good for a 15 year old pickup!

 

dylan, i damaged a couple lug nuts on that game when i didn't have them lubricated and was using a wrench for my spacer, the cone surface of the nut deformed to the wrench. but with lube on the threads and the flat side of the nut against the spacer, it shouldn't have any problem. i too ran them down only far enough, then found that with the wheel in place i was pulling the stud with about 60 ft-lbs of torque on the nut, so i had no problem pulling the studs home with that.

 

Yeah, I just don't want to chance it again. And since I have the money, why not let someone else screw up and pay for it?

 

since you're in the money now, i guess thats fair. i think as the man to solve all problems, so i find a way to make it work myself - even when it gets me into trouble.

speaking of getting myself into trouble, i managed to get my van stuck today for about an hour and a half. it was pretty lame. had to use a come-a-long to get myself out, and broke a cable in the process. the lame thing about it is i had 3 tires on smooth ground, and one about 8 inches deep in mud, but even with a locking diff, i couldn't drive out. these tires are lame, and have been a source of great irritation, to say the least.

 

Oh nice... Is it time for some chunkier tires?

I could do this myself but I figure I'll try out this shop thing first. If it goes well and everything is neat and tight, I will consider it for the other side when I do those. If I had a press I would be more obliged to do this on my own.