this is the vehicle ( info in sig) we're most likely going to use to go on our 3-4 year, 20,000 mile trip down the pan american highway. since it's going to be 5 of us (three small chitlins, my wife and me) we're most likely going to be pulling a small trailer too (think private time for mom and dad).
things that i have done:
-driveshaft u-joints
-steering column and shaft replace
-replaced all the power steering bits (pump, box, lines)
-3g alternator upgrade
-parking brake cables and rear brake shoes, cylinders (the shoes were fine, but when i removed one of the drums the wheel cylinder spewed fluid all over them)
-40-20-40 bench
-tires

i removed the old kelsey hayes brake controller since this truck's got rabs. in the process i had to replace the line that goes from the mc to the rabs valve. i'll also replace all the rubber hoses. the front pads don't show much wear and they're even.

i think the front axle is leaking, since the pass steering knuckle is always kinda damp.

i'm going to install a new battery ground cable and probably replace the starter. i've had some no-start issues which i want to eliminate. well i have eliminated them, by cleaning the connections at the battery and at the block, but i don't know how bad the ground cable is under the insulation. so might as well replace it.

i will replace all the steering linkages and the king pins too.

i would check for codes, but it seems like i'm missing one of the connectors for the scan tool ( the smaller connector).

here's the point to my post:

while the engine (460) runs real smoothly, and the transmission (zf-5) shifts well, i'm wondering if it would be wise to do preventative rebuilds on those two items. i do get some rattling noise coming from under the truck when i let off the gas while in gear. the only reason i hear it is because i removed the shift boot. noise goes away completely with shift boot on. on the engine side, at the very least i would want to clean out the oil pan and make sure i don't have a clogged pump in my near future. knowing that the engine has to come out for that procedure anyway, why not get a full rebuild?

for those interested, the camper is a 1988 four wheel camper grandby model, it needs a front lift panel and the sleeping base in the cabover section is sagging. i'll probably drop it off at ATC or FWC (both outfits are in the sacramento area) to get that done, plus new canvas with the arctic pack option.
so there it is. i am looking forward to your comments, but really just wanted an excuse to post a pic of the truck

 

Very cool man, I hope you keep a blog and take a ton of pictures during your travels.

Imo I don't think its a bad idea to do a rebuild if you're going to have it out. As long as you have enough time before your trip to do a good break in and you know shes good I'd go for it.

 

thanks man! the blog and pics are my wife's department. i'll just be driving and making sure the vehicle keeps doing what it's supposed to do. which is why i like the idea of the rebuilds.

 

I've got some suggestions for you.Get it set up for two batteries so you'll have a spare,no motor club in a lot of places you'll be traveling through.Get someone to make up and replace all your battery cables with 0 gauge welding cable which flows the electricity much easier.
For a trip like that I'd use Ultima batteries in place of regular lead acid ones.
Get yourself a top quality (not WalMart) tire plug repair kit and a decent little compressor so you can fix flats with small holes that can be plugged and get going again until you reach civilization where more permanent tire repairs can be done.
I'm assuming you've put some skid plates on the truck just in case.
Also,very carefully,probably using the Embassies of the countries you'll pass though,research and print yourself copies of their firearms laws as you will want protection for your family,BUT,if you do choose to bring weapons make sure you absolutely follow their laws to the letter,their prisons are no picnic.
Have you thought about keeping a journal? Using a cassette recorder and tapes would be pretty easy to relate your experiences into each night and your family would have it in person and "live" to enjoy forever.
I hope you have a safe and wonderful adventure and we'll be looking forward to hearing from you when you're able and will be watching for pictures. Enjoy.
Oh,I'd throw some more lights on it too,maybe up on the cab,and a couple of halogens in the back too for some high power back up lights just in case,no telling how far you might have to back up some time if you run into some place that's impassable.

 

very very nice set up there! love the truck now make sure you get the wife to join and post lots of pics of the truck

 

WOW!! That sounds like quite an adventure. Sounds like you got most of the bases covered, but like mentioned a few spare parts would not be a bad idea.

How many miles on motor/clutch/trans? They are pretty bullet proof and as long as they have fresh fluids and nothing making bad noises they should make the trip. There again it depends on your mileage.

 

Reminds me of this: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5010/...40abed14cc.jpg

As far as rebuilds, it's probably not a bad idea to pull diff covers and check condition (new synthetic lube certainly wouldn't hurt either!). As far as the trans, if it's making noise it's a great idea to get it checked out. As far as the engine goes, If it were me I'd check vital signs and base my plan on them. Oil pressure (with a real gauge), compression, etc.

Aside from normal maintenance, if everything drivetrain related is working properly, I'd almost be hesitant to mess with a good thing.

 

wow guys, thanks for all the kind words, and great advice.
@2003expy:
dual battery set up is definitely in the works. the 3g upgrade was the first step.
tire repair kit, check!
skidplates, check! on my last roadtrip to baja, i had to help a friend replace the gas tank on his ranger because he kicked up a rock into it. not into doing that again.
weapons, while there is nothing that can match the stopping power of a sawed off, i think we're going to have to stick to something more like bear spray for the very worse case scenarios. i hear a smile and beer can get you out of any but the stickiest situations.
i like the idea of the backup lights.
@Jaime74656
thanks! i really love this truck too. i'd love to get the lady to become a member, but don't hold your breath. i will definitely post a link of her blog here, once we're on our way.
@freightrain
spare parts are a sticky one. i'd have to figure out a smart selection. i only have so much space for my tools and parts.
the engine/trans has (1)64000. no rebuilds. when i first got the truck i changed the engine oil, transmission fluid. i checked the differentials fluid levels, but i need to just replace it with full synthetic goodness. and while i'm in there, check condition as bob gervais suggests.
i have access to a compression gauge, so i need to get on checking the engine compression. same with the oil pressure.

the transmission is another story. when i changed its fluid, the old stuff looked fine, but that noise really bugs me. it shifts fine and easy, every once in a blue moon it grinds a bit when i put the lever in reverse. so i am going to bring the truck to the east bay truck center (they specialize in ford trucks) and pay them $135 for them to investigate the noises. they charge $1200 to rebuild, not including labor to drop and replace it. a ford reman'ed zf-5 from them is $2500 or so.

i kind of want to loose the truck bed and mount the camper on some kind of flatbed to get more outside storage. what do you guys think? while the bed is off i'll probably replace the in-tank fuel pumps and probably lines and high pressure pump, and reservoir and...

 

yeah! just stretch the truck out a little, replace the off road trailer with a little teardrop and color that white stuff on the ground yellow and that'll be us!

 

Get a couple of spare fuel filters too and make sure you can change them yourself,along with a couple of spare belts and probably new tensioners or new bearing in the ones already on the truck,there ain't gonna be an Auto Zone or O'Reilly's every couple miles where you're headed.
Oh,and a good length of clear tubing that'll fit down into your fuel filler neck to siphon some fuel if need be,I'd say between 6 and 10 feet long.
Also,if there's a True Value Hardware store near you they sell some solar lights that look like little flood lights with a fair size solar screen,never need to plug them in to recharge them and they'll throw light 6 to 10 hours with a full sun charge depending on which way you throw the switch. About $21 each,look for the ones with TWO LED light bulbs in them.You can use them for flashlights,for repairs or in the camper to save the vehicles batteries,very handy little critters,I have 3 of them,1 for a night light and a couple of extras in case of power outage

 

The noise going into reverse is the lack of synchronizers and the shaft is spinning and it's raking going into gear. Typically when I go for reverse, I slip it into 1st or 5th(depending on where R is located on the shifter)first, that stops the cluster shaft and allows Reverse to go in without grinding. It's more typical when just starting truck, or when it was in neutral/idling and you go to put it into Reverse.

164K miles for a 460 isn't really bad, they are a very tough built engine and if it's running fine and checks out okay then I might not want to tear into it. Not that freshening it isn't a bad idea, but might not really be needed.

 

Sounds like everyone pretty much has you covered with advice, I am just curious why you went with a gasser over a diesel? Seems like a diesel would be better for what you are doing, basically towing for 3-4 years and 20,000 miles, plus diesels love to idle and don't go through much fuel while idling incase you had to run it all night with the heater blowing. I would think for the money you are sinking into the 460 you could have found a good diesel truck.

 

great ideas! thanks expy, these are going in my notebook.

i will post this question in the transmission forum too. so regarding the grinding when going into reverse, would you say that that is not an issue to be worried about? i remember reading about the process you describe, and i have tried it and it does seem to work: the lever slips right into reverse.
i'm curious about your take on a couple of other noises (which i only hear when i removed the shift boot): when i'm cruising at 45-55 mph and i let off the gas a bit i get a grinding rattling noise. 5th and 4th gears if i remember correctly. also whenever the clutch pedal is not bring depressed, i hear a whooshing sound. it goes away if i press the clutch pedal.

yeah, this forum's great. the gas vs. diesel debate was a hot one in my head. i went gas because that's what i had, it's what i'm somewhat familiar with. our plan is to do the entire length of the americas, so we will be spending some time up in the cold andes, and i'm scared of cold start issues that diesels seem to have. also availability was a big factor. even in baja i noticed there were gas stations that either were out of diesel, or plain didn't offer any.
the prospect of doing the trip in a diesel was very appealing. we even thought doing it with a converted diesel (waste veggie oil) would add a pretty appealing angle to our story. (meriah my wonderful wife is going to write a book).
i haven't sunk any money into this engine. yet. i need to perform some tests, compression, leak down and oil pressure to decide what to do. if the tranny doesn't pass the shop's inspection, and there are issues with the engine, you know i'll be arguing with myself about it again.

 

You're going to want to be having fires so you'll have to start them somehow.If you don't want to be siphoning out a bit of gas to start one there's something you can start collecting now that will work and won't cost you a dime,can be pressed down pretty much flat and can be stored darn near anywhere,can even be used for packing material if need be.
Good old common everyday dryer lint.With 2 adults and a couple of kids you're already generating lots of it so why not get some use out of it.Pack it in zip lock bags and you can stuff it anywhere you have a smidgen of space.
Another good fire starter is 0000 steel wool,you can hit it with a little low DC voltage and you got fire.
Have you got a machete? I just picked up a Gerber machete off eBay for a @$22 shipped free,about 21" long overall with a sheath and a saw blade running down the back spine,get a decent sharpening stone too.
How about a Leatherman tool,or maybe one for each of you depending on the kids ages.You can carry them in the sheath on your belt and they're always with you.Believe me,you'll find a lot of uses for them.
Spare hose clamps of all sizes,plenty of spare fuses,bailing wire,some gutter strap,a few rolls of GOOD quality duct tape,plenty of garbage bags (great emergency rain coats/windbreakers)a couple of tarps,those neat wrist bands made of parachute cord.How about some of the better space blankets,they don't take up much room and work very well.
And of course, P38's,the little indispensable military can opener.You can get several on eBay,put one on you key ring,maybe stuff one with the blade folded in your wallet,etc.You'll find other uses for them too as time goes by.
How about of of those books that show how to cook food on your engine as you're driving?When you're getting ready to pull over and camp for the night everyone will be tired and maybe cranky and waiting an hour to cook dinner will get old quick,and it may make things a little easier for "the boss".
It's going to cost you plenty for the trip what with fuel,spares,food,outfitting, etc,etc, so how about suggesting things you'll need to family and friends that they can get you for Christmas/Birthday presents?

 

wow! a veritable fount of knowledge! you must have done a trip like this, or have been thinking about it for a while! we're going to get on the birthday present tip, since we're all due in May!
i gotta look into the cooking of food on the exhaust manifolds. maybe i could fit a little cage down there to make it a little more user friendly.