See I thought it was when they went to ball joints is when they went to only the 5.5 but John's truck says other wise.
I have not looked of it has a Swiss cheese frame.

Yep all or nothing and did not know this till I got into the middle of the swap. I also did not know of the 2 different wheel patterns that started this whole mess with my truck LOL

I picked up a heater core vacuum operated bypass this morning to install in my truck.
This should keep the heater core from heating up the vent air and also make the AC, when I get it working, blow colder on MAX air.

When I was picking up the valve, the same place I got the paint for my truck from, the girl that helped with the paint came out to look the truck over and loved it.
She took pictures and said she was going to post them on NAPA / Miller Parts FB page.
Dave ----

 

I just checked their facebook page and no pics posted yet. Meanwhile look what I found in the driveway while bringing the trash can to the road; the elusive trim tack that fell out of the box while Dave and I were digging through it, and searched for for 5 minutes straight!


At least it wasn't found by a tire!

 

Metal rescue stuffs working great. Just gotta leave it and let it work. The spot where i left the tank tilted for a week looks practically brand new...

Because of the pollen i really cant do much outside atm. (ntm its been making me feel like crap too... and been working 11 hr shifts at work on top of it..) So this is a great thing to just set and forget. 1 gal did what it could. But needed more in the tank. Downside eas my tank sprung a leak and lost a 1/3 of the original gallon. None of the seams leaked. But the gas cap seal and the the plugs i had on the end of the tank balance tubes split letting it leak as well. Just need to get 1 more bottle to too off the tank to get the top that i couldnt before.













i ended up having to get the concentrate this time because i couldnt get the mixed gallon... while the instructions doesnt call for distilled.. i figured id go with the distilled because theres no chemical additives like in tap water or in the other 2 options for bottled water.. plus it was $.60 a gallon at work... so i got 6 of them lol...



almost full.. need to get 1 more bottle to finish the tank


The old gallons black as can be.

 

Sounds like they used the flip a coin method alot in the 80s...for which bolt patterns 1/2s got, and the similar deal with f250 4x4 front axles.
No real ryhme or reason why some gas light duty 6600 gvwr f250s got a Dana 50 front ends and diesel heavy duty 8600 gvwr f250s got the lighter dana 44hd( like mine).

If anyone needs any Dana/Spicer parts, there's a place near Brier Creek that stocks alot of parts, east coast gear supply. I stripped a spindle stud (by hand) and they had them for $2. Only place I could find near Raleigh with them. Because of the pandemic, they brought it out to me, but just sooo glad they were open.

Ordered some parts off Amazon last week and the delivery guy finally took the hint don't throw the package inside our gate. Won't come near that little old harmless Rottweiler

 

So I started working on replacing the cab mount bushings on the 83 F100, started with the driver side rear. It was so hard to turn I could barely budge it with an 18 inch breaker bar. After what was probably approx 2 full turns (I'm estimating here based on my short little 1/16th turns I was making) it snapped. Best guess is that the previous person had installed it cross threaded and sent it home that way! So now I got the top part of the bolt out, but I can't get anything else! Dave do you have any tips or tricks? I remember you telling me how tough yours were to remove.

 

I hate to say this but all my bolts, both cabs and the style side bed, all came out with out a fight.
I also did not replace the mounts as mine looked pretty good.

Now what I think I said was to get that lower rubber out that has the nut part in it you take a longer bolt and thread it into that part then take a BMFH and pound it out.
I hear they can be a bear to pound out.
That is how I seen it posted but again did not do it.

I don't remember does the new part have a nut in it or you needed to reuse the old one?
If you have to reuse I don't know if LMC or Dennis Carpenter has them or not? I never looked.
You may need to go with longer bolts or make some from threaded rod & welded nuts up top and lock nuts & flat washers on the bottom.

The ones I think that will be real fun (NOT) is the radiator support ones on both trucks as you need to use the parts truck nose (other than 1 fender) because it has the bigger opening for AC condenser & radiator.
Oh I also used my air impac gun on the cab & radiator bolts. I may have tried on the bed bolts but have trouble fitting everything under truck to get them off so did them by hand.

Wish it was safe to swing by but you know the 6 mile limit (LOL) they have makes it hard.
If you do need me to swing by let me know and we can see how to make that happen.
Dave ----

 

Yesterday I pick up the oil & temp gauge senders, new Tstat & gasket, oil & filter for the truck so I have something to work on.
Been thinking of washing it then sticking on the tail gate letters now that it is warm enough to do so as per the paper they came with.
I also heard a little rattle that sounds like the other front shock may be loose so need to check that at some point.
Dave ----

 

Dave I did try a BFH, but that doesn't work because the piece is encased in rubber. The rubber absorbs the impact when you smack it. But I read a thread here on ford-trucks where a guy showed how to build a puller using a piece of flat plate (or angle iron), a short section of exhaust pipe, and threaded rod, and I remembered that was exactly how I removed the stubborn bushings when I replaced the I-beams on my 69, so I am going to give that a try. No hurry on it though I will have to swing by the hardware store for 7/16 threaded rod next time I'm "out & about" which might be a while! lol

 

There is a 6 mile travel limit now in NC?

 

LOL no it is 6 feet but it is about 6 miles from my house to Johns so it was a play on the 6 LOL
Dave ----

 

John thought that only worked if the bolt was out and could thread the rod or bolt into the bushings left in the frame?
Dave ----

 

On the side that broke, there is still enough thread sticking through the bottom of the bolt to get a thread coupler on it I think. However Town & Country had them in 3/8 and 1/2 but not in 7/16 so I'll have to expand my search area to Lowes and / or Tractor Supply. The bolt on the other side came right out without any fanfare.

 

Might also try Fastnal for it.
Dave ----

 

Is no one working on their trucks because they are staying 6 ft away from them

Saturday being nice I washed the truck and then installed the tail gate letters that I have had for a month or 2.
It had to be above 65* to install them.


And they are reflective

Also took the wife out for diner in the truck to Clayton to Papa John's, they were running a special where part of the coast went to the Jonhston County animal foster / adaption program.
Dave ----

 

Looks good Dave

I thought those places were close except for take out?