I am trying to track down some idle issues and someone suggested checking the wiring harness at the drivers side valve cover on my 7.3. No sign of wearing through the insulation, but I wrapped it with rubber and some loom anyway.

 

Replaced the ICP again (14 months on the last Motorcraft one) and put a new O-ring on one of my HPOP head fittings to tame a leak.

 

Tired of that old Power Steering Fluid Cap that doesn't seal anything and you are worried it will pop off at any time? Me too... I tried to find a Motorcraft branded one and came up empty. I'm trying a Dorman 82582. So far it fit and clipped closed quite snugly. I don't know about long term, but for $5 I figured I'd give it a try.

 

Don't lock it down too tight, that's the system vent.

 

There’s a vent hole in the cap. I took some pictures of the original Motorcraft, but verified the Dorman version also had one.

 

It'll be fine. That's one part that doesn't necessarily have to be MoCo.

 

Easiest mod ever: the better console cup holders! As most everyone knows, the standard cup holders on the front of the console are virtually useless. I never used mine for cups or bottles, just coins usually. I had heard of folks upgrading cup holders in their super duties. But, because I’m slow, I thought they were talking about the in-dash cup holders. Mine worked ok so I didn’t put any additional thought into it (slow).

Then I was perusing @MasterX ‘s build thread and the light clicked on for me. Mr. UPS dropped off part number 1C3Z-3613562-AAA for me and I had it installed in seconds. Took longer to take pictures than the swap.


Old. This cup would fall out exiting my carport.


New. Snug as a bug in a rug. I’m not sure if the cup reaches the bottom, but it’s held tightly on the sides. I’d have to do some Dukes of Hazard stuff to get it to fall over now.


Tale of the tape!

 

I found that the 20 Oz RTIC/YETI is ideal, the 30 OZ will still fall out.

 

That’s my 30oz cup. I’ll have to be careful then. Still better than the dash or the original console cup holders.

 

Today I upgraded my headlights. I installed a rallylights.com wiring harness and Hella 100/80W bulbs. This wiring harness basically connects the lights directly to the battery through relays which are activated from the old light plug. I connected to the passenger side battery as I’ve already got a pile of wiring from my fog light install over on the drivers side. Not many pictures as it’s mostly just wiring. It is an easy install, even for the electrically challenged like myself. Pretty much just plug and play.


This is where I mounted the relays. There was a small screw in the radiator support that I made pull double duty.


I ran the light wire for the drivers side between the back of the tool tray material and the jack handles. I thought about under the tool tray on top of the radiator but this is what I ended up with. I may reconsider...

Just turning on the lights they seemed brighter. The drive in to work in the morning will tell the rest of the story.

Edit: Well, just got to work. The lights were very much brighter, and the high beams were amazing! With the old lights, when I switched over to high beams I could barely tell the difference. I'll have to re-aim the lights as they now make enough light to need real aiming. Before I just tried to herd the faint glow in the direction of the road.

 

Where did you get that piece for the gauges?

 

Although a neat idea, I didnt like the fact that it took an hour to drain the oil with this valve. I gave mine away and will stick the the good old fashioned plug.

In my brain, this is ideal for sampling, if you must sample often, or a remote location that needs a hose attached for directed draining.

Also, guys, please use a large covered drain pan. You will never drop the filter in the pool and the crude will not slosh and spill when moving the pan. Been using one for years, never an issue.

 

Those were Nicmike's pictures, but I got the same thing. I bought Ford part number 4C4Z-7004302-HA from oemfordpartsdirect.com.

 

Since getting my camping trailer, I've had intermittent brake connection from the truck. I kind of jury-rigged it by wrapping a bungie cord around the trailer plug and kind of pulling the plug in the socket. That worked most of the time but sometimes it would take a bit to get just the right angle. I saw a double plug setup and thought that would be handy if I ever got a utility trailer with just a four-wire setup. I bought the plug and it languished in the "pile of things to do" for over a year. I finally started hacking away a couple of weeks ago.


This is what the two-plug setup looked like. I wasn't crazy about it hanging below the receiver bracket and being exposed like that. Due to clearance issues I had to trim off a bit of the plastic bumper cover to get it to fit. I also managed to break off the retaining tab from the truck wiring plug that goes into the back of the socket. I made due by zip-tying the plug to the socket for my trip this last weekend. It worked, but I wanted to do it better.


Different view showing how exposed it is. I decided to go back to the OEM setup.


Here is a pic of the old wiring harness/plug and the new plug with pigtail. The new one is Pollak part number 11-998. It has a 4 foot pigtail...I didn't need nearly that much.


Here's the new plug spliced into the old wiring. The wire colors mostly didn't match so I just had to carefully work my way around the plug and match up wiring by position. I staggered the butt splices so they wouldn't be such a big bundle all in the same spot. I should probably have staggered them a bit more.


Wrapped up with wire loom, then whatever heavy-duty chunk of cloth the original loom was wrapped in, and then the cloth loom tape.


Original Ford socket part XL3T-14A624-BA.


The Ford part is made by Pollak though, part PA66-GF30.


New socket.


Same part number!


Complete. I probably should have painted the bracket but its ok for now. I backed it up to the trailer and plugged it in. Everything seems to be working! Success! That's two electrical projects in a row that seem to be working...first try. That's a record for me. Luckily the socket bracket mostly covers up the cutout in the bumper cover.

Just FYI, that bracket that the socket screws into is a bear to take out. I used a ratcheting 1/2" closed end wrench to get it off the top of the receiver bracket (and back on). It is about a click or two at a time because access above the hitch is tight. Lesson learned.

 

Nicely done.