Got tired of the "temporary" setup i have been running with a single used marine cranking battery i had got for free. finally left me with a no-start condition last weekend so i decided to fix it right.

Went to slack Auto parts and bought two group 31 925 CCA batteries purchased for 89.95 each, and they made the 2/0 cables for me based off of my measurements. Cleaned all connections on engine and starter and put everything together, tied off and insulated very very well.

I protected the batteries where they hang over by cutting a small length of 3/8 hose down the middle to put on the lip of the trays where the batt's hang over.

Well worth it, I forgot how these things are supposed to crank, night and day difference.

Also cleaned up a good bit of the under hood wiring as i went, it was more of a mess than it is now before!.

Found the source of my front axle seal leak, damned mud dobber made his home in my recently installed vent hose, found the lift pump hoses in need of attention while under there. one was in a loop and almost kinked shut, replaced both inlet and outlet with new clamps.

going to work more on it this weekend, including a new ignition switch, injector install kit and set of new injectors. Doing my PMF superduty spring reverse shackle soon i hope!, had it over 1.5 years now still in the damned box

hope you guys enjoy the driver's battery mount and shim

 

Two 31s huh? Ive gotten along great with my single for years now, just for the fyi. I also have the PMF SD rsk, love it. Handles great, rides great. I dont have sway bars or a track bar, suspension is tight, body roll is minimal. I used X-codes from a 2000 crew cab dually with 7.3. I have the V ? i think in my 79, theyre a bit soft, theyre just F350 diesel springs from a SRW. I did have to get a drop pitman arm, the bump steer without it was pretty sketchy. I have the 2.25" rsk

 

my single battery did fine over the last 4 years, even last two years in the winter in the teens, but one hiccup with an air bubble in the fuel it was a struggle to get her fire before i lost charge. last weekend i went to fire it and she wasnt spinning over fast enough. Said the hell with it, i made the 31's work because they had such a great deal on them, both were dated may 2017. Cheaper than i could get a 65 series or anything else suitable really.

If mine had the boxed frame i would have already done the swap, but i have to do a little fabrication up front, so i have been somewhat putting it off.
I Have a pair of V codes and bag of bolts from hardware store sitting ready to go next to the box with the kit in it.
this thing beats me to death on the trails now, even aired down. Ive run the stock 250 front springs and these modified tuff country 2.5's for awhile now and it just rides horrible any way you look at it.
Really look forward to the front hitch and fabricating a front bumper/winch mount in the process


I look forward to ditching my trac bar as well,
I had crossover steering on my 79 with 44's and never had a bump steer problem,

How much total lift did you end up with with the X-codes? I think im going to end up with about 1" over what i have now, which will set me about level with my stock rear it looks like


Now that my 99 dodge is gone, she gets the spot in the garage, never been in a garage her whole life, doesnt know what to do ha ha

 

From stock F250 4x4 i gained around 4" with the RSK and x codes. I swapped my 2.25" rear blocks for some 4" F350 blocks and it sits level, has just a hint of rake. They dont ride harsh either. Stock vs. after


92side

 

thankyou, very helpful!

Do you have a measurement from bolt to bolt in the shock tower? with one leaf out of my free 2.5" tuff country springs i think i am about 1.75" over stock f-350 height, still about 1" high in the rear. Im hoping i gain no more than 1" over where i am now

 

Im like 1" maybe a pinch less over stock F350 height in the front, obviously stock F350 rear

 

thank you ..

how much you sell me those tires for?

 

The tires?

 

Yea
Just kidding you they look like slicks

 

Oh lol, yea i changed em the day after this pic actually. Has Cooper St maxx on it of the 255/85/16 flavor

 

Tall and skinny i like that look
Post pics when ya can
I dig the truck

 

KubotaOrange76,

It looks like your hood to cowl seal is badly deteriorated.

I highly recommend replacing it for this reason:
Water can flow down onto and through the top cover of the solid state glow plug controller assembly, onto around and under the GP relay and the wire terminal connections. This can cause some corrosion and possibly worse:

Last week, during my last start of the day, my GP controller RELAY secondary contacts (high amperage side) stuck closed causing constant voltage/current to the glow plugs so the controller could not open the relay. Thus the glow plugs stayed on during the full 10+ minute drive to my next stop, the metal ribbon resistor bar got so hot it melted the GP controller cover. The nearly new good quality batteries were drained way down so it wouldn't start. the circuit was STILL still drawing current after the truck was turned off! - I'll be posting some photos in a new topic showing what all of that looks like but I'll mention this here:

At my desk, I removed the relay from the controller and the bottom of the metal base of the relay was quite rusted showing that water had been collecting under the bottom of it for a long time. My hood to cowl seal had been leaking for years before I bought the truck 2-1/2 years ago and I replaced that seal about a year later. It was not as bad as yours is, I was able to temporarily seal the splits in the old one until I replaced it.

Examining the relay very closely I think that it is remotely possible with an old relay, that water getting on or under it for years could allow moisture, as liquid or vapor to get inside of the relay and contribute to some corrosion. I'll be cutting it open to examine it for any evidence of that if it can be seen after that much heat inside. Even if that is not the case, I think it is a good idea to prevent water from running down onto the top of the controller.

Also with a bad hood to cowl seal it's possible for water to run down the firewall and get to the main engine harness plug that goes through the firewall (approximately below the brake vacuum booster).
LASTLY, I think it's a very good idea to periodically replace the RELAY on the GP controller as a regular maintenance item. I don't know if this is listed anywhere as a maintenance item or what the replacement interval would be - That would depend on how frequently it is used and the climate conditions - very wet and/or corrosive environments like snow/ice where salt is used on the roads would suggest more frequent replacement. I would consider a leaking hood-to-cowl seal as one such condition.

THAT would prevent all of the problems that can occur when a relay fails like mine did and there are a few. You'll see those in two other topics I post. One short post about NEW glow plug connectors coming up next. Incidentally, now I have to check all of the glow plugs and the harness for damage. Everything else tested good so the controller did a good job in that regard and the ribbon bar resistor absorbed most of the amperage though that long "constant on" condition.

Finally: Where did you get that red battery hold down clamp and why is there not one on the driver's side? I don't have hold down clamps and one I picked at a wrecking yard didn't fit. I like the idea of that Nylon Zip Tie for a temporary fix, thanks for that idea

 

thanks for the tip! Holy crap that could have ended up much worse!
luckily this truck stays in my garage 99% of the time when not being used, But i will definitely get this done asap, i dont need any more wiring problems on this old truck! IT does have a fairly new glow plug relay, plugs and manual push button control i did about 4 yrs ago. Any suggestions on where to purchase a good cowl seal?

I got it at my loacl slack auto parts when i bought the batteries, it was the only one they had in stock. Going to swing by and pick up another that matches next time i have the chance.

I like the big zip tie too, i use it fairly often on junk play toys. Its alot better than the temporary bungee cord...both will get brittle and eventually break over time but they serve their purpose!

Thanks again for the heads up

 

LMC has the Cowel seals.


Truck Parts and Truck Accessories




Charlie

 

Since this started out about battery cables, I`ll throw this in the mix.





I have the cable from the drivers side to the passenger side similar to the way you ran yours.
When we got the truck both connections were corroded pretty bad back under the cable insulation.


The factory cable is NLA and would have been $256.


At PNP you can buy cables for about $5 bucks. There is a model of BMW that has the battery in the trunk. The Poss. cable runs along the rocker panel inside the car to the firewall. Its` about 12ft long.
I used the cable clamp on the drivers side, slipped red heat shrink tubing on the cable to show its` a poss cable. cut the end and added the ring terminal to bolt to the battery.


The piece going down to the starter I left it with the molded part that bolts to the frame. Slipped on some heat shrink to cover the age spots and called it good.
Been good the past 3 yrs and 58K miles.




Charlie