I said a little prayer before starting it for the first time after it had been sitting and getting all of the work done. It was a very welcome sound to hear it crank so fast.

There is no comparison and it is worth every penny. I will have the OEM starter and alternator rebuilt and put them on the shelf as decorations.

 

That rebuilt alternator wouldn't take up much space and would be good peace of mind to have with you out on the open road.

 

I liked your video so much it motivated me to make a few of my own.

Here is a warm restart.


my doors were closed so the sound does not come through so well but it fires right up

BBD

 

Dang it, I gotta get one of those ... *sigh*

 

BBD, I agree that it is a worthwhile upgrade. There is no comparison.

So, on to the the 4x2 LOW mod. Won't have time to get to it this weekend. Our water pressure tank for the well died. I now have a 44 gallon tank in the back of my 02 Mercury Sable and will be installing that on Saturday.

I will get the mod done and a video as well, soon.

 

What oil filter you using? I started using the LF 9691 and I am really liking it. I am also using Royal Purple Duralec. At around 5k my oil level was still on the hash marks. I plan to change the oil at 7k and send a sample into Blackstone for analysis. If all is well, next time might be 8k.

BBD

 

I use K&N oil filters because they have the 1" nut welded to the bottom making a change easy as can be. I run K&N oil filters on all of my vehicles that they make them for. For oil, still using Rotella T6 and have 2 more oil changes worth stored in the basement.

 

T6 is a good oil and the 5w40 is great for these northern Illinois winters. That nut on the end of the filter is a big convenience. I cant remember who makes the oil filters for K&N. Maybe Baldwin?

Have you done the oil rail flush using the HPOP?

You drain all the oil, remove the filter, disconnect the cam positioning sensor then give a few short half second cranks on the starter.

Oil will start to flow out of the bottom of the pan. Once you think around a pint has come out, you remove the plug on top of the HPOP reservoir. Add around a pint to a pint and a half and give it some more short cranks.

If you do this like 8 times you can flush out the other ~3 quarts of oil out of the rails and top end.

Replace the drain pan plug, install new filter (pre oiled), replace the CPS and start her up.

I like the idea of changing ~99% of the oil instead of only ~83%.

Be extra careful not to get air in the system or you have to do a lot of cranking to get the air out.

BBD

 

Sounds like that process would add a good hour (or more) to the whole oil change effort. I like the concepts of thoroughness and cleanliness, myself, but my engine has had a happy 295K miles without those extra steps thus far, so..... I guess you know where I'm going with that comment.

 

A once a year thing, not every oil change...


BBD

 

Umm, yeah I tried that too, a couple of weeks ago. It worked for 2 days of smooth highway driving. Then I drove in a city with horrible pot holes. My sway bar put a big dent in the filter, created a pin hole leak, and I lost 2 GALLONS of oil by the time I got home. I'm surprised it still even ran that low.

So, I decided to put front springs in this past weekend. I went with the X codes from ATS Spring, and it definitely leveled out the front suspension, vs being heavily nose down before.

How much clearance do you have between the LF9691 filter and your swaybar?
How long have you been using that filter?

I'd like to give it another shot, since I still have 5 filters left, but only if I can be sure its not gonna get hit and leak again. If not, I'll switch to the LF9027, which is also a combo full flow/bypass filter, but the "correct" application/size for our trucks.

 

Didn't get anything done on the truck today, but I did replace a failed 20 gallon water pressure tank with a new 44 gallon tank. Also, replaced the pressure relief valve for the well pump in the bore once I noticed it was steel bleeding pressure somewhere.

I did manage to acquire the wiring for the 2 LOW in reverse mod though, so it did progress a bit.

Had the truck out today at Home Depot for supplies and the 2nd new steering gear is significantly stiffer (about 25% if I had to put a number on it) than the 1st new one. I think the other one may have been bad out of the box and am hoping this one will be good to go for a while.

 

I am not rooting against you by any means, and I hope that "duralast" box lasts you a good long time. I just have no confidence in the quality of their parts.

My rule of thumb is that any brand that has to announce how good they are right in the brand name are generally not the best quality.

Another rule of thumb I have is that I never skimp on tires or brakes. I guess you can add steering to that list, as I would have swapped mine out with a Redhead. I'm partial to redheads anyway... But that's what I'm going to do when my box calls it quits. Hopefully I'm at a campground as you were... because I would end up there for the week waiting for one to show up from them!

 

Andy, I agree with you for the most part, but... The Duralast which I purchased because it was the only one in stock failed with a very slow leak from the output shaft. Realistically I could have probably just left it like that seeing as the leak didn't even remove enough fluid for the level to be low after 6 months of operation.

RedHead has a not-so-stellar reputation as of late and would cost me roughly $500 for a re-manufactured gear from them. Read their fine print and which states that non-OEM gears will not receive a $200 core charge refund. Shipping both ways is on you too, so add another $75 to the $350ish they are already charging. I am a firm believe of sometimes you get what you pay for, but not in this case as they are not putting out the same quality they have in the past.

MotorCraft is my next option and course of action which I can get locally and for about $250-$300 based on how much is refunded for the core charge.

The replacement Duralast was free at the cost of $0. In my book, that is worth giving it another shot and putting the money someplace else, like a water pressure tank ($300) for the house so we can have water

You know me and you know my style of repairing and modifying things to make them better. This was a leap of faith and judgement call on my part and my wife and we are comfortable with our decision. Especially since our water is back on at the house. If this gear fails, I will be able to install a remanned MotorCraft in less than 2 hours from start to finish.

Stay tuned for 2 LOW in reverse!

 

I didn't know that about the recently declining quality of their builds. I bought one a few years ago for a Bronco and was really impressed by it, but then again I could have been really impressed with a Motorcraft box if I'd gone that route instead.