No, no grease, just a bright clean wire strands, no corrosion on the wires allowed.

Once Crimped, you can add solder to the crimp if you wish, I usually don't.
I like to use Heat Shrink instead, which you saw in the pictures on my batteries.

cutters:
the jaws should be semi circular, been in my toolbox for decades.
they look something like this.

 

The purchase of a hydraulic crimper was a no brainer for me since I was planning to wire up the 5th wheel for solar and all of the electrical accessories. It was a good investment that made the union between lugs and wire last a lifetime.

 

Hello gentlemen. This is a repost from the Excursion forum but since it is alternator related I wanted to put it here. I'd like to get an idea from those with much more knowledge than I. If anyone has any thoughts on the new transmission issue that just occurred since picking the truck up today, please chime in. It functioned perfectly when I dropped it off. The only thing I can think of is they had to lift the body from the frame to access the oil pan.

Here's the story:
I just picked up the Excursiontoday from the shop after another oil drip. They had it for two weeks to the day and had to reseal/replace the timing cover gasket, the oil cooler gaskets and remove/reseal the Morosso oil pan gasket. When I picked it up I noticed two things. First the back-up camera isn't functioning, most likely from a ground not connected due to having to lift the body slightly to access the oil pan. The engine started right up as normal but I noticed the volt meter was reading 13 volts. The shop did a load test before I left and the alternator read 12.99 to 13.0 volts. They also noticed the alternator terminal/wire was running hot and had a little corrosion where the engine wire harness meets the terminal lug at the alternator. There wan't much we could do at the moment as they would have to order a new replacement lug. I have to return the truck tomorrow morning to fix the b-up camera ground. While there I'll see if they can order the replacement lug.

I took it for a short drive and the volt meter read is now fluctuating from 13.1 to 13.7. Definitely a concern! When I arrived home is when I noticed the b-up camera not functioning and at the same time the engine felt like it wass lugging, almost dyeing when I press the accelerator. After the initial press on the accelerator the truck seemed to reverse fine. I suspect this is a result of low voltage. Too many coincidences at the same time (hot alternator wire, engine lugging while engaging reverse almost to a stall). The shop said they would evaluate it tomorrow morning.

Just two weeks ago the volt meter read 13.8 to 14.1 so I'm guessing the alternator is starting to fail as I've suspected before. Today I ordered a new Mechman 240 amp alternator part number 7796240. This should help the low voltage issue and hopefully the reverse issue.

Update..
Went for another drive this evening and now the voltage is back up to 13.9 to 14.0 volts where it was before. This tells me that for the two weeks not running in the shop the batteries must have dropped a tiny bit of charge. I would think if the batteries needed charge then the voltage output from the alternator would be at maximum. I surmise that the voltmeter getting its reading from the factory cigarette lighter is the system voltage and the reason the alternator power wire was hot must have been because the alternator was working harder. Although I did not open the hood to check, the voltage behavior makes a little sense.

The transmission behavior is still a huge concern. When I shift from drive to reverse, the engine rpm dips way low. After the initial dip in rpm's, reverse acts normal. My guess is a possible alignment issue that gets corrected during rotation reversal. Just a guess.

Any thoughts would shure ease my worries.

 

that was a lot of work going on....
lots of places that wiring had to be disconnected, and replaced.

if the batteries had a Parasitic Draw on them while in the shop, they were probably fairly low, requiring a lot of amps to get them back up to 14.6ish area.

the alternator was trying to recharge them, and that is why the Alternator wire got so hot... and pushing a lot of current, revealed the power connector/corrosion situation.

any auto parts store will have lugs big enough to put on the charging cable, and the old fashioned Hammer Vise type crimp tool will do the job.

you will be very happy with the MechMan once it arrives, but make sure to add extra charging cable(s) from the Alternator to the batteries...

while you are at it, inspect all of the battery cables to be sure the connections are clean, and tight.... I spray all of mine with FLUID FILM, that way they stay corrosion free for years....


Passenger side




Driver side

 

So far since a couple months ago when the shop found the alternator connection loose and they found the nut welded to the threads and repaired it, I haven’t had any corrosion on the batteries. I was surprised. I am perplexed as to why there’s corrosion where the wire enters the lug at the alternator. That will get fixed tomorrow along with the backup camera.
It’s the transmission reversing issue that concerns me the most. This is the second time that the body has been lifted off the chassis to get to the oil pan. The first time was early 2023 to address oil leaks and we’ve, they’ve been chasing them since. Hopefully this time they got it.

Here’s what it looked like in January 2023…

 

oh my...

I hope my truck don't ever need to be lifted up like that.
so far, it is mostly stock AFIK, as it was a fire truck, so not modded up by prior owners.

it is slow to startup, typical of a starter motor that turns too slow, I have a new starter built up from the original frame that is supposed spin really fast... just haven't put it on, as the one in the truck always starts after about 5-10 seconds

it is possible, I suppose there is some oil draining back down, and the HPOP is a bit slow to get to 500 psi...
the 2002 trucks do not turn on the CTS-3 monitor with the key, a known issue... so I can't monitor ICP until after the engine starts.

 

@KubotaOrange76 does a cab off to change glow plugs. No biggie. He doesn't like to get the front of his shirt dirty leaning over the fenders. Up it goes.

 

Yeah the shop tells me it's a 20 hour job. At the going labor rate here of $175/hr . . YIKES! Good thing it's under warranty. I brought it back at 7:30 this morning. They're taking acre of the little things first, the alternator wire lug, and both batteries are on the bench charging. They said both batteries were low on charge. Then the back-up camera which is probably just a ground wire since it's wireless. What concerns me is the transmission. When I drove it into their parking area and shifted into reverse, the engine died. Could this be a condition of low battery voltage? The volt meter did show 14.1 to 14.2 volts telling me that the batteries did have a low charge. I wonder if there's much extra draw on the electrical system when in reverse starving the electrical system, cpu, etc of much needed nourishment of voltage. All interior and exterior lights are LED with the exception of th front turn signal bulbs. Just haven't gotten to them out of laziness. If low voltage is the culprit, the new Mechman alternator will surely provide plenty of power with lots of reserve.

Update:
Call from the shop, the batteries are now fully charged, the alternator wire lug is replaced and the back-up camera is fixed. The only thing left is why the engine is stalling when reverse is engaged. They suspect it's something electrical since the engine/transmission were't separated when the body was raised. They'll have it overnight and hopefully find the issue tomorrow. Stay tuned!

 

Interesting they pulled the Radiator, bumper, grill headlights etc

 

I guess that made it easier to access things. Only a guess.

 

Crewcab

Excab


Once youve done one it takes about 1-1.5 hrs to pull . I cant imagine headlights those suckers pain in the dern **** to remove.

Im sure there was good reason

 

This was the photo that KBO76 dropped on the forum several years ago, in ho hum nonchalant fashion, citing that he was simply doing routine maintenance.

Not many have the equipment to do this at home. I don't think SSJ even has a twin post lift with a tall enough ceiling in a shop to make this happen.

From posted photos, most DIY guys show their cabs dangling from the buckets of front end loaders.

So I will probably continue teasing KBO76 about this until some more of you guys "level up" and get your shops built and lifts installed.

 

I'm no expert but it seems like Ford designed the Superduty to make body-off access easy with the right tools.I think it's a great idea considering access to many areas can be difficult and sometimes mandatory such as anything to do with removing the oil pan. The first time the shop did my oil pan removal, as a preventative measure I made sure to have a new oil Dipstick Adapter Repair Kit installed. A little pricey but it never has to be done again. And by the outside chance it leaks, it can be replaced without pulling the pan again.

 

Update:
The shop installed a new lug on the alternator power wire but instead of using heat shrink, they used electrical tape. After driving about 20 miles the adhesive is already getting gooey. I'll fix that when I replace the alternator. The backup camera is working as it should and now the transmission is shifting into reverse correctly. Apparently when all the power was cut off and plugs disconnected from lifting the body, the computers needed to be reset. I went for about a 20 mile ride, checked reverse a few times and she's running like a well oiled machine. I can close this chapter and ready for the new alternator in a couple weeks.

 

as a long now, retired Electronics Tech.

when things go Wonky,
Power everything down, and let it sit for a couple hours.

it is just Amazing, now many Windows computers have been fixed by simply powering off the entire network, and computers,
power up the routers first, then the switches, then the computers....

lawsy be, it works now....