James, yes something is going on, in my right eye I get these flashes when I blink (only noticable at night) of a bright white arc. A backwards C, right across the side of my vision. I had the same thing a year and a half ago in my left eye, only it was far to the peripheral part of my vision and was a straight line. Same diagnosis, detached vitreous something something. Basically the gel layer until my retina, he said it should be soft and squishy but sometimes as you get older it hardens a little and become sticky. So it's pulling up and tugging at the retina whenever I blink. Doctor said best case scenario is that it heals itself and stays in place, that happened last time in my other eye, it got less and less noticable until I finally realized I had not seen the flash in a few weeks. At first it was very disconcerting, you keep thinking it's lightning or something off in the distance. Hopefully the right eye will heal itself now. But yeah it was a lot of poking and prodding, more than you'd get in a normal eye doctor checkup.

Dave, I do know what became of a couple of Wayne's kittens. I took 2 of them, a black one I named Pantera and a tabby one we named Eva. The black kitten disappeared after 2 months and I'm afraid coyotes might have gotten him, they have been in our neighborhood at night ever since the new subdivisions were being built, all the woods they use to roam in is gone now. Eva isn't as adventurous as him he stays close to the garage so she is safer. He always like to go exploring and I guess that he went too far and got caught.

James you can add springs just by getting the brackets, either weld them on or bolt them on, and then getting a spring with a weight range that matches what you need. Normally available at Agri-Supply for a cheap price, but if they don't have them in stock always etrailer, though it's more money. Put shackles on the rear so as to allow it to move backwards when under load. Many years ago I took a single axle trailer where I had a spring failure because of being overloaded, and added a second set of springs and a second axle. That solved my problem!

 

John, Sorry about your eyeball situation. Hope everything clears up. I guess it's something you will have to constantly monitor from here on out. Do eye drops work to help keep them moist? I have used the refresh plus lubricant with good success when I was having problems with my eyes.


Ok, so some brackets and shackles plus the leaves and hubs should be all I need? There's an agri supply in Greenville. Guess I need to go make a visit. Thanks.

 

John hope the eye heals quickly I know it can be a pain to deal with when it takes time.
I was going to ask about drops like James asked. I know my doctor dose not like me to use them as it dose something to my eyes.
I only use them when they itch / burn & tear and it is mostly when I am inside because of the fur kids, 2 large dogs, 4 of ours cats and any fosters we may have

James John listed what is needed for your project but I dont understand the need for hubs?
The hubs you have now bolts to a axle that runs across to each side or welded / bolted right to the trailer frame?
If the hubs are on a axle and it is welded to the frame I wonder if it would be easier to get a new axles with hubs that fit your wheels as it would have the spring mounts welded to it and you would just need the spring plate and U bolts beside the springs, spring brackets and shackles.

They say it is going to be a little cooler this coming week so today I picked up service supplies for the tractor as it needs a oil & filter change for the motor & transaxle, tune up as I have never done one and valve cover gaskets as the valves need to be adjusted, again I never have in the 10 years I have had it. Only thing I did not get were the spark plugs as they make 2 different ones and the dealer can only tell be the SER# and I did not have that. Valve cover gaskets too but I think mine are a O-Ring type as I had to replace a leaky one when I first got the tractor used.

I also picked up salt for my water softener, it has been empty for a while now and when at Lowes I also got 2 gallons of 30% white vinegar that I will mix with salt and a drop of soap to make weed killer.
Wife will not let me but the good stuff because of the dogs running around the yard and sometimes eat grass so I got to make this mixture. I used a 5% vinegar mix and it did kil some grass but I had to hit it a 2nd time.
I am thinking 1 gallon of 5% and 1 of 3% should work a little better I hope. I was told it works pratty good just dose not last as long so we will see.
Dave ----

 

It's not the surface of my eye being dry, so eyedrops weren't given or suggested. It's down a couple of layers. I do not know why it turns sticky or hardens over time, I asked "is it because I stare at a computer screen for 8 hours every night while I'm working" no "is it because I go outside a lot without sunglasses" no "is it because I use a cheap welding mask from harbor freight" no. So why then? He just said sometimes happens to people when they get older! lol. I would feel better if I at least had something I could do to help avoid it happening again but I got nothing!

I said not to forget spring shackles for the rear, but I forgot about one option. When I did mine it was a fairly light duty trailer, so I got "slip springs". The front end bolts to the bracket and the other end rests under the frame with another bracket that keeps it from sliding off sideways. That makes it ride an inch or two lower than it would with shackles.


This was my old light duty utility trailer, before and after I cleaned it up repainted it and added a second axle.

 

I get the same answer from my doctors 'it happens when you get older"
Not the answers I like to hear when I am getting older

The only thing with that slip spring that slip end has to slip on a harden surface or it can wear into the trailer frame.
Some take a old spring and mount it, weld as drilling spring steel is not happening, to the trailer for it to slip on.

Yesterday I loaded the truck up with the weekly trash and the tire was pretty low, I been topping it off whenever I used the truck.
Well with help from my son we dragged the jack and tools to the house garage as it looked like it was going to rain and pulled the tire.
Rolling it to my garage I found a nail, no big deal I got a plug kit and just will plug it ........... NOPE!
Nail went in sideway to the tread and not straight like normal. I could not get the reamer in the hole so son said lets take it to the tire place around the corner.
They could not get the reamer in either so son told them to put a patch inside the tire to fix it. $26 later the tire was fixed and by this time it is starting to rain so good thing we left it in the house garage.

Well the brake pedal had been feeling a little low, will not pump up, but figured I would adjust the rear drum brakes.
Got the left side done as that was the tire side and was in the air. Move over to the right side after it is jacked up and looking at the backing plate I only see 1 pin that holds the shoes to the plate
Pull the wheel and drum and sure enough the spring falls out, shoe has been rubbing the drum but the bad thing is the shoes are showing heat cracks so they need to be changed.
Everything was new when I rebuilt the truck and the shoes still have a lot of meat but pulling the trailer was got to have good brakes.
So new shoes, spring kit for both sides and we did a rear brake job on the truck. Got done about 10 pm but have not road tested yet.

The master was low for the rear system and the pedal looked low still, son was pushing it, so I may need to look into the system deeper.
I added power brakes, pedals & booster / master from parts truck but used the manual stuff at the wheel as I found they were the same wheel cyl. and the caliper pistons the same size so it all should work but I have always had issues with the brakes. The parts truck booster and master were bad, think that is why the truck ended up on it's roof? Then the master that came with the booter was bad and never got a good pedal and about a year later it went to the floor when I replaced the E brake cables.
After working it the truck in the heat yesterday I hope it will be ok till it gets cooler as it sucked would in the heat of the house garage.
Dave -----

 

This is the way I did my slip springs. This was back in 2010 and I took a lot fewer pics, back then I had to go inside, get the camera, put fresh batteries in, and THEN take pics. Not like today where everyone has a cell phone with a high quality camera in their back pocket! But zoomed in, you can kinda see. I bolted a bracket to the frame which cages the spring from being able to slip out the side, plus lets it rest / rub against the bracket instead of the frame


This is the kind of bracket I bought:


I wonder if your low brake pedal issue has anything to do with the distance between the pushrod inside the booster, typically you can adjust them to affect when the master cylinder gets engaged. Norman has a tool that measures it exactly which can be very handy

 

Well the pedal is still low, you can feel the master bottom out

When I first installed the new booster / master, they came together called a loaded booster as it had the master. I was having issues getting a good pedal and I did check that adjustment between booster & master.
In the Ford book that is something like .998 inch, I think 1 inch would not be that big a deal. I found this adjustment loose when I checked but I know I also moved it all over trying to get a good pedal.

edit:I Googled the measurement .980 to 995 not a bad guess from over 6 years ago.
I am going to have to start at the beginning and check that adjustment and set it to the factory setting.
Then with help see if I get pressure out of the master ports at the master when the pedal is pushed. If I get nothing out of the master ports then the master went bad again.
If that checks out then I will have to move on down the lines to each wheel. Thing that gets me it the pedal dose not pump up like if the was air in the system but who knows?

Also what gets me is where did the brake fluid go from the master going to the rear brakes?
I did see a little wetness around the fitting on the left rear wheel cly. but the line did not really tighten up and I have not seen any drops on the garage floor so I dont think that is where it is going.
I also did not see the wheel cly being wet so they are goo too. Oh if you ask all the rubber hoses were replaced as part of the rebuild and the rear looked good when I was under there.
So it looks like I got my work cut out for me on this brake problem
Dave ----

 

WE CAN STOP AGAIN

Being it was cool today I felt it best to look into why the pickup has a low brake pedal.
First I pulled the master to measure the rod coming out of the booster and for the love of god I dont know why it was so long! (*1)
So I got it adjusted to a smidge under 1 inch as it is to be .980 to .995.
I think with the rod so long the pistons would not come back all the way and fresh fluid could not fill the bore as the pads & shoes wore down making the pedal lower & lower.

I also bench bleed the master as I thought the rear chamber might of pulled in air when the fluid level was low when we did the rear brake job.
With the rod adjustment and the bench bleed the pedal now would pump up a little so was on the right track.

I could not find my vacuum bleeder that uses shop air and my son thought I lent it out to someone but I dont remember doing that and it would have to be someone that has a compressor.
I do have a home made pressure bleeder and it works well but it can only take 10 PSI and I have no way to regulate my shop air down from 180 PSI. It also makes a big mess when you disconnect it as the hose from the tank to cap id full of fluid and the master is full right up to the top so that was out. The Mighty hand vacuum pump is crap for bleeding brakes so that was out too.
Son was sleeping as he works nights and has to go back in today, so I had to get the wife to do the pump & hold of the pedal.
Do you know what it is like trying to explain how you want this done to a non-car person wife
All in all she did pretty good and I did get air out of all 4 corners and she even said she thinks the pedal was higher than when she started.
When she got out I checked and the pedal felt damn good and when I moved the truck back into the house garage she even stopped good.
Before pedal to floor it would kind of roll to a stop now it stops throwing everything from the seat onto the floor so I call that a win.

(*1) when I installed the booster and master that came with it, I was in a rush to get to the first outing / show with the truck that work was putting on for their 60 years in business.
The pedal was never great but it did stop. I know what trying to get the pedal better I adjusted that rod and good thing as it was not tight.
I was trying to get the pedal higher and why I made it long
Dave ----

 

Hey that is great news on the brakes! I bet you are right, it was just not being able to release fully all this time. I got my Mustang out on Saturday to go to MoJo's for lunch, and on the way home I got low brake pedal. That is highly annoying because I just adjusted the drums two weeks ago when we got home from the Carolina Overlook cruise-in. I have been keeping track on my phone of how many clicks it takes on each wheel to snug it before I feel resistance. I don't think I even drove it last week, so it's already worn to the point of needing adjustment again in something like 50 miles of driving? I really am looking forward to doing a disc brake conversion on the front with a power assist setup and then have some brakes that'll put you against the windshield!


My wife made a roast yesterday so I made some onions to go with it. The way I make onions for this is just slice 'em up and lay them on a pan, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle salt & pepper, let them bake at 450 for about 20 minutes. Then I take it out get a fork and loosen all the slices into individual rings, stir them around to try and even it out (some will be browned, some will still be white, etc) then back in the oven for 15 minutes. Stir / move around again, then back in under broil for 5 minutes. Some toasty and perfect, some black and crunchy, some still white and soft, it's a good mix to go on the roast with the gravy. Very soon I am going to have to try doing some onions your way, with a touch of vinegar and some ketchup.

It was so nice today I decided to drive my 69 F100 when I ran my errands. She had not had any road time in 2 months I mean you wouldn't want to drive it in the heat if you could avoid it so she ignored usually. Ran up to Sheetz and then up 50 to the Lowes Food, and back home down Sanders road. I got a few waves, it always amazes me, it looks like it got pulled out of a farmers field and is covered in rust but people still like it!

I even made some progress with the 83 pickup today, dang I have been avoiding doing anything with that cab corner and truthfully it's because so cramped, can't even open the door all the way, and my seat rolls off the cement which might not seem like much but it actually puts my back at such an angle compared to the legs that it will be like sitting bent over instead of sitting up straight. So I told Sherry me and her going to change carport sides for a week so that I can have better access to the drivers side. Was a pain in the a$$ to move the truck and the driveshaft that I use as a push-pull bar got into a bind and snapped a piece off, and also bent a grade 8 1/2-inch bolt, and it will still in too much of a bind to remove that I had to cut the dang thing! But having the truck on the other side really let me get in there and I did a lot of welding and sanding today. Another day or two and I'll be ready to put body filler and primer on it.

 

Dave, glad you got your brakes working.

John, Sounds like you got a lot done this weekend with the nice weather. Lot of torque on that hitch to snap it like that. Did you check to see if any damage to the receiver?

Dave's hip. John's eyes. James' ears. I have no idea what's going on. Saturday I woke up with what feels like fluid in both my ears. Can barely hear and my tinnitus is going berserk. I've tried peroxide, alcohol, and even went and got some earache stuff from the grocery store yesterday. I hope this stiff goes away soon. It's terribly aggravating.

 

Your onions sound good for a roast or steak even burgers if you did not have mine.nice cool weekend
For mine dont forget the Chilli powder and if you want a little heat the crushed red pepper.
When you want to do them let me know and I can come by and guide you Again I dont measure I just add what I think is good.

On the Mustang brakes they should not need adjusting that soon.
I believe they should be self-adjusting so when you back up and hit the brakes a few times if all is good they should adjust.
I also dont think 5 to 6 clicks is a lot. Next time you have them apart or of you have an adjuster handy turn it 6 clicks and see how much longer it gets, it's not much.
Do you have power drums now or you going to swap that in too?

John if you needed a hand moving the truck should have called. Most of the time I am hanging out staying cool other than this nice cool weekend.

James you forgot I also have a bad eye I been getting shots for the last 12+ years for and why I told John to call the doctor even if told dont worry at least he knows.
On your ear, my son just had a infection. The first doctor said it was nothing, he said she has be wrong before on stuff Went to a 2nd doctor who said to use some over the counter drops.
Finaly he had to go to the ER to find what was wrong and get meds. By this time the ear swelled up so some of the meds, drops, would not get down into the ear.
He was out of work for 3 days because your balance is thrown off.
When I was a kid I would get ear infections just about every summer from swimming, one of the reason I dont swim much now days.
I would get them in both ears at the same time and get boils so the drops would not get in to work so I would have to take pain meds.
I am shocked I am not a junkie
Get that ear checked out.

BTW my hip is doing pretty good after I got that dry needling with power to shock the muscle. I am also going to the gym 5 times a week and PT but may stop that as it is not doing much at this time and I am just taking up space & time that others may need. I am sure if it was not for PT and gym I would not of been able to work on the pickup truck brakes as I would still be stuck on the ground
Dave ----

 

James - Oh man sorry to hear about the tinittus, that can drive you crazy. Is something you'd had for a long time that comes back off & on?

Dave - forgot to say in my previous post, I don't have a pressure bleeder like you describe that runs off compressed air, but I do have a handheld one that pushes fluid from the caliper or wheel cylinder backwards up to the master. The only thing you have to look out for, it really squirts hard so if you grab the handle and magila gorilla it, you can squirt fluid up from the master all over the engine and fender.

It doesn't seem my self adjusting brakes ever work properly. Although did I tell you about when I first bought this car in 1992? Brake pedal was very low. Tom (who I had just met for the first time) says try backing up and hitting the brakes. So I was in the street in my wife's old neighborhood in NY doing that. And Tom says "no no no.. can I drive?". I said ok.. He gets it stomps it backwards about 25mph then JAMS the brakes hard and it screetches a little bit as it stops. Does it again and it catches more. After 4 or 5 times you could feel the difference in pedal height. But even after that it would always pull to one side or the other, difficult to get all 4 to grip at the same time, and to keep it that way!

James I do not see any damage to either hitch, my old driveshaft was the weak point. Probably the old "chain inside a pipe" setup would be better. It's always worked fine for me to pull it straight back and push it straight back in but trying to turn & go to the other side of the carport didn't work very well, as the behind truck might be at a bad angle and there is no way to get it straight without taking the pole off and then lining up and trying again. Going forward is no problem you let the pushed truck steer the way and the pushing truck just try to stay approx in the middle. Just backwards is where I got myself discumbobulated.


This is what my pushy-me pulley-you setup looks like.

 

David said he gave a look for it last night when he got home from work and could not find it
He said he thinks I lent it to someone in the club over a year ago. I dont remember that and it would have to be to someone that works one their cars and has a air compressor and the only other would be maybe Wayne and I would think he would have a pressure bleeder you fit on master.

I see Summit has a Motive kit for $150 that fits the old school cap masters and a screw on one and if that dose not fit what ever I might be working on I would get the right cap that works with the pressure canister.
What is nice is it holds 2 qt of fluid and has a hand pump to build pressure so can be used anywhere.
I think it was put someplace and got berried under stuff as David has too much of his stuff in my garage.
He also tells me the tool is his as he got it from someone when he worked at a tire store but I thought I paid him for it? All the more reason to get the pressure bleeder kit.
Amazon has the Motive kit 0250 for $134 and I can get the Dorman master bleeder kit 14151 for $10 Summit wants $18.

When he moves out its going to take many trips just for the garage stuff and being he works 6 days a week it will be even longer
But I bet I find all kinds of good stuff I "lost"
Dave ----

 

I was trying to think of anybody in the club that could have been working on brakes and borrowed it, but that could be a long list. Me, Dick, Tiger Mike, Malibu Mike, Andre, Wayne, John A, Mac.

Yes when his stuff is being moved from the garage you will find stuff you haven't seen in years!

 

I have this one spot under the cab where it looks like maybe a previous owner ran over something while offroading or rawhiding, and I wanted to give it a little attention. It's not that noticable when standing up but you are down at eye level it grabs your attention.


I got underneath with a little crowbar and trying to work the "crinkle" out by pulling it down, and I was making a little progress but the crowbar kept slipping. So I put a clamp on the metal so that I could tug against that but just when I was really bearing down hard, the crowbar slipped again and I jammed my finger full force into the thin sheetmetal rib along the underside of the cab. Split my nail about 3/4 of the way across. Hurt throbbing and bleeding I figured this nail has got to come off, so I went to urgent care. The doctor there actually saved my nail (I have no idea why bother, just that he said "to protect the finger") by drilling small holes in it and stitching it back together. An x-ray showed I also fractured the end of my finger bone, he said a small piece chipped off but that he thinks it will heal itself as long as I don't use my hand for the next couple of weeks and take antibiotics just to make sure nothing gets infected. So I guess I am done with the truck work for a few days.