It's been so long since I've been able to have a work day on my truck I just wanted to share my partial successes with you guys.

EFFORT #1 - change out my failing throttle position sensor. Easy, right? Sort of, and sort of NOT! I discovered that my 2002 truck has a 2001 version throttle pedal assembly in it. The '02 models allow you to change just the sensor, but the earlier ones required changing the entire assembly. Guess what I get to do now! Order a new assembly!

I would consider just changing out the '01 version assembly, but the wiring connector on my assembly has 5 wires and 5 matching pins while the "02 sensor has only 3 pins and the connection is completely different.


EFFORT #2 - install my 2008 center console in place of my '02 OEM version. Another easy one, right? Again, sort of, and sort of NOT! It turns out that since I got my console without brackets, and had to order the brackets separately, there were no mounting screws to connect the '08 console to the '08 brackets. No prob... just re-use the ones from my '02 console, right? NOPE! The '02 mounting screws are either one size larger or have different threads than the ones for the '08.

Oh well... not really a bad day. THe existing TPS is not dead yet, and I should be able to get another week or two out of it. Getting teh right screws to mount the console is not that big a deal either because the console nests into position quite steadily and can just ride like that until I ge tthe screws.

Also, I need to get me some 5"x5"'1.5" blocks of ABS so my son can machine them into some new covers for where the arm rests attached to my bucket seats. We'll get them machined and then paint them to match the gray interior... I'll post pics when we get that part completed.

 

Well Pete, at least you know where you stand. Kinda of a research day, eh.
I guess Ford had a few extra 2001 throttle peddles laying around.

 

been there before !! .. FYI the bolts for the Center console are 6mm by about 1 1/4" long ..

 

Thanks, TNT... do you know the thread size by any chance? To me, looks like something along the size of a #8 or #10, but I haven't checked close enough to know ofr sure yet.

 

#8 = 0.164 inches od = 4 mm x .75 metric
#10 = 0.190 inches od and is a bit smaller than a M5 x 0.8 bolt
6MM = 0.236 inches od - a bit smaller than 1/4-20

can't help on which is where.... I woulda tapped them to what I had.

 

man that sucks when you get time to do some thing and nothing wants to fit..before you know it..its another month or so before you can get to it..always happends to me cause she is my only ride..good luck on getting things done Pete...

 

i'm not sure of the exact thread pitch .. but you're right, it's about like a #8 or 10 thread pitch .. Home Depot, Lowes has that size in stock

 

It will all be worth it when you get that console in. I bought one and installed it, and I love it. As far as the TPS goes, I hope the job isn't too bad, because Ill have to do mine sooner or later in my "01.

 

Dang man, that's what you get for working on your truck. On the TPS, A while back mine was acting up (or so I think). I get a can of electrical contact cleaner and sprayed it everywhere I could get the little tube, trying to flush any dirt or dust that my have been in there. Don't know if it worked, but that was over two years ago and all is still good. Might be worth a try.

 

Pete do you have the captain's chairs or the center jump seat?

 

Captains chairs, Jeff. The folks with the center jump seat don't have the arm-rest stud & opening in the seat upholstery to worry about covering up like those of us with the captains chairs. My long term plan is ot get the duplicaolor paint so there is a perfect match on the interior, but it looks pretty good for now.

On the TPS issue, I've found a couple fo sources for the pedal assembly for anywhere from $69-$90, but I think I';m going to try to use the contact cleaner first and see if that takes care of the issue. I'm sort of expecting that the contact cleaner won't be my solution, though, because the intermittent throttle problem is getting worse each week... I guess it might be the colder weather, too, allowing the "dead spot" to have less contact strength due to material expansion/contraction issues.

 

This is my problem as well. I have the captain's chairs and I thought about getting a 08 console, but I didn't want to have the holes showing and I also didn't know what to do about covering them up. Oh well, I think that I will stick with what I have for now. What do you plan on doing to cover up the holes?

 

Well, Jeff, I've been thinking about getting some 5-6" diameter PVC rod, but I just found out it's pretty darned expensive (>$100 per lineal foot, and even though I only need 4-6 inches, that's more than I want to spend).

It just occurred to me taht I can probably do some customized PVC fit-ups in the shop using some standard pipe sizes and a couple of 4" diameter PVC pipe caps or plugs, sand/shape the edges, drill the single mounting hole, and then use a thrid PVC plug to cut the core plugs from for back-filling on top of the mounting bolt for a flush surface, and then finally paint it with Duplicolor paint to match my gray leather seats.

If I had wood trim inside the truck, which I don't, I could get my son to mill some turned wooden caps that would lok really nice, but I'm not planning on going in that direction and the painted PVC should work just fine for me. Once I get it done, I'll post some pics.

 

Hey Dad, I'm glad you got to work on that stuff some. Sorry I couldn't help you with it...I would have enjoyed that.

I hope you get it sorted out soon.

 

Well... got some contact cleaner last night, but ever since disconnecting the electronics from the assembly and reconnecting once I saw that the new part would not work... haven't had a single glitch. I'm going to use the cleaner tonight when I get home and then just run with it for a while. Will probably go ahead and purchase the new pedal assembly to have on hand, though, because I know that one day it will go out on me.