I run my p/s fluid through my tranny cooler in my rad because I run a t-18 4 speed. I havn't done much hard long wheelin too much though. Just curious what type of p/s pump do you run? I'm in the process now of changing to a Saginaw canned ham pump with hydroboost out of a 99 f350. The stock round pump just wasn't fully cuttin it with 44's even though it was new. They tend to squeel as well but mine never did. My rear diff and disc upgrade is takin longer than I thought I'm making custom pulleys for my motor for a dual belt setup on my alternator and p/s for reliability. Alternator is done with quad groove waterpump and crank pulley just the custom double groove p/s I bent putting it on which means no p/s which means no brakes for now. Aaahhhh I get myself into projects I just wanna drive it again...

 

For a powersteering cooler i use a stock external tranny cooler that was on the pickup. (92) a couple of my buddys use tranny coolers for the power steering too, just stand alone.. i wouldn't use the in the radiator trans cooler for anything.. hell i don't run my tranny fluid through it any more, it was heating the trans up too much that the external cooler wouldn't cool it down.

 

man how did you get it to flex like that? my one ton doesnt flex at all....Ive been thinkin of going to superlift soft ride springs but theyre kinda pricey

 

Awsome Ed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for giving us leaf spring guys some inspiration.

 

hav24wheel:

Your ride is awesome, I do believe that your ride has quite a bit more travel and articulation than mine. Seems that my sheetmetal and leaf springs are limiting factors here, but I am cool with that. I am pleased with the performance, and satisfied with the fact that this is achieved with rather stock leafs front and rear.
It took a long time to get the shackle length and bushings correct. Cant tell you how much is left on the table with these little items.

FlatBlack87350:
This is only part of a few years of trial and error. My combo utilizes 8" Super Duty front springs with the military wrap leaf removed. This netted a serious amount of spring flex. Then the bushings were replaced with a few different types of material. I have used ploy, rubber, Delrin, and even a Johnny Joint. Currently a poly upper for the shackle pivot and stocj rubber bushings seem to offer the best compromise between stability and flex. Ploy was a bit too stiff, and Delrin did not permit the spring to flex as much as the rubber. Downside is that the rubber tends to tear after mild abuse. There is a trade off for everything.
Rear springs are bone stock 64" 3500 silverado leafs. I mean bone stock. These will be replaced with a Deaver Race pack real soon. These were installed to replace the 1/2 tone (1500) units that were in there before. These failed and were a little too soft.
The larger capacity leafs went in there, and have been hanging tough. Lots of flex, and a superb ride.
Guys I cant tell you how this thing rides on the highway. It has come a long way. It is awesome, and absolutely loves 70 to 75 mph speeds. Seems to be the most comfortable and very stable. Steering is spot on, and once I get the cooler in there, I do believe that the over heating issues will be long gone.

73 ford guy:
I do run a saginaw pump, as this has been the best pump I have run. I have tried several, and I might mess around with some pulleys. I feel that slow rpm's are a bit of a handicap, and that I can get higher pressures at lower rpm's with a slightly different pulley. Again with the trial and error, I am just concerned that I might have a problem when I reach or exceed 6700 to 7000 rpm. I am sure that there is a pressure relief, or internal bypass, but I guess time will tell.


Hope I answered everyone..........

 

Hey, it's cool. THanks for hooking me up

I think that's what most of us 70s truck guys think

 

That's a thing of beauty!

 

Time for your SD springs. These have been decent alternatives for us guys with these old trucks. Our narrow frames provide a greater amount of leverage when things get twisty. This "forced articulation" means that we can get a slightly better amount of articulation over the same spring in a truck with a slightly wider frame.
This is much like mounting rear springs inboard. While it is slightly less stable, and there is a threshold, it works well for our 1 ton stuff. As soft as it is, the truck does not sway, and is very stable.
When I was running 1/2 ton rear springs, (64") and all rubber front bushings, the truck would lean, and had quite a bit of body roll. Heak just parking the truck after a turn (like in a parking lot) would result in a truck that leaned over. Yeah it looked really weird. Now, with the current combo, the truck stays flat and true.
As I mentioned it maintains a rather low COG, partly because it is not lifted all that much.
Rear shackle angle is just about right, and I will be building a new shackle for the rear so I can try to achieve another two or three inches of travel.
This will lift the rear slightly, and the longer shackle should provide more room for it to pivot, and allow the spring to really curl up for additional extension.
Driveshaft splines (already extended) are getting a little short though. Lots of travel means that attention has to be made to the drivelines. The front one travels well over 5 inches. Stock travel from stock splines would just pop right put.

 

how bout putting some stuff on youtube or whatever video site you prefer? im sure we'd all appreciate it.

 

my one ton stuff can flex too!!

The thing with these big trucks is that the frame flexes A LOT and gives some more articulation than a shorter wheelbase truck that doesn't have any leverage on the frame. Still very cool to see a big truck like that on the trails, looks awesome.

 

Paul:

Long time. I agree that the longer trucks are more difficult to keep straight. I have made a few frame modifications to prevent this. I have added some x-members that really prevent this type of twisting. The bed used to hit the cab in a bad way, and not it does not. I still get some twist, and this is almost unavoidable with a ladder type frame, but I plan to tie in a bed cage to the existing interior cage to rid the vehicle of this small amount of twist. I can see that stock trucks do twist a ton more than modified ones.
Stick a full cage in your truck and regardless of how twisted up it is, the doors will still work. Before the cage, mine did not, and now, I can open and close them without issue.

 

Oh yeah on my bronco I have a full cage and there is still a small amount of frame twist, but not nearly as bad as the picture of my superduty up there. I could hardly get the door open in that picture and all I did was drive up a little pile of dirt when I went back to the woods to get some parts out of my bronco.

I was surprised by how much the superduty's frame flexed though, with all the talk in the commercials about superior frames and what not.. doesn't much matter though, as it still tows the bronco 85 down the interstate no problem and that's what it's for.

 

Thanks, mine has ALOT of frame flex though... should stiffen up with the cage i'm plannin on puttin in..

 

Human GPS? More like stalker. I bet he has some pictures of you taking pictures of your trucks. :P

But I have to admit, your a pretty amazing person Ed. Just don't let my girlfriend hear that. I'm, for lack of a better word to describe it, inspired. I hope one day I can build a truck as cool as any of yours.

I would totally stalk you if I could. Haha. Juuust kidding.

Edit:
There was alot of winking smiley faces in there. Is that creepy?

.....nawww!

 

Ummm, yeah,,,,,,,maybe a little on the creepy side. I am a little too drunk to determine that for sure but I just put a piece of tape over my web cam.
Steve is a cool guy and he has been over to the shop. Steve does plenty of get to gethers, and participates quite a bit with the members of the So Ca. forum.
He is a good guy to have around, and is always welcome.

Thanks for the nice compliments on my junk trucks.......