71 F250 4BT Cummins Work Horse: Just doing a little work

[popeyes71]

Great score on the front bumper and winch for the truck! I'm still looking for a one for my truck. It's nice to see you making some good progress on the truck, dispite your busy schedule. Keep up the good work.

[KRob]

Little update.

Bumper has been sanded, little welding, and first coat of primer and paint.


We were short on time so my buddy did the welding, he is far better then i am.


Crossmember was made and installed....sorry no pictures. However i need to take it out and paint it, so maybe then.

New Drivelines, picked up yesterday and installed today!


Front driveline is the old rear driveline shortened. Rear driveline was something my buddy had that the driveline shop re-tubed.

This is what off hand i think we have left.
Checking geometry and putting shims in.
Paint transmision cross member
brake and power steering lines
electrical
cooling
front body clip

Have good day
Rob

[KRob]

Long Time....only some progress.

Front Body Clip went on two days ago, more pictures to follow.


Original radiator was installed with a 2000 Dodge Intrepid electric fan. The electric fan required four extra holes drilled in the radiator and some spacers. This was very easy add, and when looking at pictures appears to look like its suppose to be there. I don't know what the coast of intrepid electric fans are this one came off of a friends which was going to the junk yard.



Wiring will hopefully take place next week.

My one issue right now is radiator hoses. Anyone have any ideas who has done this before? Where can a guy get specialty hoses?

Thanks
Rob

[averagef250]

There's a few options for hoses. If you email Gates tech support through their website you can ask for their complete radiator hose catalog PDF which lists all hoses by size with pictures showing the hose shapes. They will email it to you right away. You won't really know if the hose truly fits until you get it in your hand, but it's a big help.

The other option is to use pre-formed silicone hose couplers and bends. If you search for "silicone 90 1 3/4" on google or whatever you need you'll find a bunch of vendors selling these. I would recommend staying away from the blue, red and other funny color hoses as they fade badly in time and look like crap. Black and gray hoses look nice for a long time. Use the silicone hose ends with steel, stainless or aluminum tubing connecting them. If you need to adapt sizes you can use a transition silicone piece or take your metal tubing to an exhaust shop and have them expand one end to the size you need.

Mandrel-Bends.com is right here in Oregon and has anything you could ever need as far as short pieces of straight tubing in whatever material or mandrel bends. They do it all in house, they have a shop in st Helens packed with Mandrel benders. When I order from them I have the parts the next morning every time and their prices are great.

Looking good! That fan does look it was meant to be there. Cool.

[averagef250]

Returned your call and left message. Sorry I missed ya!

[KRob]

Thanks Average, you've answered my questions. I will be trying to run down some silicone houses first and then talk to Gates...i imagine it will be easier to make them first.

[jbeaver]

I've had good luck with O'Reilly's and they also carry a good selection of Gates hoses . When I bought my truck it had a different radiator installed, by the previous owner, and the radiator openings weren't the same as the water pump openings. Believe it or not, they had hoses with different diameters on both ends and I haven't had an issue yet (fingers crossed).

[KRob]

One of my problems.....is I have a NAPA and two tractor stores (JD and Kabota), the next closest auto store is hour and half. So anyway, it makes it a little tougher. I think i am going to go hit the tractor dealers Tuesday, see if they have anything.

I saw some Flex house radiator pipping. Anyone have experience with it, of course now i cant find it again...Back to Google.

Bye the way another thing that might help others out. I used a accelerator pedal out of a 88-2000 Chev truck, i believe the suburban are the same. Anyway it is a cable operated and has a flat mounting surface. Very easy install, warmed and bent the upper arm on the pedal and that was about it.

Couple quick poor excuses for pictures that i took today. Had to run by the shop to grab something and snapped a couple real fast for you all.




Unfortunately I didn't take the time to paint and work the frame and other portions, i need the truck up and running. So i will probably end up tear everything back down in a year or two and wire wheel and sand blast the entire truck and repaint and clean up. Should have taken more time and it would have saved me some pain latter on. Oh well live and learn.

[KRob]

Well the exciting news is.....It FIRED UP AND RAN TODAY!

After finding out the starter I had was a dud (Brand New, out of the box), it has made in China stamped on it, and replacing it with a Napa starter...who knows where it was made. It fired almost instantaneously we let it run for a second or two and then shut it down. We then slapped house clamps on it and filled it up with coolant. By this time another two buddies of mine showed up and filmed the second start. (I will post a link to the video once i have it and have ensured its PG rated since they had a running commentary that i couldn't hear and with them who knows.)

On the second start the first, found, problem raised its ugly head. It was running fine and as i sat in the truck and my buddy filled the power steering pump with fluid, after a little while as fluid was bled through the entire system the steering wheel violently jerked back and forth for a few seconds and then started turning to one side. It took everything i had to keep it from turning. I shut the truck down and tried again and again. Each time it would start turning to one side or another.

We traced lines and flipped a couple back and forth to ensure that we hadn't screwed up. Two lines run from the pump, to the chevy van hydrolic brake booster and then one line down to the power steering box and then one back to the pump. We looked at multiple diagrams however according to the diagrams everything is right. We also took the lines into the power steering box off and flushed the box with break cleaner. None of this seemed to work.

The only thing i know we haven't done is swapped the lines going into the power steering box, however according to the diagrams its right. However that is what a gentlemen I know who is a big Ford guy suggested a few minutes ago. He said he had had one do this and by swapping the lines it fixed it.

Anyway, looking for thoughts or suggestions. I think next time i work on it i will switch the lines at the box and if that doesn't fix it then look for another box to swap in.

Like I said i will try to get some video up in the next day or two and some pictures.

Rob

[Heirloom]

Bye the way another thing that might help others out. I used a accelerator pedal out of a 88-2000 Chev truck, i believe the suburban are the same. Anyway it is a cable operated and has a flat mounting surface. Very easy install, warmed and bent the upper arm on the pedal and that was about it.

I would love to see pictures of this.

[KRob]

Roger, I will try to remember to get a picture of it today. I am going to try to get a number of pictures and videos today.

[Heirloom]

Roger, I will try to remember to get a picture of it today. I am going to try to get a number of pictures and videos today.

Excellent....thanks much!

[KRob]

PICTURES!!!....Sorry no video

Heirloom forgive me i forgot to get a picture of the throttle petal...maybe tomorrow i will remember.

So, i have a freshly re-manufactured Napa steering box coming. Should be here tomorrow. However by draining the fluids out, I was able to drive the truck out of my buddies shop, since farmers are starting to break things and thus he's getting busy. So it is outside for the first time since Dec.





The air filter is just something my buddy had in the shop and jammed on there to keep the dust out.

Anyway, well see what happens tomorrow.
Rob

[KRob]

Well today was successful.

We figured out the steering box issue. It was a plumbing issue....i guess you cant always trust Mitchel (Shop paid for service manual/flat rate time program), their diagrams might have been wrong.

Also the rear bumper came off to be painted. Has anyone seen one like this before. I am betting it is a home grown bumper but just curious.


Also here is a picture of the throttle pedal. We did a little bending to make it work, however it was not a whole lot of re shaping.


This is the video from the day it first started. Sorry i haven't manged to get a video of it running since then.

http://s572.photobucket.com/user/BigKRo ... 8.mp4.html

Obviously i am the giddy little school girl in the truck who cant contain himself. The frustrated gentlemen is my mechanic buddy who deserves about 99% of the credit for this. If you watch the last seconds of the video you will see the wheels start jerking back and forth, that was when the steering issues first razed its head.

Anyway well, see what happens tomorrow.

[Fordnatic]

That's really great!!! Something I would like to do as well.