Finally... - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jplinville · #31 09-06-2016, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E150GT

my rear bumper is bent like that too but it came from a concrete pole in a parking lot many years ago.

From the sheer number of them bent like that, I thought it was a dealer applied option.

If I had access to a welder, I would already have those god-awful chrome behemoths off and custom bumpers on it. I've made custom bumpers in the past, and sported a set of them on a Durango I used to own...complete with winch and lighting. I used to custom make them to order about 15 years ago. Every now and then, I'll see a set of them on a truck pop up on some of the forums. As it stands, I'm tempted to cut the templates, and talk to the guy down the road that welds. Perhaps he and I can come to some sort of agreement, and I can get welded that which needs welded for a price I can agree with. If not, I'll buy another gas shielded Mig welder and teach my son how to do it.

E150GT · #32 09-06-2016, 07:22 PM

theres a big old bumper on an f350 at the junkyard. I am tempted to go get it but it must weigh a ton. I pity the fool that rear ends me with that.

jplinville · #33 09-06-2016, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E150GT

theres a big old bumper on an f350 at the junkyard. I am tempted to go get it but it must weigh a ton. I pity the fool that rear ends me with that.

LOL

I did a custom bumper for a plumber's work van, complete with 8" vice. That's one bumper I would never want to hit.

What I have pictured in my mind for the truck would be tube style with winch mounted underneath the radiator...hidden from view. Rear bumper would be of the same style, with mounting for a hidden winch under the bed. Both would have a spot between the tubes for the cable and hook. The back would also have brackets to accept a number of items, such as a mounted bench vice for field repairs, as well as mounted generator. Each item would be removeable, but mountable to the bumper through the tubes to welded points.

It's one I've thought about for years, but have yet to create it. It would be one of those things that could easily be adapted for nearly many on-site service industry needs. The end all, be all...so to speak.

jplinville · #34 10-04-2016, 05:50 AM

I swear to all that is holy that this truck will eventually be mechanically sound...even if it kills me!!

A few weeks ago, I realized why my steering floats. I tried adjusting the steering box again, only to realize that the 1/4 turn on the adjustment screw made it impossible to turn limit to limit...the box had to be replaced.

Last week, I ordered the part through Amazon...a Detroit rebuilt unit, without a core charge. $134 and 3 days later, it was at my door. It was a perfect match to the original...a Ford rebuilt unit. Man, that thing was heavy. I took it to the basement, and put a few coats of rust inhibitive paint, and waited for dry weather to finally show back up. I woke up yesterday, and saw that the forecast for the week was clear and sunny, with highs in the low 70's. Perfect weather for working on your car.

I gathered my tools and my son yesterday morning, and set out on the task at hand...cleaning a few thousand miles of road grime and grease from the steering box area and pitman arm. Getting the coupler off was a bit of a chore, as I couldn't get it to retract all the way. I pulled it past the scallop in the splines, and hoped that gravity would take over when I get everything unbolted. I then set out to remove the pump lines, which was rather easy. Next up was removing the pitman arm. That became an issue...it seems that my pitman arm is a heavier duty version that Ford used, and was larger than my puller. I remembered that I had to rent one when I had everything apart in Utah, so I sent my wife up to get it. It was perfect...and removed the arm from the splines. However, due to backing into the drive, the geometry of the front suspension was different than normal, and getting the arm to drop with the tie rods was not going to happen...so we had to remove the pitman arm from the tie rod, then use some colorful version of the King's English mixed with my Irish/Scottish heritage, and curse like a drunken sailor to get it to finally come off...that took over an hour.

The next step was removing the bolts that hold the box to the side of the frame. Luckily, I had started the day by spraying them with PB Blaster. Even more luck kicked in when I saw that there was absolutely no rust on the bolts...not even a little. A lot can be said about not washing grease and grime from parts of the undercarriage...who knew that it would stave off rust like that? With the removal of the bottom bolt, the box dropped like a boulder, completely removing itself from the coupler.

After a bit of work due to forgetting to remove the plugs, I finally had the shafts on the new box in the same position as the old one, meaning it should be an easy replacement without adjustment...and without the wheel being cocked at a strange angle. I had my son take over the lovely job of scraping years of grime from the mounting area, much to his dislike. A putty knife, multiple rags and some under his breath language so as not to make me mad later, and it was ready.

Or so I thought. I tested the bolts in the tapped holes on the new pump on the bench, and they threaded in nicely, but we all know that the bench is not the truck, and when under the truck, nothing works right. Apparently one tapped hole was just barely off...just enough that only two could thread in properly. After an hour of trying everything, to include changing bolts, I decided that I had to open up on hole slightly. Luckily, I have a bunch of reamers from my days as a toolmaker, and after stepping up with 3 different reamers, I had the hole large enough to accept the new steering box.

Did I mention just how heavy that thing was? As the day progressed, so did the weight of the steering box. By the time we finally had everything ready, I think the 37 pound steering box weighed in at 120. I'm laying under the truck, holding the steering box in place, arms shaking, sweat pouring from my brow, waiting on my son to start putting the bolts in, and my son is on the phone with his girlfriend. After much hollering and again with the twisted King's English/Scots-Irish cursing, he finally got the point, and began helping again. As luck would have it, he cross threaded one of the bolts. But, since I have all those keen tools still from my days working in a shop, I had the proper tap and die to repair the hole, as well as the bolt. However...I had to remove the box once again just to be able to run the tap in. By this time, my arms were jello, my spirit broken, and my confidence in getting the darned thing fixed in one day had faded.

So, once again, I hefted the steering box in place. My son was right there with the bolts, partly because I had taken his phone away and threatened to staple him to the wall on the side of the shed and use him for paintball practice if he made me hold it while he chatted on the phone or picked his nose, and partly because he was afraid of what my wife would do to him if he made me hold it any longer than needed to get the bolts in. At Last!!! The box was in place, and the coupler connected.

Remember that thing about Ford truck front suspension geometry changing when you back a truck up versus when it's going forward? Yeah...when we disconnected the pitman arm and released the pressure on the tie rods, both wheels cocked in slightly. Now, bear in mind that this work is being done on a gravel driveway, and gravel doesn't allow free movement of big truck tires with weight on them. Again with the language and some physical force from my son, we had the wheels in line, the pitman arm ball joint in line, and everything tightened down.

What should have taken just a few hours yesterday ended up becoming an all day project. What should have been simple, Murphy had a heyday with. But...it's on, it works, and all is good. I flushed the power steering pump before connecting the lines, ensuring only clean fluid would be run through the steering box...letting me keep the limited lifetime warranty that the part came with.

Remember how I said that there was no core exchange? I called up a mechanic friend of mine that knows a guy that will buy the old one off me for around $50 to be rebuilt and sold to someone else. So that $134 steering box will now run me around $85 or so. I may work out a deal with him to get a rebuilt water pump out of it, instead...since that's my next big job.

When my son and I tackle the water pump, I plan on swapping out the timing gears and chain, since I'm only one plate away from it at that point. It only makes sense to get it done then, rather than to have to tear it all down later...because Murphy is a pain in the ***

This morning, I'm sore as heck, moving slow, can't stand straight, and the coffee is barely working. I think it's time for a nap...

jplinville · #35 10-04-2016, 06:00 AM

BTW...the work we did made a huge difference. I took it our for a spin and noticed that there was much, much less float in the steering. It will never be anywhere near as tight as the Jeep, but it's better than what it was when I began.

t walgamuth · #36 10-04-2016, 06:49 AM

Wow Jon! You are doing well to do all that physical work! I need a rear bumper on my Dodge, wish you were close enough to do one for me.

jplinville · #37 10-04-2016, 08:35 AM

I wish I were doing well enough to do this type of physical work all the time. I'm suffering greatly this morning from it. I'm typing this message with the only two parts of my body that aren't hurting...the tip of my nose and my third toe on the left foot. It's difficult, but doable.

Seriously, I wish I could do this full time...but vertigo and other issues prevent it. Nobody wants to hire someone that can only work occasionally, and with the use of a cane or walker. However, I refuse to let it keep me from getting this truck 100% mechanically right.

The water pump and timing chain/gears will be easy to teach my son...remove everything bolted to the front of the engine, bump engine til timing marks line up, swap out the old parts for new, and re-assemble. I keep telling him that it really is that simple, but he thinks there's more to it than that.

To be able to do a bumper now, I'd need to purchase a welder and either a cutting torch set-up or a plasma cutter. Perhaps after my son starts his welding courses at Pittsburgh Technical next year...if all goes as planned, he'll start in the Summer or Fall of 2017. He's said that he wants to be a tower dog like his step brother, making the big dollars. I'd just be happy with him learning a skilled trade that puts food on his table and a roof over his head.

t walgamuth · #38 10-04-2016, 10:38 AM

What's a tower dog?

jplinville · #39 10-04-2016, 11:13 AM

He climbs cell phone towers, maintaining them, welding cracks found, installing microwave units, etc. His offices for the day are generally 150+ foot in the air, on mountains all over the western states. He sends us photos all the time...beautiful views from that high.

t walgamuth · #40 10-04-2016, 02:19 PM

Well, there is money to be made there. Wonder what he'll do when he gets too old and stiff to climb that high?

If he saves his money or invests in rental property or such he can do well later without being a tower dog.

jplinville · #41 10-04-2016, 03:33 PM

Hopefully he invests wisely. Knowing him, he will. My step son...well, let's just say that he's investing in Budweiser for now.

t walgamuth · #42 10-04-2016, 05:51 PM

Budweiser stock should be a solid investment.

jplinville · #43 10-04-2016, 06:06 PM

I don't see much ROI on the way he's investing.

JB3 · #44 10-05-2016, 06:42 AM

Cool truck, ive always thought the snub nosed ford trucks from that era the best looking.

I had the same sense of pleasure in steering when i replaced my 240 box a number of years ago. Felt like a new car, a car that would go in the direction it was generally pointed for once!

jplinville · #45 10-05-2016, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JB3

Cool truck, ive always thought the snub nosed ford trucks from that era the best looking.

I had the same sense of pleasure in steering when i replaced my 240 box a number of years ago. Felt like a new car, a car that would go in the direction it was generally pointed for once!

Thanks. I much prefer the bricknoses, too. My son just bought a 1982 F150, and I'm not a fan of the body lines or front end. But, it's a good truck and in decent shape...plus it's an automatic. He doesn't know how to drive a manual yet, and I don't plan on showing him just yet, due to all the hills around here. Maybe next year...

I took it out for a spin again today, and it's feeling pretty good. There's still some float to it, but nothing like it was. These things had float in the steering from the factory, due to the design of the front suspension.

It goes to a mechanic tomorrow for the front axle u-joints. I still need to get the water pump done, as it's the likely culprit. Radiator and hoses are all new ish...replaced within the past couple of years. I went with a single core radiator due to cost, but may wind up replacing it for a dual core to help keep it cool. I replaced the temperature sensor and sending units, but it still doesn't read in the range I'd like to see it...the factory gage reads it's running cool. I'll need to add a mechanical gage to get an accurate reading. I hope to have that done as well before Winter hits.

Spring will bring suspension bushings and such, which will likely take me most of the Spring and Summer to get done...as well as the replacement rear wheel arches, which I already have in the basement.