Graham's '68 F-100 - Engine swap week

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motzingg
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

if its the filter i'm thinking of- they sell them at auto parts in the 'performance' section with mr gasket brand name, i've heard bad things about those letting too much gunk through. even with the big pleated fram (33003) there is still a lot of fine crap getting into my float bowl.

for now the 2.50 big plastic fram filters seem to be working pretty well. I'd like one of those tractor style sediment bowl ones eventually but i'm not doing anything more with the fuel system until i fabricate and install a bigger frame mount tank. I really need that in-cab storage for tools and stuff.
motzingg
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

All new brake hardware on the drums this weekend. No pictures... boring.

Did a test 'panic stop' the other day and when she rocked back from the front end dive, the loose adjuster bolt thingy popped loose inside the drum, rolled around in there the whole way home, didn't do much damage.

The stupid pads are worn all crazy now though, because they were so overextended on top and not adusted out on the bottom.

Took me about 2, maybe 3 hours on the first one by the time i cleaned it up a bit better than before and fought with the stuck drum. Lots more anti-seize on it this time. Brakes are working good, but i'm really hurting to have the booster on there.

Daylight savings time has pretty much dicked my evenings from here on out. Its barely dawn when i leave in the AM and its usually getting dark when i get home.

Bummer.
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

Well, i cant even remember what i was doing when i last posted on this, but things have slowed down quite a bit, and they have been boring because it has been the saga of the drum brakes.

I could have pulled a nice set of discs, cleaned everything up, rebuilt the front end and installed the discs with new hardware and pads, for the amount of time and money i've spent on these stupid drums.

The saga of the drums is as follows... kinda dumb but i might as well write it down. Also this is over the course of about 2 months, other stuff got done too but the brakes themselves took this much time (embarrassing) and lessons learned (not embarrassed about learning new stuff)

Weekend 1: Wheel cylinders blow out. Hosed the inside of the drum and pads with brake juice and the lines were original/crusty so I ordered new lines and wheel cylinders from Rock Auto.

Get drums turned, new pads, re-install everything with no adjuster hardware. Brakes didn't break-in correctly and the shoes worn uneven because they were getting pushed out uneven. The guy at the auto parts store did a $#itty job of turning the drums and they had tons of chatter. Major bummers all around, but it got the truck on the road and safely back and forth to work long enough for the hardware kit to show up from rock auto. At this point I also put the pads in wrong with two long pads on one side and two shorts on the other side. I looked very close at the stampings for differences in the holes, but didn't think to look close at the shoes, plus i probably looked at them 2 at a time, looking at the two longs and the two shorts separate.

Driving home one day i panic stopped and chucked one of the adjuster nuggets (sitting in there kinda loose) which rolled around in the drum causing me to loose brakes and chipped one of my pads.


Weekend 2: Pull all the drums off again (getting good at it now) and spend most of a day fighting with the adjuster hardware getting it all on there. Noticed the really bad break-in of the drums, still showing massive chatter. Thought my brakes would instantly get awesome, they didn't, in fact they might have sucked more.

Weekend 3: Drums off again, pads and hardware all off again. Drums to auto parts store where the manager (who i'm pretty tight with now) turns them for me for free. Switch the pads around to get the long/short pad thing resolved. This time swapping out all the brake components took less than an hour. I'm getting pretty darn good at these things!

Just getting around to breaking them in again. There could be about 20 reasons that they didn't break in before, but I did some more reading and hopefully have it figured out now.

Also bit the bullet and got a new battery, O'reily hooked me up again and gave me commercial discount on the battery, its even made in USA! I dunno if O'reily corporate is awesome or if they just have a great manager at this one store, but these guys are winning a lot of my business and I'm happy to keep supporting them. Even met a fellow bump-er in the parking lot swapping out his alternator on a F100 ranger w/390 and C6.

The truck is starting awesome now and stopping awesome, getting there slowly but surely. I grabbed an alternator to do the 3G conversion on sunday too, but I screwed up and accidentally grabbed a 2G instead.. D'oh. Gonna go back and swap that out friday after thanksgiving if i get the chance. Think I finally got the G3 interchange stuff nailed down and I know what to dig for.

Also gonna weld up a tow bar this week for the flat tow to TX and we're moving on 12/3, so that is going to slow things down for a bit. It sounds like the apartment we're moving into is going to be ***** about working on your car in the parking lot, so i'm going to have to figure that one out too. Two steps forward, four steps back, oh well.
cole71
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by cole71 »

Glad to hear you got your brakes squared away. Good luck on the move to TX.
motzingg
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

Made it to Texas!

Finally settled in and getting my new shop set up. This time its in a storage unit with no electricity. I have a bit more room and its dry/secure which is good, but having to run everything off a 650 watt mini-generator is going to kill me as far as welding and using tools that require lots of electricity. Oh well.

The truck made the flat tow mostly unscathed. I pulled the driveshaft at the back u-joint and tied it securely to the frame but i forgot the front joint slips out, so it fell out and drug along the ground for awhile. The front u-joint got a little mangled, put some dents in the tube, and chewed off a good part of one of the yokes. At this point rust and dirt are holding the clip in that retains the bearing, but it doesn't have long to live.

So i found a donor for my trans, smoking good deal and i'm going to try to grab it this weekend or perhaps on new years day. We shall see how it goes, i'll keep everyone posted.
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Alstoyz
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by Alstoyz »

Welcome to Texas... How do you like it, so far??? :D
1970 F-100 SWB Tubbed
1971 F-350 4X4 (traded for 71 crewcab)
1971 F-250 Crew-Cab Dually
1972 F-100 SWB 4X4
1972 F-350 Crew-Cab 4X4 Dually
2001 F-350 Crew-Cab Short Bed 4X4 Dually
motzingg
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

lovin' it!

got a great job and lots of fun stuff to do in Austin. Its a little more crowded than the last time i was here (4 yrs ago) but its still a really nice place to live. Its going to be a lot nicer once my wife is working and we are able to find a bigger apartment/house/duplex with a nice garage on site
motzingg
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

Wow, merry christmas to ME!

Since moving down here to Austin, TX and having a longer commute and a lot more highway driving (they have 80 mph freeways down here, holy crap!) I've been really feeling the need for the 5 speed trans. Not to mention knowing that my driveshaft is gone and i've got to replace it anyway, and a freak incident last week where the column shifter jammed in 2nd gear..... I've got a real fire under my butt to upgrade the trans in the old girl.

I responded to a craigslist posting for wrecked '91 f-150 with the 4.9/ 5 speed combo. The guy selling it said it was a 'granny gear heavy duty' trans, which I was doubtful of, because I didn't think the ZF came in any 1/2 ton trucks, but he assured me it was the ZF.

I worked it out with him to meet him on Saturday and he said he had a cherry picker and would help me pull it.

When I got there, I crawled under the truck and I could tell right away it wasn't a ZF. Darn, I was pretty excited for that. Even had started dreaming about how fun it would be to show up to a truck pull with my little 1/2 ton and show the big boys what's up with that 5.75:1 first gear!! Oh well. Figured that would be too good to be true.

It was still a pretty good deal and the guy seemed like a straight shooter. Plus having the cherry picker right there, all my tools there, and the front clip already pulled off the truck, made it an easy decision. Plus the truck was in really nice shape with 121,k miles and the notorious 'leaking plastic plug' wasn't leaking, the trans was full of clean bright red ATF. Plus, the asking price was fair and I figured I could sell the engine to offset a good part of the total cost.

Me and the previous owner set to work pulling it out. A good part of the work of removing the engine was already done, the front clip was all off, and some of the ancillary junk was already pulled off. That made it really easy. It took about 4 hours total, not including wild-goose-chasing down the engine hoist. Everything came out really easy, it was awesome!

So the biggest problem now is this $450, 500+ lb hunk of solid cast iron stuck in the bed of my truck. Its strapped to a pallet, but i have no engine hoist, forklift or place to store or remove it. So I put it up on craigslist, but i'll have to drive around with it until someone buys it. Bummer. Its too bad I don't have a place to store it because its a heck of a nice engine, super clean and very little leaking fluid grime. Oh well, these engines are always pretty easy to come by and I'm probably going to want to rebuild whatever engine I end up setting up for my big turbo build, so this one has to go down the river.

Long story short i finally got my M5OD-R2 and she's a beaut. Got all the goodies too, got the clutch master, got the speedo drive and cable. Its the pre-93 tranny so it has the mechanical speedo and the same tire size... not sure about diff.

... well, I cant get the images to embed right now so if you want to see the engine/trans removal its all herehttps://picasaweb.google.com/motzingg/4 ... directlink


In other news, i found a guy with a 3.25 3rd member with a POSI !!!! The only problem is that he wants crazy money for the damn thing, $300... ouch... that is OG too, not rebuilt or anything. I dunno, I'd be into it at $150, even 200 wouldn't be terrible, but $300 is crazy. I think its gonna sit there awhile so I'll wait him out and save up my pennies.

So far Texas has been pretty damn good to me.

Brakes are acting up again, not a good time to be way overloaded with this dumb engine, but I'm driving conservative, engine braking and dealing with it. The booster that another Fordification member is sending me should be here any day now, and when that comes in i'll probably purge all my lines, replace many of them, and get the booster hooked up.


So the booster and brake lines will probably be next, maybe next weekend. I gotta focus on mopeds pretty soon here and get a bike fast enough to battle 55 mph traffic. I gotta find a shop in austin that will let me swap the engine, or maybe i'll just buy a hoist or something myself... craigslist? Or maybe someone reading this knows someone or can help me out. Its not a real hard job just gotta have the place to do it. Sounds like I have someone lined up to make the driveshaft.

Speaking of- does anyone know if I can use the M5OD-R2 with a one-piece driveshaft and just let it slip at the tailshaft or will i have to make some kinda 2-piece driveshaft?


oh boy, so exciting!!!!
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

Haven't had much time to work on the truck, Been waiting for my Brake booster to show up before more work on the brakes. At this point I think it is worth re-doing the whole plumbing because a couple of the fittings are chewed up and I'd rather do it sooner than later.

Found a local brake supply place that will sell me line by the foot, which is nice, now I gotta invest in a nice double flare tool and tube bender. I've got a crummy bender but I had a really nice one (imperial eastman) the last place i worked and i think its worth the investment, trick now is finding a good double flare tool. Most of them are junk, gotta sort through the crap and hopefully not end up at 'snap on' price point to get a good one.


The column shifter has been getting really bad too, it keeps jamming in 3rd gear and i have to go under the hood, disconnect the 2/3 selector lever going down to the trans, let it snap back into neutral, then re-connect. It happened a couple weeks ago when i was being too rough on it, but this morning it happened twice on the way to work. Since i commute along a pretty fast road, It is fairly dangerous. Lucky for me the straight six can get her going in 3rd gear with a little clutch play, but still made me about 10 minutes late to work having to stop and fix it twice.

really need to get moving on that transmission swap now!
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sargentrs
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by sargentrs »

My "3 on the tree" used to give me fits before I rebuilt the column, by locking up between 1st and 2nd. Before that, I had the best luck working the pattern to the fullest extent. Put it in first to start with. When you go for second, pull the shifter toward you and slide it gently upward to neutral, holding pressure to that point. Then go straight across the "bridge" trying not to touch either side until you bottom against the back. Then keep rearward pressure on it while you slide up into second. Then when you go for third, keep the pressure against the back, slide down into neutral, pause, then slide down into third. Get what I'm talking about? If I tried to speed shift from 1st to 2nd, it'd lock up every time. But by working the pattern, it'd slide in easily. Considerably slower but less frustration. After the rebuild it shifted smooth as glass :D
Randy
1970 F100 Sport Custom Limited LWB, 302cid, 3 on the tree. NO A/C, NO P/S, NO P/B. Currently in 1000 pcs while rebuilding. Project thread: http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 22&t=59995 Plan: 351w, C4, LSD, pwr front disc, p/s, a/c, bucket seats, new interior and paint.
1987 F-150 XLT Lariat, 5.0/C6 auto.
motzingg
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

YEP!

after being late to work yesterday, i've been babying her like that. revving out, pushing clutch in gently, easing through the 'gate' ...

this morning i ran out of gas! CRAP... half hour late again.

lucky for me she decided to cut out about half a mile from home. my wife had her phone turned off and i had to hoof it. things could have gone very badly, as it was i got home, took my wife's car (she wasn't at work today, also good) and made it back.

I thought i had better than a half tank of fuel, i was trying to keep it above half ever since my last such escapade, but i must have lost track of fill ups somewhere along the way and skipped one.
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

Well, craziest damn thing.

So i went to go get my truck last night, put gas in the tank, sloshed a little in the carb to get her primed, and she fired up... go figure.

the surprise came when i went to fill up and the pump clicked off at 10 gallons- I was at almost exactly 1/2 tank, where i thought i was!

Damn, so didn't run out of gas, why did truck spontaneously die, especially with 'running out of gas' symptoms, I mean, exactly like it ran out of gas. Fuel filter wasn't clogged, but i replaced it anyhow. Ran it around the block 3 times and added a spot of oil for good measure.

Got to thinking about it, I got an email from my insurance yesterday that coverage lapsed, It renews on a weird date and I forgot to renew it. Maybe the truck knew and saved me from an un-insured accident or ticket?

She's magic like that!



oh yeah, also figured out this morning what EXACTLY causes the shifter jamming situation. I was shifting like sarge told me, holding it in for R-1 and pushing it firmly back for 2-3 but i forgot and pulled it forward from 3-neutral... I could feel that the slight pop from the trans dis-engaging wasn't there when i moved it and instantly knew i screwed up.


So thats what does it, going 3-neutral, while pulling the lever forward has enough slop for the column to go into neutral, but doesn't pull the 2-3 lever up with it.

For now i'm playing 'operation' with the shift 'gate' trying to move it as smoothly as possible.
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sargentrs
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by sargentrs »

Yep, that's what mine was doing only between 1st and 2nd. Sounds like a rebuild is in order. :wink:
Randy
1970 F100 Sport Custom Limited LWB, 302cid, 3 on the tree. NO A/C, NO P/S, NO P/B. Currently in 1000 pcs while rebuilding. Project thread: http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 22&t=59995 Plan: 351w, C4, LSD, pwr front disc, p/s, a/c, bucket seats, new interior and paint.
1987 F-150 XLT Lariat, 5.0/C6 auto.
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by motzingg »

a M5R2 is in order!

its sitting on a pallet in my storage unit waiting for me to figure out a way to put it in. no garage, no lift, and i need to get the driveshaft re-worked...
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sargentrs
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Re: Graham's '68 F-100 "Buck" the truck

Post by sargentrs »

:woohoo: :thup: Did you find this tech thread already? http://www.fordification.com/tech/M5R2_5spd-swap.htm You may luck out on finding one the right length/configuration. A quick www.car-part.com search turned up this. Sounds like the tech thread reference.

1979
Rear Drive Shaft
Mercury Marquis Grand 5.8,C4,RWD A 100071 $50 Penrose Auto Salvage USA-CO(Penrose) E-mail 1-800-610-8074
Randy
1970 F100 Sport Custom Limited LWB, 302cid, 3 on the tree. NO A/C, NO P/S, NO P/B. Currently in 1000 pcs while rebuilding. Project thread: http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 22&t=59995 Plan: 351w, C4, LSD, pwr front disc, p/s, a/c, bucket seats, new interior and paint.
1987 F-150 XLT Lariat, 5.0/C6 auto.
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