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Ford truck question

Started by mike_van, August 29, 2006, 06:18:08 PM

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mike_van

Happened to look under my F350 today, got quite a shock - The rear leaf spring brackets on the frame are rusted so bad, that there are parts of them missing.  It's a 1994, with only 71000 miles. I guess we use good salt up here.  My question is, how do you attach the new ones?  The originals are riveted, easy to grind off, but replace with what, grade 5 or 7 bolts?  Any help would be appreciated.
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

gary

That can't be fixed. I will be glad to come and haul it away for you.   

isawlogs

  I broke a main leaf on the back of my Cheve some time ago , those also where riveted on , I grinded them out and or burned them with the torch ... Went to the spring shop and they gave me a new leaf , center bolt and the wright bolts to put the bracket back in .
  I really dont remember what they where , but grade 8 comes to mind .  ;)
   
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

bull

I have a 94 F150 p/u  w/ the same problem new ones came w/ the bolts. ground off all the rusted metal repainted and replaced, good as new for another 10 years or until ya look under the truck again... :o :D

Dan_Shade

I wouldn't use anything less than grade 8, and I'd also use the loctite grade that needs to be heated to break it loose.

I'd also use a torque wrench to tighten them so that I got the maximum shear strength, (I became anal on bolt torque after I witnessed the lugs shear on a car during a burnout that weren't properly torqued).

Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

mike_van

Thanks all - you too Gary -  :D   The parts guy at Ford said 70.00 each, and the front part dosen't go bad but mine have - They look like the part of Titanic that was hauled up.
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

tomboysawyer

Just did our spring shackles this past spring - 1995 F150 with 185K.

And this past week bought 4 new alloy wheels 'cause I complained to the folks who sold me tires the front ones weren't holding air. Turns out the steel wheels were so rusty they were leaking.

Doors, fenders, rockers, lower b-pillars and roof repairs this winter. Should make her good for another 11 years. Good luck with yours!

moosehunter

 Check a local truck shop for after-market shackles. They sould be 40-50% cheaper. Use 3M rubberiezed under coat when the job is done. The undercoat will make the job last a few years longer.
Grade 8 bolts. Lock tight (red) or nylock nuts.
"And the days that I keep my gratitude
Higher than my expectations
Well, I have really good days".    Ray Wylie Hubbard

TW

Don't you spray anything under the cars in America????!!!! :o

They use a lot of salt on the roads here.

The bottom of my car is treated with:
1 Original paint
2 Factory bottom coat
3 Dinitrol wax
4 Dinitrol undercoat
5 A thick mess of engine oil and vaseline.
All that is quite common on well maintained old cars here.

I have patched the undercoat a few times. Each summer we spray it with a mixture of new engine oil and vaseline(grease). Before that I usually apply a thick layer of pure vaseline on the most exposed parts. I have had it for 5 or 6 years and the previous owner treated it the same way. The car is a 1984 model and it has no rust so far except for a little surface rust that I have sandblastered and fixed. The only downside of it is when I have to go under it to fix something.

I am not a car expert and too young for a lot of experience but this has worked for me.

mike_van

Well, i'm deeeeep into this project, it started out as just spring hangers. I have a 7' x9' flatbed which I took off to make it easier - Wow, talk about a mess. Things looked so bad, I almost gave up right there. But, not wanting to buy a new one [only 72000 on this one, and probaby worth zip to trade as bad as it looked]  I got going. The rear tank is plastic, but the guard/holder is metal, the tank would have been on the road soon. Ford wanted 400.00+ for the pieces, so i'm making it. The front tank is steel, looked like it would be leaking by the time I got done, so I bought a new one w/ straps at discount radiators for 110.00 delivered.  My frame was terrible, and it was undercoated when new. I mean layers of rust. I'm using POR 15 paint, it's a 3 step system people recomended, expensive, but so's a new truck. Bought new shocks too, originals had the tubes rusting off.  I wouldn't want to do this for a living, wish I could have got the "dirty jobs" guy to lay under there with the grinder instead of me!  :D
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

Ironwood

Mike van, The truck before my 2000 F-550 had 18,000 original miles, it was a1996 F-350 everything was immaculate except the rear spring mounts. They had rusted thru. Probably due to the process of pressing them into shape altered the metal to make it way more suseptable to rot. I always pull the beds off and redo the back ends. As a matter of fact the weekend project is doing just that to a Toyota Tacoma 1996 beater truck to not put sooo many miles on the F-550. The Toyota may just get a coat of Rhino liner over the entire body for function and to hide all the dings (lightly rolled by the prvious owner) Heres a pic of the F-350. Oh yeah use grade 8 Bolts to adhere the shackles.


reid
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

Fla._Deadheader


  "Lightly rolled, Reid  ??? ???  Similar to " a little pregnant"  ??? :D :D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Ironwood

FLADH,

   "lightly rolled" slow speed icy road roll into a ditch. Dented the roof and doors/fenders. The air compressor in the bed ripped out of the floor and the guy blasted the rear slider out to get out (he forgot he had locked the doors) Good used cheap Toyotas that are not completely rusted out are hard to find around here. This one has a very solid frame no rust basically, and some body dents, needs a rear slider, pass. mirror, front drivers coil spring, and some Rhino liner and she'll be trucking. I had several older ones with numerous patches on the frames and ran them for years. The first of which had a Knapahide factory flat bed, I sold it two/ three years ago and I still have the rear canopy assembly (it was designed to also fit a trailer I have), I asked the guy I sold the bed to and he is ready to sell it back to me. Perfect timing, he said it was too heavy for his "Toy" toyota 4x4, but for me it has always provided me with good traction in our snowy climate as all of my trucks were 2 WD. Like I said "Lightly Rolled".
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

mike_van

I did use the grade 8's - And here's an odd one - the long bolts through the spring into the mounts, 5 were fine, cleaned them up & reused - But one had rusted down to about a 3/8's.  I changed that one.  I have a crane like yours I made some 10 years ago, boy, i've moved some logs with that. Other stuff too - I got my 3 ph backhoe loaded with it, about 1600 lbs. just get one end on, re-hook & go, and never get under the load.
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

Ironwood

Mike,

That's a Venturo, it'll lift 3200lbs. close to the truck. The one on my trailer will lift 5000+ (it wouldn't lift a monster walnut root ball today) it is full hydraulic, the Venturo is electric/ hydraulic. Sometimes it takes both plus a Warn 8000lb. gear bath to do the positioning. Reid
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

LeeB

I think the real fix for all this is to start at the top of the truck, working your way down, getting rid of all the problem areas. When you get through there won't be a whole lot left so you might as well go get a DODGE. :D :D. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Fords are good trucks, almost as good as Dodges. LeeB
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

mike_van

Lee - I have a Dodge too - '88 Dakota 4x4.  62000 mi. No rust except the back bumper, started where they punched the hole for the ball, then just ate it. Got a new one a month ago from Dodge, 300.00, came with new brackets, lights, the plastic inserts & bolts.  Man does it shine!  8)
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

LeeB

Glad to hear that. All was meant in jest. Was worried you might take it wrong but I just couldn't help my self. All of the trucks are about the same I suppose. I just like the dodges because they have a little more leg room. At 6'4" that makes a big differance to me. Course i'm pretty fond of that Cummins too. LeeB
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

dave7191

 Thanks for reminding me one of the reasons i Moved south  Got a 73 ford 3/4 ton heavy duty the cab mounts are just starting to rust out  ;D 8) 8)

Quartlow

You know the best thing about ford?

They circle the problem!!  :D  :D  :D
Breezewood 24 inch mill
Have a wooderful day!!

Bill

Dave

Some time back the cab mounts went on my 73 ford 3/4 w/390 and 4sp ( even with dealer undercoating ) so a friend welded in some replacements when it was in danger of failing state inspection. A few years later I sold it to a another ( much older ) friend who drove it out to Calif while towing his wife's S-10. I suspect its out there roaming Calif 's central valley still - leastways I hope - it put up with alot stuff I did and not all do . . .

Good luck with it

mike_van

After 3 weeks of crawling over, under & around my F 350, it's road worthy again. I spent a little over 900.00, for POR15 paint, new shocks, front gas tank, new rear brakes & drums, tail lights & brackets, and the leaf spring hangers. In a few years, this truck would have been a junker, the rust was so bad.  Under the cab & forward isn't as bad as the rear, but in the spring i'll tackle that. Too cold now to get paint to dry.     
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

rebocardo

Congrats, looks good to me. When I buy a used truck, usually the first thing that gets fixed is the brakes.

Coon

Around here on a quiet night you can hear a FORD rust...... :D :D :D
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 w/Kohler,
Husqvarna, Stihl and, Jonsereds Saws

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