Project CrewCab

[ifrythings]

Small late update, got the brake lines done and the ABS working

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I don't like the pedal feel with the f-SD hydroboost and 1-5/16" mc so I'm going to put the 05+ SD hydroboost and 1-1/2" mc on and see if that improves the pedal. Just a note that you can not just bolt on the mc as the superduty one won' fit into the obs hydroboost. I will also remake the two lines from the mc to ABS as the newer mc has the lines come off the other side compared to the obs.

I also got the front elocker installed, new ball joints, u-joints, seals and o-rings and 4x4 is working just in time for the snow.

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Now for the problems haha

I definitey need an alignment as the front end acts like a switch going down the road, sticks to the left then right and repeats, I did set toe but I'm fairly sure I have zero caster as the 2.5" leveling kit probably removed it all. I have adjustable bushings coming so hopefully I can get it driving straight soon.

Next problem is a bad driveline vibration that peaks around the 50-70km/h range and is cause by the rear driveshaft, everything is new on the rear driveshaft but my angles are off and the u-joints aren't cancelling each other's velocity, looks like I have to shorten the center support bearing mount or make a new trans crossmember that is lower to get rid of the angle on the t-case u-joint.

And last problem which is really depressing me, I have a engine out of balance condition that shakes everything around the 1,000-1,200 RPM range, I talked to the shop that did the balancing and they said it balanced withing a few grams according to their records so I'm going to have to pull the clutch off and see if it's the problem or the flywheel is improperly drilled and if not I'll pull the flywheel and put on the flexplate that they also matched to the engine and see if the vibration goes away. If none of that works then it will be round 3 of ripping this engine apart to fix it. Just not having luck with this idi being rebuilt.

Also have pretty bad fuel milege but I have another thread going for that.

Well I'm done ranting and will hopefully have an updated soon to some of the problems I have going on.

 

[Thewespaul]

Do you know if the shop balanced the rotating assembly with the flexplate installed? Some don’t take the flexplate into consideration and it can throw your balance off. Did it just start to do that or has it always done it since the rebuild?

 

[ifrythings]

The shop did the initial balance with the flywheel as the flywheel was one for a factory turbo engine, after they got that balanced they put the flexplate on and balanced the flexplate to the rotating assembly, this is what I asked them to do and what he told me he did, now they did have to add mass to the crank to balance it so I'm not sure what was all changed as I didn't see the parts before the other shop put it together.

It' been shaking since the rebuild, just took me forever to get the engine in a truck to try it out.

 

[Thewespaul]

That sucks, either they didn’t balance it properly or something came loose

 

[ifrythings]

I'm hoping it's the clutch as that's the next easier piece to pull off and try, hoping either the pressure plate is balanced wrong or the flywheel is drilled off center, if not then I'll try the flexplate and see if it runs smooth then, if that doesn't fix it then out comes the engine for round 3 of tear down and fix....

 

[Thewespaul]

Do you have a spare set of injectors you could throw in?

 

[ifrythings]

That I do not have, the injectors are new standadyne G code injectors from a very reputable shop in town, if changing flywheels and flexplates don't change anything then I mite pull the injectors and get them to test them.

 

[ifrythings]

Not to leave the engine issue open in this thread so I swapped out cranks and the vibration is gone here is the thread explaining that story https://www.oilburners.net/threads/rebuilt-engine-issuses.65773/page-4#post-994387

 

[ifrythings]

A few updates I forgot to post from last year.

Found a Ford tailgate emblem with camera from a newer truck, the camera puts out standard NTSC video output with the backup lines which can be used on any aftermarket stereo.

I made a cardboard template of what needed to be cut out to fit the camera into the tailgate along with the holes, used rivenuts to hold it down as the factory used these weird square nuts and I don’t have a way to make square holes. Centered it in the tailgate, looks pretty good, just need to remove the other ford emblem at the lower corner.

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[ifrythings]

I got an 08 hydroboost unit and mc, I cheated with this one and just swapped the mounting plate and pedal rod from the obs unit. I would have more pictures but I was being stupid and was breaking the big nut free on the hb unit using a wrench while pushing on it and decided to use my rib cage to push..... heard a nice pop and extreme pain and the pictures got forgot after that haha.

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To use the newer steering wheel cruise buttons you have to change a few resistors and add a wire to the horn switch to make them work with the older cruise control system.

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Also picked up a 4R100 for cheap that I’m going to go through and one day swap it in, I’m not liking the zf5 wide ratio trans so I’m going to swap it back to auto one day.

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[ifrythings]

Next was upgrading the fan clutch, found a electro-viscous fan off of a 6.4L Powerstroke that has the same rotation as the idi, made a conversion bushing and bolted the idi fan blade to it, controlling it is real easy as it just power and ground and that will make it lock up, remove power and it unlocks. More about the fan in this thread https://www.oilburners.net/threads/fan-clutch-upgrade.82625/

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Got a 38 gallon tank from a superduty (6.4l to be exact) it’s the dirty one in the pic. It’s planned to go in the future when I do the flatbed build and I’ll remove the rear tank then.

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Also found this at the auto wreckers, ford factory sub that they started to use in 07, it’s a little 8” sub in a box with an amp bolted to the back of it, hooks up like any other aftermarket sub amp and performs pretty well for what it is. I got it for under $20 with some wiring and figured why not, it’s small and compact, fits behind the seat even in a regular cab and no one wants them so you can get them for next to nothing. Only down side is the amp has no controls on it but thats not a problem as any aftermarket deck will have a sub out with volume control and low pass filter.

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[ifrythings]

Next was fixing the rear door wiring, I really do want to know what ford was thinking when they thought thick stranded wire being bent in half was a good way to wire up the rear doors.... all they need to do was move the hole in the cab up a few inches and use a wire with more smaller strands and everything would of been good.

I don’t have a pic of the broken door jam wires but I did redo both door harnesses with 12ga high strand count wire that is used in industrial application that see a lot of movement.

Finished door harnesses

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Also pickup a new deck, it’s a Chinese brand called Joying, this deck has a 8” screen with a ton of mounting holes so you can move it up/down/left/right and even out, has all the usual bells and whistles.

Sorry only have these two pics right now

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Also put in some led dome lights as you can see above.

Ordered a nice new hitch from amazon, with amazons awesome shipping it didn’t take much for me to get it out of the box

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[ifrythings]

A few weeks ago I finally had time to put in the 4.5” lift kit I got from the wreckers last year. I had a 2.5” lift block in the front which just killed the caster on this axle, even adjustable bushing couldn’t get it even close to spec as the upper ball joint started to bind at only 1.5degrees even though the bushing could got to 2.5degrees. I going to risk the rear spring hanger and hope that gives me the rear lift as I don’t want to run a 6” block as I currently have very bad axle wrap and hopping. Traction bars to come soon.

Heavy duty traction bar bracket made out of 3/8” plate, I just modified the one from the lift kit to fit as it was from an 09 and really wanted to mate up with the drop pitman arm. Steering linkage is at a better angle now, seems a bit more responsive but hard to tell as the roads are covered in snow and ice right now.

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Spring lift now instead of that block, ride feels a bit softer now even though the lift springs are .100” thicker than the oem springs I had before. The drop radius arm brackets have brought the caster back into range, I still need to dial it in but I’m sure I can get the correct spec now and eliminate the wondering this thing has on the road.

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Bought a new shower head, must of been a glitch on amazon as I bought 2 ford ones for $17 each and now they are $56.... I was getting the 1/4 tank problems even though the shower head looked fine, figured out the valve on the side was distorted just enough that it would allow air to get sucked in, the new one is a very nice tight fit to the sender and hopefully it works to empty now.

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And the last thing I’m working on right now is some wiring mods again. I’m putting in two DEI 535T auto window up and down modules to do all four doors, adding in the wiring for heated seats and the associated wire so the remote start can turn it on. Finished the wiring for my autometer gauges, fixed a few random mistakes like the heater controls not getting power when the remote start is used (oops!) added in a security system to as I’ve gotten fuel siphoned, license plates stolen and a lot of tracks in the snow around my truck.

I’d post pictures of the wiring but it’s not very exciting, I do have every harness but the rear doors pulled out and in the apartment (thank goodness for a very understanding girlfriend as I have the whole living room covered in wire )

 

[Thewespaul]

Shaweet stuff. Need to update more often!

 

[subway]

thanks for the update, i am really curious to see if you get the steering angles worked out. i know a guy who scraps vehicles and have thought about trying to squeeze some SD axles under. i go back and forth on if the ride improvement would be worth it.