Tonights *** moment.

[gatorman21218]

So its getting cooler out and I still dont have glow plugs and I am tired of using ether so I decided to plug her in tonight. Well the plug didnt spark like it normally does when it plugs in so I go and wiggle the cord by the block heater and GOOD NIGHT the cord sparks by the frame.

So upon further investigation the right front shock tower is looser than a 5 dollar crack *****. One bolt is gone, the other is almost backed out. The cord had chaffed between the tower and the frame.

So I guess no real damage done but how the hell does that happen? I mean I know she rides a little rough but daggone enough to loose those bolts????

 

[icanfixall]

Thats a lucky find. Sure beats dropping parts on the roads...

 

[fordf350man]

well i guess that is one good thing about rust, bolts dont come loose

 

[ifrythings]

A guy I work with had the shock tower break off, the bolts where still in the frame along with a piece of the shock tower, he never notice the shock rubbing against the front tire, I just happened to walk by his truck and noticed it. A buddy of mine had his bolts fall out of the shock tower too, sounds like a not so uncommon thing possibly?

Loctite is also a very good piece of extra insurance too.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Last time I looked at U-haul a couple days ago, they had the block heater cord. Only $6.95

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-E350-a...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item2ec97a4ff9

 

[typ4]

your shock may be siezeing up ,thats what broke my tower.

 

[freebird01]

i had a gas tank fall out of my truck once... on a gas truck no less! was fine on my way to work... went to leave work and happened to see one end of the saddle tank laying on the ground.... thank god for ratchet straps . held for the 3 days until i coult get a new gas tank strap and bolt.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

your shock may be siezeing up ,thats what broke my tower.

There is a lot of leverage on these towers due to their length. OBS trucks have them redesigned to be wider at the base where they mount to the frame and use 4 (smaller) bolts in a square pattern instead of the 2 (larger) ones in vertical arrangement older trucks run. Additionally, OBS F-Superduty trucks have shock towers with a reinforcement plate added inside them, and they look like they would be a direct bolt-on upgrade for the lighter OBS trucks. Not sure if brick F-Superduty trucks also have a plate in them, if they do they could possibly be used in brick and slant F250s and F350s - would be great if someone who owns a '91 or older F-Superduty could confirm if their shock towers are double-plated or not.

 

[92F350CC]

About 10 years ago I busted the front passenger shock off at the bracket while driving on an ATV trail. I ended up just throwing it in the bed and driving without it. Tossed it out at home and drove with 3 shocks for about 8 years, then put new front shocks on. Didn't change how rough this truck drives much.

 

[Wicked97]

So for the hell of it I looked at my shock mounts after reading this and low and behold one bolt was broken and the other loose.

 

[magking1971]

I had a block heater going out and it was shorted out somewhere, Whenever my dog would *** on my tire he would get shocked.
He never did learn not to *** on it.

 

[ksingltn]

There is a lot of leverage on these towers due to their length. OBS trucks have them redesigned to be wider at the base where they mount to the frame and use 4 (smaller) bolts in a square pattern instead of the 2 (larger) ones in vertical arrangement older trucks run. Additionally, OBS F-Superduty trucks have shock towers with a reinforcement plate added inside them, and they look like they would be a direct bolt-on upgrade for the lighter OBS trucks. Not sure if brick F-Superduty trucks also have a plate in them, if they do they could possibly be used in brick and slant F250s and F350s - would be great if someone who owns a '91 or older F-Superduty could confirm if their shock towers are double-plated or not.

hmmm, I've got an 88 I'm parting out, will look at it in the daylight tomorrow or wednesday.