So what did you do with your truck today?

[miked]

Sorry about the double post I accdentaly hit post twice . Not sure how to delete
Hi idibobs

I am not going to be towing with this rig. I am using it for travel only. I will have the 4.10 gears to put back in if I change my mind.

I am not unfamiliar with how these gears work as my 84 idi f250 had the 3.07 gears and I loved them when I wasn't towing.
The top 3 gears all will do 60 mph which will be great in the mountains. As will as on flat ground.

The zf5 I am putting in is the s47 with a 5 to 1 first instead of the 4 to 1 of the s42. It also is from a 4x4 with transfer case so I have the ability for low speed if needed. Even though this is a 2wd truck on stock tires

Hope you understand my thought process.

Cheers

 

[IDIBOBS]

Nope not at all, but maybe you have more experience then my 40years building trucks and cars professionally and maybe you understand gearing better but in my experience building over 1000 custom veg I also going higher gears has never once been the answer to milage, power, longevity, or reliability. But maybe your the 1/10 of a percent that breaks the rule.

 

[Black dawg]

Sorry about the double post I accdentaly hit post twice . Not sure how to delete
Hi idibobs

I am not going to be towing with this rig. I am using it for travel only. I will have the 4.10 gears to put back in if I change my mind.

I am not unfamiliar with how these gears work as my 84 idi f250 had the 3.07 gears and I loved them when I wasn't towing.
The top 3 gears all will do 60 mph which will be great in the mountains. As will as on flat ground.

The zf5 I am putting in is the s47 with a 5 to 1 first instead of the 4 to 1 of the s42. It also is from a 4x4 with transfer case so I have the ability for low speed if needed. Even though this is a 2wd truck on stock tires

Hope you understand my thought process.

Cheers

This should work out nicely. The lower gear zf is a key part though.

I think I am about 10k miles into going 355 from 410 in my truck that I have personally been driving for 23 years. It has the 414 geared 4spd, with usg overdrive. Towing power is a little softer, and the tall first gear sucks at times, but engine is tired. This is in a 4x4 crew with a heavy ish flatbed. Truck tows more often than it doesnt. ZERO regrets with the higher gears. Truck is quieter and smoother, and gets better mpg even towing.

I For sure have plans for a trans with a better first gear though.....and overdrive......I have absolutely zero doubt it will pull double od when conditions are correct to do so.

 

[miked]

here is a chart so everone can see what is happening engine speed and rpm
I used a calculator on the internet to come up with these numbers
thought people might be interested.
i did some numbers rounding


I used the s42 numbers for the 4.10 and 3.55 gears as that is what came in our trucks
I used the s47 numbers as that is what I put in my truck from a 1996

1 2 3 4 5
zf5 s42 gear ratios 4.41- 2.37- 1.42- 1- .77
zf5 s47 gear ratios 5.08 - 2.60- 1.53- 1- .77

mph at 3000 rpm s42
4.10 16.67- 19.61- 48- 69- 89

3.55 19.26- 33.64- 56- 79- 103-

mph at 3000 rpm s47

3.31 16.83- 33.64- 56- 85- 111-

3 - 4 - 5
4.10 rpm at 60 mph 3700- 2600- 2020-

3.55 rpm at 60 mph 3200- 2270- 1750

3.31 rpm at 60 mph 3220- 2100- 1600-

I have both versions of the zf5
I only verified that 1st rotated 4 times in the s42 and 5 times in the s47
the ratios quoted where found on the internet.

feel free to find mistakes and correct if found

 

[Nero]

Drove across town to trailer home yet another project car. Truck pulled it like it wasn't even there.
Being a mechanic is fun.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

I get 25mpg empty with 4.10s and 32” tires. Mpgs is more about slowing the heck down and keeping the motor in the correct power band and of coarse not accelerating like it’s a dragster. But hey you do you if you like to rob 20-30% of torque. What people don’t realize is gears are torque multipliers. But they cane also divide. buy going lower your killing torque.

How?! 45 mph speed limits where you live or something? How much cetane booster? 25mpg is bonkers for an IDI on modern fuel.

 

[Old Goat]

Best I ever got was 21.something a time or two.
With my old Pump 19 - 20 running empty. Sometimes 18.
With this new IP, 16 - 18. Was too far advanced, retarded it a bit.
last tank jumped up to 19.
I write down the mileage of each fill up, City or Hwy driving, towing, driving 60 or 70 mph head wind etc... it all makes a difference. Also Auto or manual trans, Diff Gear ratio and Tire size.

Goat

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Today was another adventure for me and the Blue Truck. I bought a different bed for the plow truck that I bought a couple of weeks ago. The guy was also selling a 1982 "F350". A guy I work with wanted it so he paid me to bring it back with me. I like getting paid to do truck things with my truck! The trip back wasn't very eventful, thankfully. The only excitement was when I had driven about 12-13 miles back toward home and there was a loud THUNK on the driver's door. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and almost had to scrape out my drawers since the window was down at that point. The mirror bracket was folded back about half way to the door and the mirror itself was pointed at the sky. I stopped and looked at my truck. Nothing was missing so I guess it must have been a bird. There was quite a few flying over the highway at a pretty low height for some reason. The bracket moved back out but the mirror didn't want to move back down. I decided to let it stay there, but that didn't last a mile. I pulled into a small town 7-8 miles farther down the road and loosened one of the screws that hold it tight. Then I moved it back into
place and tightened up the screw again. I stopped along the way to B S with an old friend for 2 1/2 hours or so. I was easily able to hold 65-70 in 5th gear, but I left it in 4th and held the speed to 55-60 after dark just in case of deer. A long 11 1/2 hour trip from leaving town until I got home, but it wasn't too bad other than that.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

As I was going to sleep last night, I realized that I forgot to add the pictures so here they are. One shows the mirror angle. One shows how the bed was held down. The other is obvious.

 

[Old Goat]

Trucks need Tie down Hooks on the side of the Bed to tie down things.
When I bought the 86 back in 2014, there were 3 originally down ea side, probably an option when new. I think one or two were missing as when they were installed, a hole was Drilled into the sheet metal and a sheet metal screw held them on. Then over the years the bare untreated metal (in the hole) rusted till they lost their grip and pulled out.
New one`s are a bit pricy, I found some on trucks at PNP.

https://www.cjponyparts.com/bedside-tie-down-hook-with-screws-chrome-plated-f-100-1967-1979/p/TDB1/?year=1978&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_Yq-BhC9ARIsAA6fbAiHJZUmHPppMgEJLx-tX6UTjo6m9w8us3w-K2WOOaBRuuoL4r57kUAaAm05EALw_wcB

I came up with a creative way to redo them. removed them off the bed. Then used a Chalk line snapped a line, and then added 2 more so I had 5 down ea side.
With a extra long 1/4" drill Bit and a line level on the drill, drilled a hole straight through the bed to the inside.
On the inside used a 1 1/8" Hole saw and cut a hole.
Treated the bare metal with POR,
Then used Stain less Screws, a fender Washer and a 1/4"Ny-lock Nut to secure them.
Used a 1/4" extension and Socket. Stuck the nut in the socket and some stickum on the Socket and carefully got it to thread on.
Now they are secure and can tie anything down with in reason.
What good is a truck if you cant tie down a load?

Remember the Toyota and Datsun PU`s back in the 60 - early 80`s had Bed Hooks? I know on the Datsun/Nissan in 85 they went to the slab sided beds...but you did get 4 little hooks in each corner.

Ok, that`s todays rant.


Goat

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Trucks need Tie down Hooks on the side of the Bed to tie down things.

I beg to differ. See the above pictures!

 

[Nero]

You reminded me I need to sell my old truck bed... Hmmm...

 

[Old Goat]

I beg to differ. See the above pictures!

I see D C Clamps, what do you have on the other end?
Are you C Clamped on ea corner inside the Bed?


Goat

 

[IDIBRONCO]

On each corner and one in the middle. If people can haul around toppers like that for years, then I can haul a bed like that for a few hours.

 

[Old Goat]

I have seen the little clamps used to hold down a Camper Shell.
Always thought with wind resistence and shaking and twisting of the bed going down the road over the years, they would loosen up. I guess maybe some people Bolt them down to the bed.

I have a friend in eastern Oregon that has two, and want`s to give me one of them. One is Steel and other Aluminum.
Not sure I want one, but can see them useful at times.


Goat