"Tank" my 91 Crew Cab Dually

[chillman88]

Well... Some idiot decided to have some fun with the window regulators at some point....

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[chillman88]

Well I put these captive nuts on because I'm not going to use rivets, and I really don't want to try to get my hand in there to hold a wrench.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Although the captive nuts are just zinc plated, the bolts and washers are stainless. I believe these are 3/4 long, but they are TOO long.

You must be registered for see images attach

I managed to space out the offending bolts because I was using what I already had.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Yes, all the bolts were coated with antiseize before install.

 

[chillman88]

I blocked up the window with wood. I had seen a video where he removed the window but this was so simple I couldn't imagine doing it any other way.

You must be registered for see images attach

Cleaned out the window track good and spread some good silicone grease in it.

You must be registered for see images attach

I also removed the new motor, cleaned off all the lube, and coated the rub points and the gear teeth with the same silicone grease.

You must be registered for see images attach

I soaked the tracks with CRC spray silicone and adjusted the track a little tighter so the window wont try shucking sideways as it goes up.

I popped the door panel off the passenger side and while it's not AS bad, still.... What a hack!

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I was going to do the passenger side, until I saw how black those clouds behind the house looked! Figured I'd better pack up for the day.

All in all it's one of those "That was so easy why have I been putting it off so long?" type of jobs.

My driver's window finally works without needing to pull it up by hand while holding the switch!

 

[chillman88]

Well I took my new driver's mirror that matches the passenger side out of the box today....

You must be registered for see images attach

Gah, I don't like the looks of that but I'm putting it in anyway. If it holds up fine I'll leave it in and live with it. It's not bad, just looks chipped to me.

I finally maned up and drilled holes in my doors. I put the grommet in with a bunch of silicone grease and kept a drip loop in the cable to reduce water in the door.

You must be registered for see images attach

All zip tied in place nice and tidy.

You must be registered for see images attach

Now I have matching mirrors on both sides. My wife was picking on me for having four different mirrors

Fed the wires down and through the door harness into the cab. Slid some split loom over the cable where it passes by the door hinge just in case it decides to rub.

You must be registered for see images attach

Then I rewrapped the wiring harness with fabric harness tape. It was a little chewed up and some of the insulation was abraded but not terrible so I just covered it back up to protect it.

You must be registered for see images attach

It's nice having the time and materials to stop and do it right so I don't have to worry about it. I'm usually rushing fighting either the clock or the weather.

Lather/rinse/repeat for the passenger side and swapped that window regulator too! I'm going to slap some new clips in the doors if I can find them and button it up!

Wiring the heat for the mirrors will be a project for another day. Still have to buy a switch and figure out where I want it.

 

[chillman88]

Moving a bunch of stuff around in the shop. Here's part of my parts stash as I'm moving it. New F-450 master cylinder in the back too.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[chillman88]

Today I pulled out the old fluid actuated brake controller and wired in my Tekonsha P3.

When I was running it on my other truck, I noticed there was feedback from the hazards. I wired in a diode to prevent that issue.

You must be registered for see images attach

Then I rewrapped everything in a combination of split loom and harness tape.

I had concerns about the front brakes not working well with the old controller. I plan on bleeding them tomorrow so we'll see if it made any noticable difference.

 

[chillman88]

My original plan was to just drill/tap the rear diff for a drain plug, but the parts store only had a brass plug and I was concerned repeated heat/cooling cycles would cause a leak because of the difference in expansion between the two metals. Yes, I'm an overthinker.

Besides, I'm putting synthetic lube in, it should last a while right? So I popped the cover off and found.. lots of gunk and small particles. Always gives a warm fuzzy feeling.

I can't afford to change anything out now, so I'm just cleaning up everything best I can before putting the new good oil in.

I'm wondering if using cheap 80-90 was the cause of this in the first place? But then again, who knows if it was EVER changed before I changed it a couple years ago.

Gear teeth have a decent amount of wear, but it's all very even.

You must be registered for see images attach

There's a lot of play in the spider gears too. I don't like it, but that's most likely the source of the "looseness" I've been noticing lately.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

I'm a little more than a can of brakleen in. I'm going to hose it down just a little bit more, then I'm going to go inside for a bit and just let it drip drain for a while.

There's nothing that looks like METAL shavings, it almost looks like the diff was painted and it's flaking off. I'm really leaning towards thermal breakdown of the fluid. I drove about 12 miles round trip to town and back and the differential was warmer than I expected. Here's hoping a good cleanup and new fluid will hold it together for a while longer.

 

[chillman88]

This is what I used last time I changed it. I don't remember if that was 2018 or 2019. But I'm pretty sure it was some time before we went to Texas in 19.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[chillman88]

Four cans of brakleen later it's as clean as it's going to get.

You must be registered for see images attach

RTV is setting up and I'll fill it tomorrow.

Changed the transmission fluid. I pulled the inspection cover off (only held on by one bolt) and the clutch looks decent still. There's 5/8-3/4 slop in the DMF so it's ready for replacement, but nothing alarming telling me it needs to be pulled right away. Clutch was dry despite all the oil underneath the engine/transmission. Popped it back on with some stainless 5/16x5/8 bolts.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

So did you add a drain plug to the diff cover while you had it off? That would be the easy way to get a drain plug for the diff. I wouldn't want to try to drill and tap the diff housing. It may not be bad, but that's just me. My experience was this. The time I rebuilt a 460 to go into the 1975 F250 that I used to have, the engine came out of a car. The cars (in the 70's) had the drain plug on the side of the sump while the trucks had it on the back side. The side plug would give you just enough room to pull and reinstall the drain plug. The only tool that I could get in there to loosen and tighten it was a 7/8" shorty wrench (I used to carry that around in the glove box of the 1979 F150 that had a 460 with a car oil pan). I did NOT want to repeat the experience, so I asked the same machine shop that we used at the diesel shop if they had some type of drain plug kit that I could install. They told me that they could order something, but I could just drill a hole where I wanted the drain to be, weld a 1/2" fine thread nut over the hole, and install a short bolt with a drain plug gasket in the nut. They told me to use fine thread so that you'd be less likely to overtighten the bolt. It worked like a charm and I sure would do it again.

 

[chillman88]

@IDIBRONCO
No I didn't. I had considered it. A member on here who used to run a fleet of these said he typically drilled and tapped the bottom of the diff for a pipe plug. That was my original intent.

When I saw the built up crud, I knew I'd either be opening it back up or replacing it at some point so I just let it be and put it back together.

I really should have pulled the carrier, replaced the bearings, pressure washed the housing..... But that's not going to happen now.

I think I'm just going to try and find a long pinion axle for the 4wd swap and leave this one be.

But then again, I wasn't planning on repacking the bearings and changing the transmission fluid again on this truck anyway, because the 4wd swap will change it all. So we'll see what happens.

It is what it is.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I was also thinking that of you had done this now, you could just swap the cover over to the other rear end and not have to do it again later.

 

[chillman88]

I was also thinking that of you had done this now, you could just swap the cover over to the other rear end and not have to do it again later.

I'd like to buy either an aluminum superduty cover or possibly the new Banks cover. So while I agree with your reasoning, it wouldn't have made much difference with my plans.

But I've already covered how my plans turn out haven't I?

 

[IDIBRONCO]

 

[chillman88]

As mentioned in the other thread, I went and picked up new bearings to replace the ones that were overtightened. Side by side you can really see the heat discoloration. I'd still say they're in really good shape considering the miles on them in that condition. I'm VERY glad I packed them with a high quality synthetic grease. I will continue to do so because if they had ruined the spindle it would have been a REALLY bad day instead of just an inconvenience.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach