Trailered home a 1989 F350 dump truck that looks great on the outside, but the 7.3 IDI is something else

[Old Goat]

Maybe the angle of the picture, looks like a lot of weight going to the front axle by the length of the bed.

Maybe one of the helper axles like the big truck have you can lower down. I know they don`t make them for these smaller trucks, but I can day dream....
I have the Firestone Air bags on my 86 F-250, not to haul more weight, but it helps to stableize the truck when loaded. Makes it more rock solid.
I think either one yard or yard n a half of 3/4 fractured rock is 3K LBS. and she hauls it great. same amount of Asphalt grindings, must have been 4K and never doing that again. too heavy, but the
Bags really helped. Maybe they make larger ones for a 350?
W/O grabbing a set for a Kenworth...


Goat

 

[asmith]

@ttman4 Glad to hear your Holly Red is still holding up! I did order a 100 micron filter to stick in front of the Holley. I went with this one:

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I've been chatting with @KansasIDI and will be making a road trip there pretty soon to pick up a 4x4 parts truck from him along with some other goodies to convert my truck to 4WD!

I'm picking up this kit from Sky's to complete the transformation:

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I'll need to raise the rear by 2" as well to remain level. I don't want to use block and it looks like Sky's also have several options for doing at as follows:

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I'm unsure what's the best path to take. Keep in mind this is a dump truck and I'll occasionally be hauling as large of a load of gravel that I can get away with (maybe 4 tons).

My current rear suspension looks as follows:

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Inside view:

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So I got my main springs and the helper springs. Any lift NOT using blocks (which I want to avoid), means the helper springs wont' do jack. So would a SD rear spring swap make the most sense? Should I consider adding air bags as well? The only ones I could find that would fit are rated for 5,000 lbs. Would that be enough when hauling a full load of gravel?

I think the DRW Sterling 10.25 is rated for 8,250 lbs. (this matches the rear GAWR on my door sticker) and the Data 60 full float is 6,500 lbs. (improvement over the front GAWR on the sticker which is 4,200 lbs.) That's a total of 14,750 lbs. A dually 1989 Cab & chassis truck should tip the scale at around 5,000 lbs. I think before adding a dump bed. Steel dump bed adds about 2,500 lbs., where an aluminum bed is about 1,500 lbs.

14,750 - 5,000 - 1,500 = 8,250 so with an aluminum bed, I would have a payload capacity of 8,250 lbs., or just a bit over 4 tons, which is what I was hoping for. So I can probably get away with going to the local quarry say once or twice a month (about a 40 mile round trip) with no ill effects? I do realize that with the dump bed fill of gravel, the rear axle will bear a lot more of the weight, like more than its rated 8,250 lbs. capacity, but I would think it could handle that occasionally without wearing out the bearings or causing other major issues.

I would look into a current F-450 or F-550 rear spring pack. I have no idea, but they may have the capacity you are looking for and with the new hangers get the stance you want.

Is your rear spring pack standard for an F-superduty? or is it a higher rated one since yours is a dump truck?

 

[crazydane]

Yeah, a helper axle would be way cool, but yeah, pretty sure they don't make those for these small trucks.

As far as I know, my current rear spring pack is standard issue on a 89 Cab & Chassis 161" WB. The springs are 2.25" wide, which I think might be less than what goes on a regular pickup bed truck.

With just the empty frame and running gear, it sits almost perfectly level:

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Very slight rear bias:

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Will look into F450/550 spring packs.

 

[KansasIDI]

F450/550 spring packs

are wider. You would need different perches on the axle, and different hangers.

 

[ttman4]

2 yrs ago I ordered a set of air bags rated for 7500# from Summit. Put them on my '14 Chev Silverado 2500 HD. And as @Old Goat said Some for hauling some extra weight but mostly to stabilize & smooth out the ride with some extra loaded weight on.
Summit had 7500# rated bags for other brand rigs too back then.

Years ago, about '90-'91 I put a set of Firestone Airbags on my '90 CCLB Dually, & back then it was for hauling extra weight, but springs really do most of weight hauling. Bags do help.

(If I said in public how much weight I've hauled thru the years on CCLB Bessie the Scale Guys probably hunt me down & give me a TICKET!!!)

 

[crazydane]

I stumbled upon what I think will be a great donor truck for getting the 4WD components I need for the conversion.

This beauty:

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The good:
93/94 7.3L IDI turbo
ZF5 manual trans 4x4
Kingpin Dana 60 front axle
Dana80/sterling 10.5 rear axle
4 inch Diamond Eye straight pipe
4 inch lift on 33s
Has an absolutely killer front bumper
All lights work
Tires in decent condition
Tachometer, fuel gauge, coolant temp, volt meter all work great
Tank transfer switch is operational and both tanks feed fine no issues
Minimal frame rust
Comes with a drivers side fender to replace the one with the rust on it (not paint matched)
Also comes with running boards

The bad:
Doesn't run, needs either 1 or both head gaskets and potentially heads or heads milled
Has sat for almost 2 years will probably need a new battery
Driver side passenger door doesn't open from outside or inside
Speedometer and oil pressure gauge don't work.

I asked seller:

"Back when it ran, was the ZF5 doing well? No bad syncros, clutch not slipping, etc?"

Response:

"Yes the transmission was golden. Good strong clutch"

I then asked about the history of the engine, total miles. Response:

"125k on the truck itself. Guy I bought it from claimed 5k on motor but he also claimed it was a crate motor he put in. No 7.3 idi is gonna blow a head gasket after 5k miles"

Since I already have a fully rebuild engine, the condition of this one is not all that important, but perhaps it really does just need new head gaskets and possibly an upgrade to studs? Would be pretty sweet to get a 93/94 create engine with only 5k on it. Maybe he turned the IP way up and blew a head gasket and did no other damage?

He was asking $4k, I offered $3k and he accepted. Going to look at it Sunday and bringing my trailer. He's only about 1 hour away from me.

 

[crazydane]

Some interior shots:

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I can't tell what trim level this truck is? Front and rear seats don't match for sure.

I think between the aftermarket gauges and the Diamond Eye straight pipe exhaust, my theory about it getting way too much fuel or boost and the stock 1/2 head bolts stretching might be what happened.

 

[Nero]

I think you made out like a bandit! dang!

 

[ironworker40]

It's a Custom. Look at the right side of the dash, it has the emblem.

 

[ironworker40]

That front bumper with a winch attached to it may help sag the front end down. You may not need to do anything with your leveling problem. You need to put it all together then see were your at.

 

[ironworker40]

And it has the cupholder in the correct color that match to the front seat that you bought!

 

[Nero]

And it has the cupholder in the correct color that mouth to the front seat that you bought!

That thread will forever haunt me.




I still haven't installed any.

 

[Old Goat]

Saw a Cup Holder at PNP couple days ago. A metal Soup can
screwed into the dash.


Goat

 

[crazydane]

Went looked at the donor truck today. Once I saw the cupholder, I was sold:

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I was not able to get into his driveway to load it onto my trailer, so I had to park a couple of miles down the street, get a ride back to the seller house, and then call a rollback wrecker. We got it onto his rollback, but the right rear wheel was locked up from having the parking brake on for 2+ years. Finally got it to move half a turn, but that was all. We then had to force it off his rollback onto my trailer using a snatch block.

Got her home with no further incidents:

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It's not everyday you see a Chevy dually tow a Ford dually. I did get quite a few looks at stop lights and what not.

Dana 60 king-pin appears to be in good shape. Appears to have a nice aluminum diff cover:

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3 leaf front springs:

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I did not notice any leaks. Shot from underside looking forward:

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[crazydane]

Moving on to the transmission, I didn't notice any cracks in the bellhousing or any broken ears. Sticker indicates its a match to my current one (4.14-0.77), only 4x4:

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Rear axel cover does leak:

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But mostly irrelevant since I already have a sound Sterling 10.25 with 4.10 gears. But having a spare is always nice!

I'm counting 6+2 rear leaves:

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That massive 4" exhaust that splits in the rear:

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