Papaw's F350 Dually

[RobbieD]

The "rope trick" does work amazingly well. Nylon rope, or cord, works good, and I like using a little Dawn dish washing soap for lubricating the rubber.

 

[ford4wd08]

Got back in town from traveling.

Replaced the plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor, and coil last night.

Fires off really well now. Actually drove it in the neighborhood last night for a minute with no windshield... Got some looks from the neighbors!

Sucker is loud with no muffler, I'll have to fix that at some point....

Carb is acting a little funny, I'll end up rebuilding it soon.

So, it really doesn't have brakes. I think I'm going go through them completely. Replace everything that needs it, might be pricey, but a F350 with no brakes is no good....

Clutch is good, so that is always a plus.

I'll be starting body work soon.

 

[RobbieD]

but a F350 with no brakes is no good....

Well . . . at least it is better than being in a Mini Cooper with no brakes.

 

[ford4wd08]

Decided to start tackling the dents in the roof from the dumb kids.

They did a number, but luckily I have my stud welder from the Bronco project.

Started on the driver's side and started working my way to the passenger. The metal is coming back into shape for the most part. It won't be perfect, but clearance lights will help hide some of it...

 

[ford4wd08]

Looks like this rig does have a kit on it to make it a dually.

Anyone seen wheel spacers like this before?

I believe the cylinders are nuts that you have to remove through the hole in the spacer. Trouble is I don't have a socket that will fit them at this point.....

I've ordered a thin wall socket, hopefully that will help.

If that doesn't work I might use a couple of the lugs as jam nuts to try and get one loose.

This thing needs wheel bearings and brakes something awful.

 

[Shran]

I was told, and maybe this is just rumor, but supposedly there were no 4x4 trucks built specifically as dual wheel vehicles. They all had those adapters up through '97, even if they rolled off the assembly line like that. I believe there may be some truth to that because I have seen a few 4x4 dually trucks from the those years and then all looked like that.

 

[ford4wd08]

I was told, and maybe this is just rumor, but supposedly there were no 4x4 trucks built specifically as dual wheel vehicles. They all had those adapters up through '97, even if they rolled off the assembly line like that. I believe there may be some truth to that because I have seen a few 4x4 dually trucks from the those years and then all looked like that.

Could be the difference was only in the rear end for dually vs single rear wheel then.

Any tips for getting that beast off? Lol

I'm thinking I might try to use the lugs as jam nuts together that will let me loosen the stud.

I'm doing all the brakes, wheel bearings and upgrading the manual hub lockers while I'm in there.

 

[bilbo]

Bouncing between rigs.

Dove into a new a ignition switch and ignition actuator tonight. Anyone who has owned a bricknose knows what a ignition actuator is.

Got it buttoned up for now. It has had a button for the starter for quiet some time. I'll leave it as is for now to get it running.

More importantly I've got power to the fuel pump wiring and the coil now with the key in run.

Waiting on new fuel tank then I'll get it all going. It's hitting on starting fluid, it will run once I get good fuel to it.

Is that the same actuator used on the OBS? I had to rebuild the upper column on mine and dealing with that was fun. I don't have a tilt column so it was a little easier and I think wears on those actuators less.

 

[ford4wd08]

Is that the same actuator used on the OBS? I had to rebuild the upper column on mine and dealing with that was fun. I don't have a tilt column so it was a little easier and I think wears on those actuators less.

Yes. Same actuator for all 87-91's I believe. Mine isn't a tilt column either but had the pins, etc like one.

 

[ford4wd08]

@19Walt93

Do you remember any wheel spacers like that on 4x4 dual wheeled trucks?

 

[ford4wd08]

Turned to facebook for some answers.... Looks like folks take 2 lug nuts and make a jam nut to remove the the extended wheel stud which was one of my original thoughts.

Also discovered this is a Dana 60 King Pin axle, seems to be pretty desirable.

Ought to be tough for sure.

 

[19Walt93]

@19Walt93

Do you remember any wheel spacers like that on 4x4 dual wheeled trucks?

Not on factory dual wheel trucks, I've seen some aftermarket add-on dual wheel set ups with spacers. I prefer wheels that fit the vehicle.

 

[ford4wd08]

I was told, and maybe this is just rumor, but supposedly there were no 4x4 trucks built specifically as dual wheel vehicles. They all had those adapters up through '97, even if they rolled off the assembly line like that. I believe there may be some truth to that because I have seen a few 4x4 dually trucks from the those years and then all looked like that.

A lot of google-fu later and your rumor is basically true.

The Dana 60 is the same front axle between a single rear wheel and dual rear wheel 4x4 truck from the hubs inward (at least for the king pin from 87-92ish). They use the same bearings, rotors, and brake setup.

The only difference is the way Ford adapter it for the uses of a dually tire wheel.

I got my spacer off with a jam nut technique that I am not a fan off at all. If the threads fail on the lug stud (which one did on the driver side) you are basically screwed. I had to weld a lug nut to the stud to be able to remove it. (I had been wanting a MIG welder and knew I would need one on this project so I picked up one at Harbor Freight yesterday --> https://www.harborfreight.com/weldi...essional-welder-with-120240v-input-64805.html and did flux core to get me through).

So to Ebay I went and found OEM set of hubs, sort of pricey, but they are serviceable and basically last the lifetime of the truck and you don't have to use a jam nut to remove them....

These are getting rare and not many junkyards have anything like that around me, so I bought them.

Also, I can sell my single rear wheel hubs as they are sought after to by the 4x4 wheeling guys, so not too bad of an upgrade, and I can recoup some cost.

I've only made it through the driver's side so far, but I'll work my way through and get the other side off too.

I'm unsure what the back has on it yet, haven't made it that far. It most likely has the same spacer type that was on the front, I'll likely replace it with some newer style spacer as well so I don't have to deal with this lug/stud extension.

I'm not concerned with the rear running a spacer, as I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I'm a BIG fan of the Titanium MIG 170 and Unlimited 200... I found a 170 open box one time for $125 and have been TRYING to kill it (not really, but curious on it's limits...) and it just keeps on chooching... it's ran off of like 4 different generators, I've stalled my generator with it several times, it's taken out a GFI outlet and survived (with that one I thought it was the end...). I've ran through at least 15 pounds of flux core wire through it over almost 3 years, it's been used on 110V and 220V... if that makes you feel any better about your welder choice...

That said, interested in the project, your project is moving faster than most of mine lately...

 

[ford4wd08]

I'm a BIG fan of the Titanium MIG 170 and Unlimited 200... I found a 170 open box one time for $125 and have been TRYING to kill it (not really, but curious on it's limits...) and it just keeps on chooching... it's ran off of like 4 different generators, I've stalled my generator with it several times, it's taken out a GFI outlet and survived (with that one I thought it was the end...). I've ran through at least 15 pounds of flux core wire through it over almost 3 years, it's been used on 110V and 220V... if that makes you feel any better about your welder choice...

That said, interested in the project, your project is moving faster than most of mine lately...

Thanks for the confidence in the welder. I feel like harbor freight stepped up their game on some items and is becoming my go to tool store.

Yes they still sell "crap" items, but I've had good luck on a lot of stuff lately.

I don't get much sleep when I have a project like this going where I can't solve a problem lol. Drives my wife mad, but I'm an engineer. Our whole careers are summed up in problem solving.