What did YOU do today?

[Robertmangrum.rm]

If you leave the engine running, the exhaust will pump heat into the tent.

View attachment 126393

It actually sleeves over the exhaust. So it runs outside the tent. It also stands alone. But having access to the bed from inside the tent is nice.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Started off in town looking for a garage sales but just ended up at a charity sale and got a tall computer chair type bar stool height chair for $10, every now and then you need to sit comfortably higher Then went to the Re-Store and picked up a nice 3/8" extension for $0.50, then HFT and got a high volume tire pump for like $35 open box and a few other things from the sale... then got home and weedeated around the shop then jumped on the tractor and mowed the back field area. Then I took the trailer off the F350 so I could go to town and dump the holding tanks on the camper, got 3 miles from home and the vibration I had earlier got worse suddenly, crawled underneath and it was VERY obvious, one of the rear driveline U joints spit out a cap... limped home at 10mph and parked, I'll pick up another U joint soon...

 

[red Ranger (Sarah)3.0L]

Started off in town looking for a garage sales but just ended up at a charity sale and got a tall computer chair type bar stool height chair for $10, every now and then you need to sit comfortably higher Then went to the Re-Store and picked up a nice 3/8" extension for $0.50, then HFT and got a high volume tire pump for like $35 open box and a few other things from the sale... then got home and weedeated around the shop then jumped on the tractor and mowed the back field area. Then I took the trailer off the F350 so I could go to town and dump the holding tanks on the camper, got 3 miles from home and the vibration I had earlier got worse suddenly, crawled underneath and it was VERY obvious, one of the rear driveline U joints spit out a cap... limped home at 10mph and parked, I'll pick up another U joint soon...

wow i havent hear that one yet a u joint cap falling off !!

 

[scotts90ranger]

wow i havent hear that one yet a u joint cap falling off !!

Meh, I'm not too surprised, I replaced the joints in the rear shaft last year but I think they fought me a bit getting the snap rings in and the caps didn't have much resistance to install if memory serves so somehow the yokes were narrow and the straps were loose from pure time (somewhere around 375k on the chassis) so I can't really blame anything... just gotta fix it less bad than last time , it's no bueno when the caps can spin which spits out the clips over time...

I did fix the air bag compressor today, my $10 fitting kit came today, one of the shark bite type fittings lost it's grip and didn't hold, of course the replacements are more compact and I conveniently found 6" of ice maker tubing to re make one piece that made it work...

 

[sgtsandman]

The softopper on the 2019 is pretty much installed now. It just needs warmer weather so I can stretch the fabric enough to snap the few remaining snaps.

Wiring for the 3rd brake light was run and connected with a weatherproof four wire connector. The remaining two wires on the connector will eventually get run over to the anderson connector of the roof top tent for it's power block. Two wires are powered when the brake lights light and the other two are constant power from the start battery.

Speaking of the power blocks, the one from the fiberglass cap was bolted down in a convenient spot and the wiring was repaired under the truck with a weatherproof two wire connector. Orientation may change in the future, depending on how things work out with the drawer platform gets built and installed.

I also awaiting brackets for the canvas cage to arrive so I can start working on installing the awning, shower tent, jerry can, mini maxtrax boards, and water packs. At some point, I'll have to recruit some help putting the roof top tent onto the truck.

 

[racsan]

grass is getting high but too wet to mow, so did the next best thing & got the mowers ready. Just had to uncover the zero-turn , hook up the battery & fire it up. The lawn deere was a bit more involved. Back in october I took the deck off to repair a crack, welded both sides & repainted it. Should of put it back on while I remembered how everything went back together but I just propped the deck up against a wall & forgot about it. I did remember where the jar was with the spring clips, washers & hanger peices. So I finally got it all together & functional. Still has the snow chains on but I usually leave them on until the end of may. Fired up the gator & drove it around the yard a bit. With those big floatation tires it doesn’t matter how wet it is. If only I could put a mower deck on that. Ran the 8N a little, would of put the “new” bush hog in its spot but way to wet over that way for the tractor so it can just sit on the trailer for now. Needed to go to lowes but that ain’t happening this weekend.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

um no the rear one the fuel tank crossmember is completley gone probobley going to rip the bed off and bolt in a new crossmember

I haven’t come up with a design for the crossmembers yet other than the one that the front of a Supercab tank sits on. Just recently made one of those for my dad

 

[sgtsandman]

It got warm enough to finish snapping the Softopper in place. So, I started working on the front bumper for the stubby bumper install. So far, no surprises and work has progressed pretty smoothly. Tomorrow, I'll be removing the lower lip of the bumper so that the stubby bumper will slide in. We'll see how that goes. The factory bumper isn't all that heavy. So, cutting it shouldn't be much of a chore. I do need to remember to pick up some matching paint to coat the exposed metal from the cuts. Something I didn't think about until now.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Here's a visual on the F350 U joint, annoyingly I'd put the good Spicer joints in and that's what threw a cap:

Got a new Moog unit, didn't have it in me to put it in today...

On our way to town to get that we stopped at a garage sale of mostly tools, will post in the tools thread for good measure...

 

[Bill]

Finished setting up the computer with the new monitor. Although most monitors seem to have good color you have no idea how dull they are until you have a monitor with a full color gamut next to a standard monitor. The range from black to white alone makes a standard monitor look washed-out. Then, I completed the 1040 and 540ez taxes. After than I went to the American River Parkway with the kite and had about five people stop by and say, "I didn't know they still made kites..."

Of course they do. $3.97 at Walmart. And, I need sunglasses before I fly it again. The sun is starting to get intense at 38.6° N.

 

[pjtoledo]

Here's a visual on the F350 U joint, annoyingly I'd put the good Spicer joints in and that's what threw a cap:

View attachment 126585

Got a new Moog unit, didn't have it in me to put it in today...

On our way to town to get that we stopped at a garage sale of mostly tools, will post in the tools thread for good measure...

being in the rust belt we need extra procedures for those.
need a pick to clean out the clip groove , it's always full of rust.
then make sure the clip fully expands. sometimes need a punch to fully seat the clip.
make sure the clip will expand enough, if it's already collapsed pitch it.

the clips seem to be made out of stamped steel and usually have a slight taper on one side.
it's easier to install taper facing out, but I think it would stay in place better with the taper facing in. think about a screwdriver jumping out of a slot

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

FYI, a cutting disk on a Dremel or similar works super well to clean rust and dirt out of those clip grooves…

 

[scotts90ranger]

If I remember right I got it in there but one of them wash pushing out on the clip and it was pooching out, if there was enough strain on the rollers to turn the cap it would pop out the clip... I think the yoke has narrowed from changing joints or it takes a special joint (Autozone had one marked just for that location for whatever reason, last time I just bought 3 of the Spicer heavy duty 13-50's)...

We'll see tonight, I'll try to wrestle the long thing out and back in...

 

[pjtoledo]

FYI, a cutting disk on a Dremel or similar works super well to clean rust and dirt out of those clip grooves…

yes it does, be sure to have a steady hand when you do that.

 

[pjtoledo]

If I remember right I got it in there but one of them wash pushing out on the clip and it was pooching out, if there was enough strain on the rollers to turn the cap it would pop out the clip... I think the yoke has narrowed from changing joints or it takes a special joint (Autozone had one marked just for that location for whatever reason, last time I just bought 3 of the Spicer heavy duty 13-50's)...

We'll see tonight, I'll try to wrestle the long thing out and back in...

over the years I have had a couple U joints that seemed too wide to let the caps set properly.
that includes bashing on the cross both ways to fully seat the caps against the clips.
there are U joints that have internal clips, I've not compared the exact dimensions.