Got the Green Bean on the road and using it for the new DD.
So... I squeezed the Blue turd into the garage at my apartment.
There is only about an inch between the roof and the header for the ceiling.
First thing on the check list was getting the parking brake to actually hold again. I put new shoes and springs on since the wear surface on the old ones was non-existent.lol
I thought that Exploder P-brake shoes were a pain in the ass with the axle shafts removed, but they are way worse when they are tucked behind the 6.5" flange on the Dutchman shafts. You can hardly see the springs let alone stretch the to heavy ones up top, but I managed to do it with few busted knuckles and four letter words.lol
Next on the list was the T-Bird calipers. They are a direct fit onto the 1/2 ton Dana 44 Ford caliper bracket and call for the same brake pads, but they have a larger piston. The catch is that the brake hose connection is different. The T-Bird hose screws directly into the caliper without using a banjo bolt. Unfortunately you cant just use the T-bird style hose because it will hit the upper balljoint. The hole is treaded to 7/16-24 and has a shoulder around the hole. The RBV/F-150 calipers used 3/8 banjo bolts and have a smooth surfaces for the crush washer to seat.
Here are some comparison pics. Note the raised shoulder around the hole on the T-bird caliper(silver).
To make it work I ground down the shoulder until it was flush with the crush washer seat I drilled out the hose ends to 7/16". Earl's extended lines have removable ends which makes it easy. You can also buy the ends for the larger bolt, but they are pricey. I picked up the 7/16-24 banjo bolts at Summit. Napa, Autozone, Carquest, and all the others only seem to carry 7/16-20 for some reason.
The hose ends are O-ring thread and are lock-tited in. So I applied red lock-tite when i put them back on.
I forgot to take a picture of the ground down shoulder before I slung paint on on the caliper and bolted everything up.
Old
New
Got tired of hearing about my rusty rims, so I cleaned them up and slung some paint. Gotta love black steelies.
I need to strip down the bumpers,tailgate and backrack and redo them too.
Picking up my Silver FX4 cluster and HVAC panel tomorrow.
I forgot to mention I found that both u-bolts holding the rear axle on the pass side were loose
I was able to tighten them down like 3 threads! I cant believe axle didnt slip of the center bolts and slide back on the spring.
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