1980 F350 4X4 C6 Project

[Atlas75]

Well, Christmas came early for me!  As you may know I have been looking for a temp control cable for my truck.  It is a cable that was only used on 1980 and early 1981 trucks so it is not abundantly available.  I had noticed a few on eBay over the last 6 months or so but never pulled the trigger due to the $100 or more cost.

Then last month I ran across a post in this forum where someone had listed numerous sources for NOS parts.  I thought…what the heck, let’s give it a shot.

The second or third web site listed was for www.rearcounter.com.  I typed in the part number and it came back with 1 available.  I sent a message and got a reply from Miller’s Obsolete Parts in New York.  He said he had the part and it would be $30 plus shipping .  I called him up at the number he left (they have no web site) and we completed the transaction.  On Tuesday a NOS temp control cable arrived at my home with some of the 1980’s Ford packaging still around the part.  The part functioned wonderfully and I was able to get it installed today.

I just want to give a special shout out to Gary and everyone who shares their knowledge and experiences in his forum.  During this season of giving, and all throughout the year, those small gifts of knowledge can really make someone’s day!

[grumpin]

That’s great! Good to know. Thanks for the follow up.

[Gary Lewis]

Excellent!  Good to see such a positive report.  Finding just the right part at a reasonable price is such a good feeling!

So Merry Christmas!!!!

[Atlas75]

I went out to start my truck a few days ago to keep the fluids flowing and much to my surprise the tach was working again!  I couldn’t believe it.  I hadn’t done anything to it since I tested all the incoming wires to ensure everything was in order (which it was).  Any thoughts on why it may have come back to life?

[FuzzFace2]

It healed it's self
It could be when you were checking you moved some wires and it made a better connection is all I got.
Dave ----

[Gary Lewis]

Was it warmer when the tach worked?  Otherwise, I agree with Dave.

[Atlas75]

I don’t remember for sure but I am pretty sure it wasn’t above 30.

[Machspeed]

Sounds like my fuel gauge.....arghhhh! One thing though, it does work in the rain....LOL!

[Atlas75]

I have a wheel question.  My truck has the 8x6.5 bolt pattern.  I am looking at a set of used rims that have the same bolt pattern but I started to wonder about the bolt size.  Are all the 8x6.5 wheel studs the same diameter and thread size on these trucks?  I think I may need new lug nuts as well and am also wondering if I can find left hand thread for the Dana 61 on the drivers side.  Has anyone else worked through this on their truck?

Here are the ones I am looking at.

[Atlas75]

I finally picked up some wheels and tires.  I ended up sticking with steel wheels in a 16" size.  They have not been on a vehicle in almost 2 years and as such, need some air but are in very good shape with only about 800 miles on them.  My question is...is there a way to know the optimum tire pressure to inflate the tires to for best wear?  Most of my other vehicles are in the low 30 PSI range (32 or 34 PSI).  Would these follow that or should they be a higher PSI?  The tire size is 315/75/16.

[Gary Lewis]

I think there's a lot of science involved in figuring out via an equation what pressure to use.  And it involves the wheel width, tire section width, tire sidewall stiffness, and the weight that is on it.

Instead of trying to do that I have been using the driveway to my shop as the tool.  It doesn't get much traffic so the top of it "chalks" and when you drive over it you can see on the tire what part of the tread touches and what part doesn't.  And I adjust my tire pressure down until I just get full coverage.

But recently someone suggested a different approach to me.  And that is to drive over a piece of cardboard and then inspect the cardboard.  Supposedly you can tell by the shape of the depression in the cardboard how much pressure each part of the tread has on it, and you want it even.

I've not tried that yet, but it sounds promising.

[Atlas75]

I’ll have to give that corrugated trick a try after I get them mounted (if they fit.  But that’s another story).

[Atlas75]

We had a nice day here in Iowa today.  I think it made it up to 55 degrees and the sun was shining all day.  Perfect weather to go out and tinker on the truck.

Not too long ago I purchased some used tires and rims and today seemed like a good day to put them on.  I was a little worried about clearing all the brake components on the front with the 16 inch rims but there were no issues.  Here is the finished product.



I also removed the running board on the passenger side.  I think I like this look but I will admit, the tires are bigger than I thought they would be.  The price was right though so we will use them for now.  I did find one with a nail so as soon as I can get that fixed, I’ll take it for a test drive and see if the truck vibrates less.

While under the truck today I was messing with the front driveshaft and I noticed something.  I was able to reach both the front driveshaft and the front passenger side drive axel.  While turning the driveshaft, I was able to grab the passenger side drive axel and keep it from turning while continuing to turn the driveshaft.  That doesn’t seem right to me but I am certainly no expert.  Can anyone shine some light on this for me?

[Gary Lewis]

Tires look good, and I like the look w/o the running board.

As for the driveshafts, very few trucks have a limited slip front differential. And what you experienced is normal for an "open", meaning not a limited slip, diff.

This video might help you understand the different types of differentials. However, I've not watched all of it so I can't say I fully agree with it.

[Gary Lewis]

Well, that didn't explain limited-slip diffs, but this does:

[Atlas75]

Thanks Gary!  This makes a lot of sense.  If I would have turned and looked at the other axel shaft I would have seen it turning.

I have another Dana 50 question…my front axel is an early model where the stub shaft is bolted to the center section instead of using the C clip inside.  On that stub shaft there is a flange, seal, bearing, and lock collar.  The bearing and lock collar are pressed onto the shaft.  I have looked on Rock Auto and can’t seem to find that collar.  My 1980 Ford shop manual explains that you need to drill a hole in it and hit it with a chisel to remove.  So it must be available somewhere, right?

My 1980 Ford shop manual has numbers next to the parts in the illustrations.  Are those a portion of the part number or a portion of the engineering number or some other number?

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, and yes.  You do have to drill it and then break it.  And yes, the # shown in the shop manual is the "generic" part number.  But to get the whole part number you need a prefix, like E0TF, and a suffix, like -A.  You should be able to get the whole part number on our page at Documentation/Driveline/Axles & Differentials.

[Atlas75]

Recently I located a tailgate and made arrangements to pick it up yesterday.  It’s not perfect but the price was right and it was close by.  I started researching cables for the sides and discovered there are two different styles of tailgates.  1980 - 1982 and 1983 - 1986.  I am pretty sure the box on my truck is not original from 1980 and has been swapped.  How can I tell what style box I have in relation to the tailgate type and what are the differences between those two year ranges?

[Gary Lewis]

You can figure out what you have and how to change on the page at Documentation/Exterior/BEDS, TAILGATES, & COMPONENTS.  Go to the Tailgates tab and then the Changing Tailgates tab.

[mat in tn]

Early ones had flat steel floding brackets and next was the cables