'Rufus Maximus' - Build Thread

[ArdWrknTrk]

But be mindful of G701 (right of radio)
This takes grounds from all over the truck (like the gas tanks)

You can see the grounds and which circuits use them in the front of the EVTM.  💡

[Danny G]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

The slotted cowl found on bullnose trucks almost guarantees that  there's a lot of organic debris/mud collected there.
(I have good photos of these, and the garbage inside, with the fenders off my truck a few years back)

Well I can see what you mean.

[ArdWrknTrk]

That's just the blower resistor, wait til you get to the mud at the bottom of the cowl cavity by your feet.  😂

Good thing you got to it before those leaves caught fire!  🔥

[Danny G]

mat in tn wrote

Danny ,if you are painting the metal frame of the dashboard (as I do) pay close attention to the fact that it IS the ground connector for the gauges and more. it becomes very important to use "paint cutting" lock washers on all bolts and screws . where it mounts to the cab and where any wires are mounted. these are not heavy load carrying circuits and a little resistance goes a long way in driving you crazy later.

Yes sir. I was thinking about this last night. I am either going to use a bonding brush and remove the paint at the ground and bolt locations or I am going to run a ground distribution block on the firewall and run the grounds to that. Not sure which way I want to go with that just yet. But if I keep the normal ground locations I'll also remove the paint under the mounting bolt heads to keep that going into frame.

[Danny G]

Well I am definitely going to need a new blower resistor and connector. The blade terminal rotted away into the connector. The connector is also in rough shape.

I think what I will do is get a new resistor and solder wires to the blade terminals. The. I will pot the back of it sealing it up. After that I can use a 3rd part modern waterproof connector to the wire harness.


You can see where that evap core leaked into the debris. But  something got hot in here and the housing has been melted on the firewall side.





I also need to sort out this 3 tee vacuum port that was connected to the vac ball.

[Danny G]

Also no wonder there is so much dirt in the ducts on these trucks between this and the duct work seams being pretty much open it's guaranteed. When air goes through them it creates a venturi effect at this seems pulling any dust and dirt floating around the truck and in the carpet up and in.  This ai what when you go to places with big in ceiling ac registers they are dirty all around. It's not from the duct itself but from the room.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yeah, you're REALLY LUCKY that the blower motor didn't push flames into the cab plenum.
When that plastic gets going up inside the dash it's almost impossible to put out.

The vacuum manifold on the cowl goes to the climate control and the speed control (if you have that option)

[Danny G]

Yes I have speed control for sure. I need to order new vacuum lines. Going to go find some silicone ones like I did on the 86 I just need to go find the tube ID for this. I think it was like 3/16 if I remember right.

[Danny G]

I need to make a trip to the junk yard and see if I can get some under the hood helpful like these AC hose brackets from this 1996 F250 (I know it says 97 but it's ab OBS truck).

Anyone care to chime in with other parts to look for off 90's trucks that are useful I will see if I can snatch those too. I'm hoping these AC hoses may be a match as I cannot seem to find any new ones.

[Danny G]

I will be back Friday. If the weather holds out on Saturday its going to be pressure wash the under carriage then change the rear diff oil and leaking seal, the C6 filter and leaking seal, and the oil/oil pan seal. With everything changed out and cleaned up it will make seeing any other leaks easier. Anything requiring dropping the transmission or pulling the engine will have to wait. Heads, manifold and valve covers will be replaced at some point for aluminum (less the valve covers) so those get to wait too.

That gets me running and feeling more comfortable about it. I need to also pull the passenger tire and check the hub. I'm thinking I have a bearing going bad, hopefully there is a hub set on the front because I don't think I have the tooling to press out and press in a new bearing into the axle 😂.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I hear it's possible to change a pan gasket in-situ with a 2x4 460.
Just not able to if you have TTB in the way of dropping the pan.

I got pretty nice aluminum valve covers for (I think) $60 by watching eBay, and throwing in a last second bid.
Those and some red silicone gaskets work SO much better at keeping the oil in, it's amazing 🤩

[viven44]

Hope the oil pan seal can wait. It is a chore... can be done without pulling the engine on a RWD..... but the oil pump needs to be dropped. Also I recommend the 1 piece Ford racing gasket for the 460. I have a couple of videos on this.

Great time to address rear main seal leak.... IF ANY... else don't wake up that beast ;) When I had my 460 on the stand, I didn't touch the rear main seal as it wasn't leaking. Jim had the same thoughts back then. My other 460 on Big Blue 2WD was a different story. The rear main seal was POURING OUT. Was losing a quart every 50 miles, and he drove it that way from Washington state!! The previous owner used to call the truck Exxon Valdez... ... Had to be done.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Rope style RMS.
You really need to drop the crank to pull it through.
I wouldn't want to attempt this with the engine in the truck, but I don't like any more frustration than I already get every day.

[viven44]

I think the 83 and newer 460s used a 2 piece rubber seal.. the seal I used was actually metal core + rubber

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=122691&cc=1126257&pt=5604&jsn=976&optionchoice=0-0-1-1

It was a painful job to say the least with engine in the truck. The previous guy who did the seal installed it flush with the block... hence the major leak. The bottom half of course came with the bearing cap. The top half was stuck in the block. I had to loosen all main bearing caps and still no bueno. I kept hitting the metal core with a punch for a good 10-15 mins and when it broke loose, my heart rate finally dropped. To facilitate thetop half installation, Felpro gives you a paper/plastic guide to push the seal so the block doesn't rip the seal. I ripped the first seal since I didn't follow instructions... had a backup one that came with the truck. The seal was installed with the customary 3/8" overlap.

The first drive after the job was done was nerve wracking, but I got lucky.

[ArdWrknTrk]

The block changed in '79 when it became external balance.  D9TE.

While not technically a 'rope' it does need to be installed *before* the crank main caps, or you have to pull it through with a special tool, and the ends NEED to be offset from the joint or it WILL leak.
(trust me on this)

Dropping the crank while still in the truck is damn near impossible with 4wd.
No matter, I don't want to think about doing it in place.

[Danny G]

viven44 wrote

The previous owner used to call the truck Exxon Valdez... ... Had to be done.

That made me laugh out loud in the airport.

Here's what I saw when I crawled under the truck.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Up north we call that automatic rust proofing!  

[viven44]

When I bought the truck, I knew there was a RMS leak... I told him... "no big deal"... My 302 on the Bronco leaks a little too... I'll live with that....

After I brought it home, I noticed the entire underside.. I mean every nook and cranny was covered with oil, except moving parts (like driveshaft, hub) I asked the PO if he had undercoated the truck... He had a big laugh and said when he drove it from Washington, he also towed his project Camaro on a UHAUL trailer and the entire UHAUL trailer and the Camaro's bumper was a complete mess... He had to pressure wash the UHAUL trailer before turning it in ... when I realized how bad the leak was (quart/50 miles), I knew I was dealing with a different animal.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Wow!   🤯


I thought my truck was bad when I had to add a quart every couple of thousand miles....  

[Danny G]

Here we go. Definitely have parasitic drain in this truck with the shape of the wiring.

Ductwork is actually out. The heater core looks newer but I'm not going to trust it. The coolant looks nasty anyway.


Speaking of coolant there are all these hard nodules everywhere on this core.


Pulled the junk out of the whole here. Not too bad, don't see anything so far of major concern other than the sharp metal I found with my finger... Scrubbed that out with a brush and Iodine. I never knew there was a rubber boot down here. I'm going to have to spray this out with water and a scrub brush. It seems the kick panel access door would have been a maintenance hatch for this. Say every oil change open and clean out this cavity.  Ford could have used a leveling compound to seal and direct everything out that hole... Which looks to just fall onto the quarter panel/rocker anyway






Some rust to deal with at the top mounting points for the heater core box. The way it was installed, not surprised. Disconnect and you guarantee liquid to sit here, including rain and water from car washing.

IDK what area/part this is but it's holding dirt as well and  I need to clean it out. I may have to pull the wheel well liner to access.