The Truck of Doom: An Occasional Build Thread

[Dorsai]

Will a smear of Vaseline do?  I keep a little tub of it in my garage for just that purpose.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I don't think petroleum jelly has any high pressure additives.  

Cough up the $3.99 and sleep well knowing that you have done what you can to prevent galling on startup.

[Dorsai]

I guess I'll go visit Counter Girl one more time.

[Dorsai]

So...given that it's less than three weeks until the show and school has continued to be a time suck, I've decided to punt on the valve stem seal replacement effort for the time being.  I'm going to finish cleaning and painting the valve cover since it's already off, but otherwise I'm just going to put everything back together - that'll give me a couple of weeks to drive the truck locally in an attempt to shake out any problems before I hit the road.

I had previously removed the rocker arms and pushrods from cylinder #1, so I put those back in last night, everything going back exactly where it came from.  I torqued the nuts down to whatever Haynes told me to (23 ft-lbs?  The book is upstairs), and everything is nice and snug.  I tried wiggling the rocker arms and got very little side-to-side motion.  This seems good...except that I then decided to wiggle some untouched-by-me arms on the other cylinders, and they seem looser.  They're not flopping all over the place or anything, but they're noticeably freer than the ones I just put back on.

What's up with that?  I checked the nuts on the other arms and they aren't loose.  Is this a case where once I fire the truck up everything will re-seat on #1?  Or was there some trick to making sure the fulcrums are perfectly positioned that I didn't do?

[Gary Lewis]

I think that's a wise decision, Matthew.

As for the others being loose, it depends on where they are in the cam cycle.  At TDC on the compression stroke both rocker arms should be fairly loose.  But when holding a valve open that rocker should be tight as the push rod will have the rocker holding the valve open against spring pressure.

[Dorsai]

Duh...that one I should have figured out on my own.

[Gary Lewis]

Dorsai wrote

Duh...that one I should have figured out on my own.

Sometimes we are so close to it we wind up doing a  when it becomes obvious.  

[Dorsai]

After deciding to skip the valve stem seal replacement, putting the truck back together was a snap.  That was an awful lot of work for nothing more than a repainted valve cover, but I suppose that's better than nothing:





I still think clean parts look weird - I suppose that means I just need to clean and paint the rest of the engine compartment to match.

After I got it back together and started up, I had a ticking noise from the front of the engine that was initially concerning.  But maybe a mile into my test loop it had gone away, and it ran smoothly and quietly after that point.  Assuming no leaks manifest themselves, all I have left to do is an oil change and I'm ready to hit the highway.

[Gary Lewis]

Looking good, Matthew!  And only about 2 weeks to do the little things.  

[Dorsai]

Gary Lewis wrote

Looking good, Matthew! And only about 2 weeks to do the little things.

And there aren't even that many little things to do:

• Oil change
• Check tire pressure
• Check lights
• Wash windows
• Hang license plate collection
• Um...???

[Gary Lewis]

How long has it been since the front wheel bearings were checked?  Brakes & brake fluid?  Lug nut torque?

[Dorsai]

Gary Lewis wrote

How long has it been since the front wheel bearings were checked?  Brakes & brake fluid?  Lug nut torque?

I replaced the front wheel bearings about a year (~2500 miles) ago when I did the front brakes, so they should be good.  Lug nuts will be checked when I air up the tires.  Brake fluid is a good call, I should at least make sure it's all still there. *makes note*

[ArdWrknTrk]

Dorsai wrote

After I got it back together and started up, I had a ticking noise from the front of the engine that was initially concerning.  But maybe a mile into my test loop it had gone away, and it ran smoothly and quietly after that point.

Most likely just the #1 lifter pumping back up.

Nothing to see here, move along.

[ArdWrknTrk]

You should definitely change the blinker fluid before embarking on such a long journey.

[Rembrant]

Dorsai wrote

I still think clean parts look weird - I suppose that means I just need to clean and paint the rest of the engine compartment to match.

That sir is a slippery slope if there ever was one...lol. Once you start with just one part...

[Dorsai]

I hear the condition can progress beyond paint as well...do you know, I was looking into pricing for powder coating rims last night?

[Gary Lewis]

Rembrant wrote

That sir is a slippery slope if there ever was one...lol. Once you start with just one part...

Yep, you'll be powder coating the inside parts of the HVAC system next.  

[1986F150Six]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

You should definitely change the blinker fluid before embarking on such a long journey.

And, the muffler bearings!

[Dorsai]

1986F150Six wrote

And, the muffler bearings!

I should have done that while I was doing the u-joints...d'oh!!

[Dorsai]

Today my truck turned 40!

I was afraid I would have to post a sad photo of it quarantined in the garage, but it turned out that I needed to go out and pick up dinner tonight.  So:



Stay safe, everyone!