Where To Buy Parts

[swampedout]

We all know how hard it can be to find particular parts for these old trucks so:
Just like the title says, if you have any good sources on where to buy parts, post em up here!
Ive got a couple Ill post tomorrow if I have time.

[Rembrant]

For parts I have been using a variety of sources, but anything that is specific to the Bullnose that cannot be found aftermarket pretty much has to come from a scrapped truck. In my case this means about 80% Ebay, 10% local Junkyards, and 10% from Junkyards that other members on here have local to them. If there is something you're having trouble finding, post up a looking for or wanted ad right here on the forum.

I've had some members on here send me parts, and I've sent some back to them as well. It really works out to be a great network.

Otherwise, in no particular order, I use:

Rock Auto, Amazon, and Ebay...just shop for the best price assuming the item is the same across the boards. I recently bought a new Ford Motorcraft DSII Ignition Module and Amazon had the best price.

I do support the local auto parts shops for the little stuff, but if I was ordering a batch of new parts for something...like ball joints and tie-rod ends, etc...Rock Auto, even with the shipping will be half the price.

For much of the aftermarket oddball stuff, I use LMC. I've been pretty happy with their stuff, and I like getting the old fashioned catalogs in the mail. I find them pretty good.

For my Flareside bed specific parts, most of them came from Mar-K in Oklahoma. Their stuff seems to be very nice, and their reproduction panels fit well.

I'm aware of Denis Carpenter, JBG, and NPD, but haven't really used them for anything. There was one small bearing for my steering column that I bought from JBG because nobody else had it, but that's it.

Scan Ebay often, and you'll start to see some common sellers. U-Haul...Stillwells obsolete, etc.

[Gary Lewis]

Rembrant wrote

For my Flareside bed specific parts, most of them came from Mar-K in Oklahoma. Their stuff seems to be very nice, and their reproduction panels fit well.

Scan Ebay often, and you'll start to see some common sellers. U-Haul...Stillwells obsolete, etc.

Mar-K is old school, for sure.  I contacted them, as well as LMC, JBG, etc for support for the show.  They don't do that and they sell their catalogs.  Wow!  All the others shipped me more catalogs for free than people wanted.  

As for U-Haul, they have some terrific buys.

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

Mar-K is old school, for sure.  I contacted them, as well as LMC, JBG, etc for support for the show.  They don't do that and they sell their catalogs.  Wow!

I'm old school in the sense that I like catalogs, and I actually look forward to the LMC ones that come out quarterly (I think). I paid for a Mar-K catalog, and it was actually pretty good, but the prices in it were all outdated.

I think they are predominantly a Chevy shop and the Bullnose Flareside beds are probably the lowest on their priority list. I think the only reason they carry parts for them at all is because they are the same parts on the later Dentside beds and simply carry over.

[fords4life]

So far my parts hunt has been mostly new drivetrain and powertrain stuff so not much junkyard scrapping although I have been a few times.  My usual process is:

Check Rock Auto for pricing and part numbers

Check Amazon & Amazon Warehouse and Advance Auto Parts vs. Rock Auto

If the order is large enough, I'll check Summit and Jegs because their pricing can be competitive with Rock Auto if you can get free shipping

Occasionally I'll check other places, but I've found that the first three pretty much always have the best deal.

I have purchased a ton of stuff from Advance, same as Carquest, because of their coupons and rewards.  95% of the time I can dig up a 20% off coupon + free store pickup and free shipping if the order is over $25.  About 70% of the time I can scrounge up a 25% off coupon.  They also have a pretty good rewards program.

I do check Ebay, LMC, Dennis Carpenter, and Jeff's Bronco Graveyard from time to time, but for what I've been purchasing so far, they are generally too pricey.  I also just found https://www.chuckstrucksllc.com/pdf/80-96Truck.pdf and their prices seem to be on track with Dennis Carpenter, but they are another source.

Some other NOS and Junkyard sources I know of:
http://www.partsvoice.com
http://www.rearcounter.com
http://www.nospartsltd.com
http://www.greensalescompany.com
http://www.hollanderparts.com
http://autopartsobsolete.com
http://www.partshotlines.com
http://www.concord-parts.com
http://www.row52.com
http://www.pullapart.com
http://www.car-parts.com

[swampedout]

http://www.pwrbrake.com/inventory/446-unloaded-vacuum-boosters-80126-power-brake-booster?via_search=%2Fyr%2F1984%2Fmake%2Fford%2Fmdl%2Ff-350%2Fsmdl%2Fbase%2Fl%2F7.5%2Fcyl%2F8%2F

Heres an obscure one I almost had to pay for. HD F250 or F350 brake booster. Took me forever to find one. Got some terrible junkyard ones for a core and eventually figured out Autozone has them but only listed under F350s.

[swampedout]

https://www.steeringcolumnservices.com/rebuilt-columns/1980-91-rebuilt-non-tilt-f-series-steering-column.php

Dont look at the price if you havent had your coffee.
This company sells complete rebuilt steering columns AND a bunch of small components that are discontinued by ford.

I had a couple funny conversations with people at junkyards and selling parts cars abt how hard it is to find these steering columns. But still...

[Danny G]

Clips and fasteners has been a great resource. I found a place out of florida too ill have to dig out the post.

[Gary Lewis]

swampedout wrote

https://www.steeringcolumnservices.com/rebuilt-columns/1980-91-rebuilt-non-tilt-f-series-steering-column.php

Dont look at the price if you havent had your coffee.

Yipes!  Don't be holding your coffee when you look!  $575!?!?!?!?!?

But, they also have the parts, although one of the bearings is $148.40 by itself.  (Why do people choose strange prices like that?)

I've been wondering if it is possible to replace that bearing in the plastic housing with an off-the-shelf ball or roller bearing.

Anyway, we have a page on Steering Columns.  Should we add a link to these people on it?

[fords4life]

Found a great new site this weekend.  They have a lot of stuff I’ve never seen anywhere else.

http://www.clipsandfasteners.com

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

But, they also have the parts, although one of the bearings is $148.40 by itself.  (Why do people choose strange prices like that?)

I've been wondering if it is possible to replace that bearing in the plastic housing with an off-the-shelf ball or roller bearing.

Gary,

That particular bearing is a real weird one. I replaced mine when I rebuilt my column, but I saved my original. At the time JBG was selling replacement bearings, but to be honest they were either very old NOS or simply used bearings that were cleaned up and repacked with grease. The one I received was really in no better condition than the one it replaced. Still...I kept my original, sealed in a baggie in case I ever need one again. It was one of those things that I said I'd try to locate a replacement for someday, but like a lot of other little projects, it's very low priority.

By the way, I just checked JBG and can no longer find that bearing. Maybe they are all gone now?

The upper bearing (Non-tilt), which was still available from Ford a couple years ago, is part number F23Z-3517-B. I also kept my old one here too as it was in good shape. The oddball lower bearing is part E0TZ-3517-B, at least according to the bag mine was shipped in.

The lower plastic housing...the one listed in the above steering column website for $41, was also still available directly from Ford only 2 years ago, and was only $10 Canadian, so probably only $7.50 USD. Just FYI in case anybody is looking. Check with Ford. I believe they were all over Ebay as well.

If somebody clever in the parts making business wanted to make a new lower housing that accepted a more standard bearing, they could probably sell a few. The problem is...that plastic housing also serves as a shifter guide on the auto trans columns (and 3 on the tree), so that would have to be taken into account. On a manual trans steering column, it is only a bearing housing, and nothing else. It would probably be easier to modify the pre-existing housings to accept a different bearing.

And that's only half the issue...lol. Figuring out how to deal with the ID of the bearing would be the more tricky part. It has a groove on the ID for an O-ring.

Anyhow...didn't mean to be so long winded, but I did burn some calories thinking about this back when I rebuilt my steering column...haha.

[Dee1986]

The Auto Paint Depot, has good prices on factory matching paint they mix fresh per order using your paint code. Any size from rattle can to a gallon. Very happy with the product and service

[Gary Lewis]

fords4life - I've used Clips & Fasteners several times.  They are good.  And they have many parts Ford no longer carries.

Cory - Good info on the bearings.  There's also this thread on FTE which has some info, like this from Bill/Numberdummy, although I stripped out his statements on availability as that was 3 years ago and it is no longer accurate.  And, just because something is Obsolete that doesn't mean you can't find it.

F23Z-3517-B (replaced C3AZ-3517-A; C7SZ-3517-D; E1FZ-3517-B) .. Upper Steering Column Bearing-Use with fixed steering wheel

C7SZ-3517-C .. Upper Steering Column Bearing-Use with tilt steering wheel

F23Z-3517-B (replaced C3AZ-3517-A; C7SZ-3517-D; E1FZ-3517-B) .. TOP (above the upper) Steering Column Bearing-Use with tilt steering wheel

EOTZ-3517-B .. Lower Steering Column Bearing / Obsolete

EOTZ-3D681-A .. Steering Column Lower Bearing Retainer-Black plastic round sleeve type (cup)

EOTZ-3D681-B .. Steering Column Lower Bearing Retainer-Red plastic round ring type / Obsolete

EOTZ-3D681-D .. Steering Column Lower Bearing Retainer-Use with Manual Steering / Obsolete

Note that Bill didn't, nor does the MPC, say which trucks get the red or black lower bearing retainer.  But I'm betting you nailed it with the shifter guide bit.  Maybe later today I can look at my columns and see if I can tell.

But, one question that Brandon/Bruno2 asked in that thread, and which I don't think was answered, is what #'s are on the lower bearing?  In other words, might it be a common bearing that Ford was selling?  Does your bearing have #'s?

[Gary Lewis]

Dee1986 wrote

The Auto Paint Depot, has good prices on factory matching paint they mix fresh per order using your paint code. Any size from rattle can to a gallon. Very happy with the product and service

That's good to know, Dee.  

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

EOTZ-3517-B .. Lower Steering Column Bearing / Obsolete

EOTZ-3D681-A .. Steering Column Lower Bearing Retainer-Black plastic round sleeve type (cup)

EOTZ-3D681-B .. Steering Column Lower Bearing Retainer-Red plastic round ring type / Obsolete

Note that Bill didn't, nor does the MPC, say which trucks get the red or black lower bearing retainer.  But I'm betting you nailed it with the shifter guide bit.  Maybe later today I can look at my columns and see if I can tell.

But, one question that Brandon/Bruno2 asked in that thread, and which I don't think was answered, is what #'s are on the lower bearing?  In other words, might it be a common bearing that Ford was selling?  Does your bearing have #'s?

Gary,

The bearing has no markings on it at all. It is actually kind of rough little thing...it doesn't have the polished surfaces that a regular bearing does. And it is an odd little thing...not going to be easy to find a replacement for unfortunately.

The outer race is 1/4" thick, and the inner race is 3/8" thick and has in integral o-ring.



Dimensions below for reference.






As for the red and black parts...both are required. The black "cup" goes over the outer race of the bearing, and the red plastic piece goes inside the inner race. The only picture I have of all the pieces together is below. These are all of the parts that make up the $148 item being sold on the website linked earlier. Somebody clever (a machinist) could probably make a replacement for this piece that took a more standard off the shelf bearing.



It's not all that difficult to remove this stuff for anybody that is in the mood. Doesn't hurt to clean the bearing and re-pack it with good grease.

[Gary Lewis]

Cory - Great pics!  I'm including your pic of the lower bearing housing bits for two reasons.  First, I want it bigger, so made it fill the screen.  Second, so I can refer to it with these questions:

1: Is the "cup" the second thing from the left, just left of the bearing?

2: Where does the white thing go?

As for machining something, are you thinking to replace the cup and the red piece?

I think I'm going to have wait to pursue this much further until I get Big Blue's column apart, but I'm wondering if we couldn't 3D print something?

[Rembrant]

Gary,

Yes sir, the "cup" is the second item from the left. It is a little rubber sleeve that fits over the outer race of the bearing in a captive way (There is one on the column upper bearing as well). The o-ring pictured fits in the groove inside the inner race of the bearing, and the red piece fits inside the bearing...the o-ring is what keeps it in place. The white washer is what holds the bearing in place inside the black housing. There are three little barbs on the ID of the plastic housing, so you drop the bearing in place and then press the white washer down on top of it and it snaps in place on top of the rubber cup.

See the end of my steering column below, you can see the two ends of the red plastic piece. I assume all steering columns have this part? The plastic piece is held in place by the friction of the o-ring, and the flat sides make sure the steering shaft turns the bearing.



See why that bearing is a difficult item to replace?

If I had the ability, I'd just make a whole new housing that took a normal size bearing. You could make it out of delrin or aluminun or whatever, but the section for the shifter tab (between 9 and 12 in the picture) would not be easy to recreate. It's not required for a manual trans, so it would be easy for that.

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

As for machining something, are you thinking to replace the cup and the red piece?

Gary,

I just found out that a friend of mine is having one made for a Bullnose. You may see something on the market soon. The guy making it is in the US.

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

swampedout wrote

https://www.steeringcolumnservices.com/rebuilt-columns/1980-91-rebuilt-non-tilt-f-series-steering-column.php

Dont look at the price if you havent had your coffee.

Yipes!  Don't be holding your coffee when you look!  $575!?!?!?!?!?

By the way, I've seen rebuilt Bullnose columns listed for some pretty crazy prices, but I have to admit they were looking like new. If you ever run across a manual trans tilt column, I guess these ones are somewhat rare? I've seen them on Ebay for $750.

[Gary Lewis]

I'd thought, briefly, of trying to make on of those.  But then I realized there were two problems:

  1: How to machine the reliefs into the outside so it would sit down in the column correctly

  2: What to do about the square shaft in the round hole.

At that point I decided the old bearing I had could be cleaned and re-used.

But, I do have a manual tilt column.  The one I took out of Big Blue is that, but I put a non-tilt back.