New to me 97 f150
- Thread starter crawldit
- Start date
crawldit
Adventurer
Thanks. Yeah, I washed the undercarriage pretty good Saturday so I could see what I was working on Sunday. The frame, the shock mounts, the shackles....all are spotless. I'm honestly surprised at the lack of rust considering it's an Alaska truck. It also looks like it has fairly new brakes, wheel bearings and rear driveshaft, so those are also good surprises.
The more I work on this rig, the more I realize what a steal I got. 15 years old and I just rolled over 79,000 taking it for a test drive yesterday. Still not bad considering 4,000 of those were the drive down from Anchorage to Fort Collins.
All told, it took about 2.5 hours to install the add-a-leafs and adjust the torsion bars. I figured it would take longer since I was working alone and didn't have the best tools at my disposal. The centering pins gave me fits and I had to make a quick trip to Harbor Freight for a cut-off wheel. I'll post a short and sweet write-up when I get more time.
The more I work on this rig, the more I realize what a steal I got. 15 years old and I just rolled over 79,000 taking it for a test drive yesterday. Still not bad considering 4,000 of those were the drive down from Anchorage to Fort Collins.
All told, it took about 2.5 hours to install the add-a-leafs and adjust the torsion bars. I figured it would take longer since I was working alone and didn't have the best tools at my disposal. The centering pins gave me fits and I had to make a quick trip to Harbor Freight for a cut-off wheel. I'll post a short and sweet write-up when I get more time.
crawldit
Adventurer
Haven't been online in awhile, but have a quick update. Picked up this little jewel this weekend. My wife and I are expecting our first baby next month and I wanted more room for the family than the camper shell could offer. Got the camper for FREE off of craigslist! Had to drive a couple hours to pick it up, but it's in great shape and was worth it. Will add more pics as I redo the interior.
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crawldit
Adventurer
Right. Luckily its temporary. The camper is going in to the garage this weekend so I can start renovations on it. And airbags are now the top priority for mods to the truck. Hopefully I can swing everything for camping season in a couple of months.
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duckhunter71
Adventurer
I've always had a soft spot for that body style of truck. I was raised in a GM family, so I never would have admitted it to family or friends, but I've since owned an F150 and really liked it.
I see you're in Ft Collins - very nice area. My aunt lives in Longmont. I've made a spring trip out there every spring for the past few years, but won't be able to since I've started a new job. Oh and congrats on the new baby!
I see you're in Ft Collins - very nice area. My aunt lives in Longmont. I've made a spring trip out there every spring for the past few years, but won't be able to since I've started a new job. Oh and congrats on the new baby!
crawldit
Adventurer
Took some more pic's of the camper, and started a thread over in the camper section, if anyone's interested in following that renovation
Camper Renovation
Camper Renovation
crawldit
Adventurer
Not much to add. My wife and I welcomed a baby girl in to the world last month and free time is gone for the time being. I did however manage to install some Monroe Max-Air shocks on the rear last weekend.
Link to the shocks I bought http://www.amazon.com/Monroe-MA829-Max-Air-Shock-Absorber/dp/B004K82ICG/ref=sr_1_7?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1363280683&sr=1-7&keywords=monroe+max+air+ford+f150
Here's a shot with about 500 lbs in the bed, not including the weight of the shell. I've got about 70 psi in the shocks with zero sag and a pretty decent ride. For a whopping $60 for two shocks and the air kit, I'm impressed. We'll see how it does with the camper on. Supposedly they add 1100 lbs of load leveling with 150 psi in them. I don't plan on maxing them out though
And the fill up connector on the rear bumper
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Link to the shocks I bought http://www.amazon.com/Monroe-MA829-Max-Air-Shock-Absorber/dp/B004K82ICG/ref=sr_1_7?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1363280683&sr=1-7&keywords=monroe+max+air+ford+f150
Here's a shot with about 500 lbs in the bed, not including the weight of the shell. I've got about 70 psi in the shocks with zero sag and a pretty decent ride. For a whopping $60 for two shocks and the air kit, I'm impressed. We'll see how it does with the camper on. Supposedly they add 1100 lbs of load leveling with 150 psi in them. I don't plan on maxing them out though
And the fill up connector on the rear bumper
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BCHauler
Adventurer
Really like what you have going on with this truck. I am biased though as I now drive a similar vehicle.
Mine is a 4.2 6 cylinder with 330k kms 2wd. The 2nd image shows my last (much lamented) truck, the camper I used to haul, and the camperette that I used to tow and now will haul with the 150. I don't think I can haul the full size camper with this truck (not legally anyway).
I have a few questions for you. What gear ratio do you have? What is the gvwr? Most 4.2s and 4.6s came with the 8.8 rearend. The 5.4 trucks used the beefier 9.75 and this is an upgrade I am looking to add to my truck.
Mine is a 4.2 6 cylinder with 330k kms 2wd. The 2nd image shows my last (much lamented) truck, the camper I used to haul, and the camperette that I used to tow and now will haul with the 150. I don't think I can haul the full size camper with this truck (not legally anyway).
I have a few questions for you. What gear ratio do you have? What is the gvwr? Most 4.2s and 4.6s came with the 8.8 rearend. The 5.4 trucks used the beefier 9.75 and this is an upgrade I am looking to add to my truck.
crawldit
Adventurer
Thanks for the compliment, and nice find on your rig. I see quite a few standard cab longbeds, but never any other extended cabs.
The rearend is an 8.8, and according to the tag I have a 3.55 gear ratio. If I wasn't so adverse to putting big $$$ in to a 16 year old truck, I would be thinking 4.10's or 4.56 gears. Definitely 4.56 if I ever went up in tire size to 35's. At sea level when I lived in Anchorage, the 4.6 seemed peppy enough. Now that I'm in Northern Colorado at over 5000 feet and with the 33's, the 4.6 is always bogged down and downshifting in the mountains. Gears would cure that, but I can't convince myself to spend the $1000+ dollars. If you do the 9.75 swap you should probably look at lower gearing too. I've never driven the 4.2, but if you're planning on towing, i would imagine the 6 cylinder could use the lower gears.
I'll get back to you about the gvwr. Have to go check the tag in the door.
The rearend is an 8.8, and according to the tag I have a 3.55 gear ratio. If I wasn't so adverse to putting big $$$ in to a 16 year old truck, I would be thinking 4.10's or 4.56 gears. Definitely 4.56 if I ever went up in tire size to 35's. At sea level when I lived in Anchorage, the 4.6 seemed peppy enough. Now that I'm in Northern Colorado at over 5000 feet and with the 33's, the 4.6 is always bogged down and downshifting in the mountains. Gears would cure that, but I can't convince myself to spend the $1000+ dollars. If you do the 9.75 swap you should probably look at lower gearing too. I've never driven the 4.2, but if you're planning on towing, i would imagine the 6 cylinder could use the lower gears.
I'll get back to you about the gvwr. Have to go check the tag in the door.
BCHauler
Adventurer
Yours has the same gvwr as mine. When I weighed mine at the dump, I only had 700lbs or so of payload capacity with the canopy on the truck. I was wondering if the bigger engine would contribute to a bump in the gvwr but apparently not.
Any of the trucks that came with the 5.4 engine also got the 9.75 rear end, and I believe they tend to have gvwr in the 6800 range (not sure what other factors contribute to the bump up, maybe tow package stuff like tranny cooler, bigger rad). I have poked around on rock auto and the 8.8 and 9.75 seem to use the same brake components, so that wouldn't be it. Perhaps the biggest limiting factors are the size of the rear axle and the load rating of the tires.
Unfortunately, none of this solves the legal limits of the truck, but the real world limits may well be enhanced by a few well thought out adjustments.
My truck had the same sizes tires as yours 235/70 and I bumped up to 235/85 or 31.5" from 28.5". My stock 3.31 gear ratio is now effectively a 3.08-ish. Not so good power and capability wise. For you to go from the same size 28.5" with 3.55 to 285/75 or 33" you are likely at the same 3.08 gear ratio that I am.
Personally, I will be on the lookout for a 9.75 with factory 3.73 gears. With a 2wd, there is only one gear set to think about. If nothing else, you could find a 9.75 with the stock 3.55 (most common ratio out there for these trucks) and at least know you've increased the load carrying abilities (of course, not in a legal sense).
Anyway, digging your build and will update you if I end up upgrading the axle.
Any of the trucks that came with the 5.4 engine also got the 9.75 rear end, and I believe they tend to have gvwr in the 6800 range (not sure what other factors contribute to the bump up, maybe tow package stuff like tranny cooler, bigger rad). I have poked around on rock auto and the 8.8 and 9.75 seem to use the same brake components, so that wouldn't be it. Perhaps the biggest limiting factors are the size of the rear axle and the load rating of the tires.
Unfortunately, none of this solves the legal limits of the truck, but the real world limits may well be enhanced by a few well thought out adjustments.
My truck had the same sizes tires as yours 235/70 and I bumped up to 235/85 or 31.5" from 28.5". My stock 3.31 gear ratio is now effectively a 3.08-ish. Not so good power and capability wise. For you to go from the same size 28.5" with 3.55 to 285/75 or 33" you are likely at the same 3.08 gear ratio that I am.
Personally, I will be on the lookout for a 9.75 with factory 3.73 gears. With a 2wd, there is only one gear set to think about. If nothing else, you could find a 9.75 with the stock 3.55 (most common ratio out there for these trucks) and at least know you've increased the load carrying abilities (of course, not in a legal sense).
Anyway, digging your build and will update you if I end up upgrading the axle.
Mad_Texan
Adventurer
crawldit, Congratulations on the new addition to the family! The truck is looking good!
BCHauler, My 2003 SuperCrew has GVRW of 6500 and has the 8.8. It came with 255/70/16's on it which have a higher load rating than the 235's. With the 9.75 you will need to either get the driveshaft with the rear or have yours cut down as the pinion is longer.
Here is a link to specs for 2003, scroll down to the capacities section:
http://www.fordf150.net/specs/03f150.php