OBS F250 slow adventure build
- Thread starter amgvr4
- Start date
amgvr4
Adventurer
Alright so a real update! I moved the prosthetics production facility I manage to a new building in February and as a bonus I now have a bay for my tools and personal projects. I am so pumped to finally have a garage big enough to fit my truck! First a recap of the steering and hydroboost conversion. The Redhead steering box, steering shaft, and PS pump all went in as normal and without a hitch. It is so nice to have fresh clean parts in there that are not leaking and squealing all the time. The hydroboost on the other hand was more of a challenge than it should have been and it was mostly my fault. When I first test fit the booster it was partially compressed and the pedal placement was super close to the floor so I did the smart thing and preemptively lengthened the linkage rod to fix this problem. Unfortunately I jumped the gun and once the system was bled and fully extended the pedal was now ridiculously high and undriveable! Fortunately it was not too difficult to grind off the two tack welds and shorten the rod back to a functional length. The pedal was also super stiff with little if any travel which made modulating the brakes at low speed difficult. Upon further investigation I found that the hydroboost systems had pedals with the rod pivot about 1.75" higher than the vacuum boosters. This should be and easy fix and I will get it done in the next week before the NW overland rally.
Truck in the new shop space
New and old steering shafts
New and old PS pumps
Vacuum vs hydro
The salvaged booster rod that goes between the hydro unit and master cylinder. These do not come with most rebuilt hydro units so if you are converting you have to grab the rod, spring, and retainer from a junk yard. Ford hydroboost units are rare but Chevy put them in a bunch of trucks and the spring and retainer are the same. The rod however is not as it is too short.
Here it is installed before I figured out the rod was too short
Installed
The rod before I lengthened it
New steering box
The overall results are much improved. I ended up needing to replace two tie rod ends as well but now the steering is amazing for a 7000 lbs monster truck. I used to have one hell of a time keeping the truck on the road when it got narrow and twisty, now it is easy and effortless by comparison. The brakes have gotten better with some road miles, but moving the pivot should transform them. Up next some recent adventures and new tools to play with, here is a teaser....
Truck in the new shop space
New and old steering shafts
New and old PS pumps
Vacuum vs hydro
The salvaged booster rod that goes between the hydro unit and master cylinder. These do not come with most rebuilt hydro units so if you are converting you have to grab the rod, spring, and retainer from a junk yard. Ford hydroboost units are rare but Chevy put them in a bunch of trucks and the spring and retainer are the same. The rod however is not as it is too short.
Here it is installed before I figured out the rod was too short
Installed
The rod before I lengthened it
New steering box
The overall results are much improved. I ended up needing to replace two tie rod ends as well but now the steering is amazing for a 7000 lbs monster truck. I used to have one hell of a time keeping the truck on the road when it got narrow and twisty, now it is easy and effortless by comparison. The brakes have gotten better with some road miles, but moving the pivot should transform them. Up next some recent adventures and new tools to play with, here is a teaser....
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
Should have gone with a saginaw pump. Does the PS pump actuate the hydro boost? Looks like a great update. :wings:
Nosferatu49534
Observer
Shiney new parts are always exciting.
Awesome job on the conversion. I've had all the same parts replaced on truck as well in the last few months and it does make a huge difference. Lovin' the new shop by the way. Can't wait for dedicated space my self.
amgvr4
Adventurer
More mechanical fun stuff. I was able to fix the pedal pivot location and replace the clutch master and slave to round out the mechanical upgrades. The clutch master was leaking pretty bad and causing issues shifting.
I moved the brake master pivot up about 7/8" and made a plug for the hole the pin was in.
I pulled the clutch parts out in one piece and then switched the line over so I could bench bleed the system out of the truck. It worked out pretty good and kept the mess to a minimum.
The truck is loving all the attention and love it has been getting lately, but there is still more to do. I noticed that the back passenger shock is leaking from the last few trips into the mountains and some bad potholes. I also need a sway bar on the front and the engine needs the turbo rebuilt and up pipes. It never ends!
I moved the brake master pivot up about 7/8" and made a plug for the hole the pin was in.
I pulled the clutch parts out in one piece and then switched the line over so I could bench bleed the system out of the truck. It worked out pretty good and kept the mess to a minimum.
The truck is loving all the attention and love it has been getting lately, but there is still more to do. I noticed that the back passenger shock is leaking from the last few trips into the mountains and some bad potholes. I also need a sway bar on the front and the engine needs the turbo rebuilt and up pipes. It never ends!
amgvr4
Adventurer
We went on our first family camping adventure of the year a few weeks back. We have been wanting to head out to the Sequim area for a few years now and finally made it out there. The Olympic peninsula is a super interesting area with the mountains only 20 min from the ocean. So much to do and not enough time to do it all!
Packing up for the trip
With three kids and a dog the pup gets to sit up front with us
Campfire and RTT! its what camping is all about.
We always get a ton of comments and double takes when we camp in a spot that other people are at. Roof top tents are getting more common but most people haven't seen one yet.
Our pup is new to camping so he had to be on a leash the entire time, but he is getting close to being able to hang with us and stay where we are
The best part about camping is the campfire food
One thing i love about my truck is that right after a family camping adventure it can saddle up and tow an exploder no problem. Multi purpose as it gets!
A buddy of mine just picked up a '94 Ranger Splash for his adventure rig so we have been going though it to get it trail worthy. On its maiden voyage we explored NF-17 until we hit snow at 3800', then drove around Mountain loop to Mt Pillchuck to play on some obstacles.
The kids had a blast playing in the snow
They even made mini snow men
His Ranger did really well and is ready for some more serious mods now. The plan is to do bumpers, sliders, RTT rack and tent. He has the tent and after we get back from the overland rally in Plain we will get started on project Danger Splash.
Packing up for the trip
With three kids and a dog the pup gets to sit up front with us
Campfire and RTT! its what camping is all about.
We always get a ton of comments and double takes when we camp in a spot that other people are at. Roof top tents are getting more common but most people haven't seen one yet.
Our pup is new to camping so he had to be on a leash the entire time, but he is getting close to being able to hang with us and stay where we are
The best part about camping is the campfire food
One thing i love about my truck is that right after a family camping adventure it can saddle up and tow an exploder no problem. Multi purpose as it gets!
A buddy of mine just picked up a '94 Ranger Splash for his adventure rig so we have been going though it to get it trail worthy. On its maiden voyage we explored NF-17 until we hit snow at 3800', then drove around Mountain loop to Mt Pillchuck to play on some obstacles.
The kids had a blast playing in the snow
They even made mini snow men
His Ranger did really well and is ready for some more serious mods now. The plan is to do bumpers, sliders, RTT rack and tent. He has the tent and after we get back from the overland rally in Plain we will get started on project Danger Splash.
amgvr4
Adventurer
Unfortunately due to Photobuckets decision to strong arm people into paying $400 a year to keep the links to their images working this thread has become pretty useless. That's a big bummer since I have had so many people tell me that it has helped them with their builds along the way. I plan on three linking the rear end this winter and will have to switch to a different image hosting service to make sure other people can enjoy the progress and give feedback.
onemanarmy
Explorer
there is supposedly a plugin that is available for download to see photobucket pics (not sure which browsers it works on)
edit...works on Chrome. download it from the APP store and then clear browser cache.
edit...works on Chrome. download it from the APP store and then clear browser cache.
Last edited:
seanpistol
Explorer
Excellent tip! I just downloaded that and can now see all the photos.
amgvr4
Adventurer
It has been a long time since I have posted anything on here since the photobucket nonsense kind of killed my motivation for updates. It looks like the portal has fixed it and now all the pictures are back! I still have the truck and it is in the middle of a big overhaul. I put new wheels and tires on a month ago and then the internal injector o-rings started leaking so I was consuming 1 gallon of oil every 50 miles!
I ordered up rebuild kits and stage one parts as well as a hydra chip so it should be back on the road soon with more power. After I get it running the plan is to rebuild the turbo, new up pipes, and an e-fuel conversion. If all the planets align I might finally get to the rear 3 link and flatbed this winter. I will get some pictures up tomorrow.
I ordered up rebuild kits and stage one parts as well as a hydra chip so it should be back on the road soon with more power. After I get it running the plan is to rebuild the turbo, new up pipes, and an e-fuel conversion. If all the planets align I might finally get to the rear 3 link and flatbed this winter. I will get some pictures up tomorrow.
broncograveyard
New member
Great build! Good platform for an overlander as well. I'm looking forward to some more pics.
